The Governing Council, at the recommendation of the Department of Tourism, Culture, and Sports, today authorized the department head to award a direct grant of 51,840 euros to the Menorcan Opera Foundation. This grant is intended to cover the artistic expenses associated with organizing the 55th opera season in Menorca, which will take place between May and July of this year.
The award of this direct grant is justified by the public, social, and cultural significance of a tradition that dates back more than two centuries on the island. Menorca is home to Spain’s oldest opera house—the Teatro Principal in Maó—and has hosted regular seasons since 1817, constituting a cultural heritage of the highest order for the Balearic Islands.
Top-notch programming
The approved grant will help fund part of the program for this 55th edition, which features highlights such as a performance of *Un ballo in maschera* (G. Verdi), scheduled for May 29 and 31, 2026.
The program also includes a free lecture by Ramon Gener (held on May 8) and the “Opera in the Street” initiative, which will broadcast the premiere live for free.
In addition, the “Ópera prima” program—aimed at high school and arts education students—and the “Òpera gran” program—which brings live broadcasts and lectures to nursing homes and day centers throughout Menorca—will continue.
In May, there will be an exhibition and reappraisal of the Teatro Principal’s historical archive of 19th-century sheet music, one of the world’s most important collections of original sheet music.
Support for a single institution
The Menorcan Opera Foundation, established in 2006 and of which the Government of the Balearic Islands is a founding member alongside the Consell de Menorca, the Maó City Council, and the Amics de l’Òpera de Maó association, is the only organization with the logistical and artistic capacity necessary to ensure a season of this caliber on the island. It has the only professional opera choir in Menorca and maintains stable agreements with the main musical institutions to ensure the excellence of its productions.
With this grant, the Government of the Balearic Islands reaffirms its commitment to promoting culture and safeguarding intangible heritage, ensuring the survival of one of Menorca’s most unique and deeply rooted artistic traditions.
