On 30 Janu­ary 2024, the Zar­zuela was recog­nised by the Span­ish gov­ern­ment as a „rep­res­ent­at­ive form of expres­sion of intan­gible cul­tur­al her­it­age“ with the aim of its inclu­sion in the UNESCO Intan­gible Cul­tur­al Her­it­age of Human­ity list. The inter­na­tion­ally renowned dir­ect­or Chris­tof Loy is now tak­ing up this ini­ti­at­ive and, with LOS PALAD­INES, is found­ing a com­pany ded­ic­ated entirely to the pro­mo­tion of this diverse and often under­es­tim­ated art form. Zar­zuela encom­passes music­al theatre in Span­ish – from Baroque opera to com­edy and tragedy, through to works close to ver­ismo or revue-style pieces. The aim is to free the genre from clichés and pre­ju­dice and to give it new mean­ing and accept­ance, both in Span­ish-speak­ing regions and inter­na­tion­ally.

„If The Magic Flute had been writ­ten in Span­ish, it would prob­ably be called a zar­zuela. Caval­ler­ia rus­tic­ana in Span­ish? Zar­zuela. And per­haps even Die Meister­sing­er von Nürn­berg is a Ger­man zar­zuela,“ says Chris­tof Loy.

Opheli­as Cul­ture PR has been look­ing after the pro­ject since its incep­tion in 2025, provid­ing press work, PR, and stra­tegic advice.