The recital, titled Combat between East and West, will take place on Friday, February 6, at the Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site at 8:00 PM. The program offers a musical reflection on the dialogue and tension between the two cultures, based on the perspective of French composers fascinated by Orientalism, such as Maurice Ravel, Camille Saint-Saëns, Georges Bizet, Louise Aubert, Henri Duparc, and Osvaldo Golijov, in contrast with traditional Arabic songs such as Lamma Bada Yatathanna and Kelmti Horra.
Rihab Chaieb debuts at LIFE Victoria with a musical dialogue between East and West
Barcelona, February 4, 2026
Mezzo-soprano Rihab Chaieb, born in Tunisia and raised in Montreal since the age of two, debuts at LIFE Victoria alongside pianist Brian Zeger, Artistic Director of the Vocal Arts department at the Juilliard School in New York.
Raised in an Arabic family environment, Chaieb developed a deep affinity for traditional Eastern music from a very young age. With a rapidly rising career, she has established herself as one of the most prominent emerging voices on the operatic and Lied scene, after starting her career as a member of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. At the Met, she has performed in productions such as L’italiana in Algeri, Luisa Miller, Cavalleria rusticana, and Hänsel und Gretel, and has returned as a guest artist in Don Giovanni, conducted by Cornelius Meister.
In the current season, Chaieb will perform at the Canadian Opera Company and the Bayerische Staatsoper, and will join the Barcelona Symphony and Catalonia National Orchestra for Stravinsky’s The Firebird and Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges on June 12.
LIFE New Artists: Dalila Lugo
As is customary, LIFE Victoria reaffirms its commitment to promoting and supporting new voices on the international lyric scene, offering a prominent space for rising young talents. On this occasion, the cycle will feature American soprano Dalila Lugo, an artist of great sensitivity and a promising career, who has participated in the Victoria de los Ángeles Legacy program at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York, and who debuts at LIFE Victoria accompanied by Zeger himself.
The Victoria de los Ángeles Legacy program, which the Foundation has offered in New York since the soprano’s centenary, consists of masterclasses for perfecting the Spanish and Catalan repertoire taught by mezzo-soprano Nancy Fabiola Herrera, honorary trustee of the Foundation and Juilliard alumna.
