Top Catalan actress Núria Espert plays King Lear in its adaptation at Barcelona’s Teatre Lliure
Núria Espert, one of the most international and widely recognised theatre actresses in Catalonia, has taken on the role of Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’ at the age of 79. This challenging project also means her return to the Catalan theatre scene after spending the last few years working on the Spanish stage. Lluís Pascual, the Director of the Catalan theatrical adaptation, justified the decision, stating “the best candidate to play King Lear was an actress, not an actor”. This Catalan version of ‘King Lear’ will be running until February 25th at the Teatre Lliure in Barcelona.
Barcelona (ACN).– The famous and veteran actress Núria Espert returns to the Catalan stage and plays the role of King Lear, after spending the last few years working on the Spanish theatre scene. Núria Espert, who is 79, has already performed in many Shakespearian tragedies such as ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘Julius Caesar’, but she admits ‘King Lear’ is the one that touches her the most. Lluís Pascual, the Director of the Catalan theatrical adaptation, justified the decision, stating “the best candidate to play King Lear was an actress, not an actor”. This Catalan version of ‘King Lear’ will be running until February 25th at the Teatre Lliure in Barcelona.
Critics have already praised the play and Núria Espert’s interpretation of King Lear. Espert, who has a theatre named after her in Sant Andreu de la Barca (Barcelona), has acted on stages all over the world such as the Los Angeles Opera, The Odeon Theatre in Paris and the Frankfurt Opera. At the age of 79, Espert has become a world renownedactress and director not just in theatre plays but also in operas such as Puccini’s ‘Madame Butterfly’.
Núria Espert said working in Catalan language is one of the things she missed the most and feels “really excited” about the project. The production of ‘King Lear’, led by Lluís Pascual, also includes other exceptional and well-known Catalan actors such as Ramon Madaula, Julio Manrique, Laura Conejero and Míriam Iscla.