The Spanish government’s support for the arts has been waivering and the last season saw a very public cancellation of a series of presentations. Dire predictions filled the air.

Yet, announcing the results of the season just ended, the theater counted 268,715 attendees with a healthy 84.5% of the hall filled (75.7% for ballet) — numbers higher that the previous season. The halls were full for Linda di Chamounix, Le Nozze di Figaro, Aida, La Bohème and the Magic Flute, the recitals of Juan Diego Florez and Philippe Jaroussky and the concert in honor of Montserrat Caballé.

The new season starts October 2 with Verdi’s LaForza del Destino and the theater notes that they have more than a thousand new subscribers.

Frank Cadenhead