Helena Guardans has been unanimously elected new president of the patronage council of the Gran Teatre del Liceu foundation, at the proposal of the presidency and general management of the Teatre. Guardans takes over, replacing Luis Herrero, while Elisa Durán Montolío remains vice president representing the “la Caixa” Foundation. Both are part of the Liceu board of trustees, along with two additional vice presidents of patronage who are Eduardo Navarro representing Telefónica, on this occasion represented by Chema Casas, and Rosario Cabané Bienert, president of the board of benefactors.
The entity assures that this change is intended to “give greater impetus to private representation, reinforcing the collection of resources and consolidating this branch of financing provided for in the new strategic plan (2023-26).”
In her first words as president of the Patronage Council, Guardans mentioned her connection with culture and, especially, with the Liceu, as well as her connection with the city of Barcelona, ??which highlights its cosmopolitan and open character, as well as the relevant space that culture occupies. Guardans has assured that as president of the Liceu Patronage Council she will contribute experience to the institution and commitment to Barcelona and that, in the medium term, she wants to create a work team to maintain a closer relationship with the Consell and its members.
Helena Guardans (Barcelona, ??1960) is the face of the new economy. She completed her studies at ESADE and participated in an exchange program with New York University where she completed her last year of college. She lived in New York from 1984 to 1986, where she had the opportunity to work in different companies. Upon her return to Barcelona, ??she joined the General Tobacco Company of the Philippines as a foreign trade coordinator and shortly after she began her career in advertising, first at Vizeversa as an account director and then at the multinational Gray as a director. attached.
In 1994 he founded his company Singular, a pioneer in offering consumer services. In 2001 Sellbytel acquired the majority of the company, in 2018 Webhelp bought Sellbytel and in 2023 Concentrix acquired Webhelp, with Webhelp Concentrix now being the first group in the BPO industry in the world. Since 2018, she has served as president of Webhelp Spain, now Concentrix.
The board of trustees, chaired by Salvador Alemany, has also approved the annual accounts for the 2022/23 season. The results maintain the economic balance for the season with ordinary income of 52.4 million euros compared to expenses of 49.6 million, which gives rise to a positive result of 2.8 million euros. The contribution of the administrations reflects their commitment, assures the theater management, with total contributions of 28 million.
As for companies, benefactors and subscribers, they have contributed 7.9 million euros, a record figure that exceeds the barrier of 15% of the budget. “A support program for the Liceu in constant evolution and adaptation to business needs is strengthened and the cultural and artistic project of the Teatre is reinforced,” they argue.
The 22/23 season had 273,000 viewers, 3% more than the 21/22 season. Global employment was 82% (two points more than the previous one), and about 30 functions were sold out. In total, in the 22/23 season a total of 202 performances have been performed: 91 opera, 17 dance, 20 concerts, and 74 performances of El Petit Liceu.