Gran Gala Flamenco Barcelona: flamenco in a tablao vs flamenco in a theatre
In 1908, one of the most important buildings of Catalan modernisme opened its doors just steps from the iconic Via Laietana: the Palau de la Música. Designed by architect Lluís Domenech i Montaner, it was originally built to house the headquarters of the Orfeó Català. It was inaugurated on 9 February of that year for orchestral and instrumental concerts, but almost from the very beginning it began to host all kinds of music, becoming one of the city’s defining stages. More than a century later, it stands as one of Barcelona’s great cultural landmarks, one of the most beautiful venues where artists from here and beyond can present their theatre, music, and performance. It was even declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, together with the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, designed by the same architect. And for the past 18 years, it has continuously staged one of the most-watched flamenco shows in Barcelona: the Gran Gala Flamenco.
The flamenco history of the Palau
Flamenco, as part of the musical and social history of Catalonia, was always going to find its place on the Palau’s precious stage. From its earliest years the venue welcomed bailaores and cantaores, and there is even a nod to its connection with arte jondo: at the back of the stage stand 18 sculptures dedicated to the muses of universal music, and one of them is a flamenco dancer playing the castanets.
One of the first major flamenco performances by a leading figure of 20th-century flamenco dance was that of Vicente Escudero alongside Carmita García in 1944. Spanish dance also had its moment in the spotlight at the Palau during those years, with one of its most iconic performances coming from the great Carmen Amaya.
Carmen had returned to Barcelona during that period, and a fountain had just been inaugurated in her honour on what is now the Barceloneta beach, a tribute to her and the shantytown on the sand where she grew up: the Somorrostro. As a gesture of gratitude to the city where she had learned to dance and first appeared on the stages of the Barrio Chino (today’s Raval), that very same night the dancer gave a performance to raise funds for the Hospital-Asilo San Rafael.
Today, flamenco is not only present at the Palau but has become an essential part of its programming. The Gran Gala Flamenco has staged its flamenco show at the Palau without interruption for 18 years. It also programmes at another of the city’s iconic venues with a strong connection to flamenco: the Teatro Poliorama on Las Ramblas, where the show Ópera y Flamenco is also presented, fusing flamenco with lyrical singing and Spanish musical tradition. In 2025, the Gran Gala Flamenco also reached the capital, specifically the Teatro Capitol on Madrid’s Gran Vía.
Flamenco in the theatre versus flamenco in the tablao
Flamenco found its place in theatres at the end of the 19th century, when flamenco artists began to professionalise in public spaces, first in the cafés cantantes and later in the tablaos. Since then, bailaoras and cantaores have taken their art to the world, and lo jondo has coexisted in tablaos and theatres across every flamenco city on the planet.
The experience, however, can feel quite different depending on the setting. Diego Amaya de Chicuelo, a guitarist who played for several years at Tablao de Carmen and is now part of the artistic team of the Gran Gala Flamenco, puts it clearly: “At the Palau everything is more structured and there are several musicians, which gives you a different feeling. In a tablao there is almost always only one guitar. If there are two and you’ve worked a lot with the other guitarist, you have time to build something together, but otherwise everything tends to be more of a battle. That’s what I love most about the tablao: the improvisation, the fact that no two dances ever come out the same.”
At the Palau, Diego performs with the group of his father, the guitarist Chicuelo, one of the artistic directors of the Gala alongside fellow guitarist Tati Amaya. They are surrounded by renowned local artists including Eli Ayala and Mathilde Antón on dance, and La Tana, Ana Brenes, Ana Colom, and Joaquín ‘el Duende’ on vocals.
When it comes to working in a theatre, Diego highlights the opportunity to rehearse and develop the music with more time: “Even though there are always improvised sections, the general structure is more worked out in advance. I really enjoy that because you can develop something and learn in a different way. For example, I recorded all the second guitar parts, or you might share with a violin, and you can take the sound somewhere else, push your imagination further in that sense.” The dancers, for their part, choreograph their sections in advance for the sequences performed together.
Whether in a theatre or a tablao, Barcelona has always welcomed flamenco on its stages as part of its cultural life and history. At Tablao de Carmen, we bring the authentic tablao flamenco experience to curious visitors and passionate fans alike, so they can feel up close the magic of this centuries-old art.
