Twenty years ago, Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu burned down

Barcelona/Prague - Twenty years ago, on January 31, 1994, one of the largest opera houses in the world, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, was reduced to ashes. The devastating fire was caused by careless handling of a tanning lamp used by the technical staff during repairs to the theater. A stage curtain in the backstage area caught fire first, after which the flames quickly spread to the stage, auditorium, and other areas of the neoclassical building that opened in 1847.
    The reconstruction of the renowned opera sanctuary sparked many disputes, lasted nearly six years, and cost approximately 110 million euros. The task was entrusted to architect Ignasi de Sola-Morales, who rebuilt the structure on the site of the old one and in the same style, equipping it with state-of-the-art acoustic and safety technology. Today, the theater accommodates 2,292 spectators and is the second largest in Europe after the French opera Bastille.