The building of El Liceu is the work of architect Miquel Garriga i Roca and was originally destined for 3,500 guests. Inaugurated in 1847 with the premiere of 'Overture' by José Melchor Gomis, Ventura de la Vega’s ‘Fernando de Antequera’ and the ballet ‘The Girl from Ronda’ by Josep Jurch, the site soon staged its first large-scale opera: ‘Anna Bolena’ by Donizetti. In 1861, a fire caused significant damage to the theatre and the rebuilt opera opened again the following year with a performance of Bellini’s ‘I puritani’. In 1893, the opera house was destroyed by a bombing; the catastrophe claimed 20 lives. After several years of mourning, in 1909, the auditorium was largely restored, and after World War I, the opera house became a major cultural venue for the people of Barcelona. El Liceu started a tradition of inviting world-renowned composers, opera singers and leading companies to perform at its premises, meanwhile completing some of the best productions in its history. Some of the composers invited frequently by the El Liceu include Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Richard Strauss and Mozart.

During the initial years of the Second Spanish Republic, the opera house underwent a financial breakdown, became property of the state and started operating under the name Teatre Nacional de Catalunya. In 1939, it was soon retrieved by its original owners and began its most successful era in its history. However, the 1970s came with an economic crisis, which impacted the theatre because the private institution could not handle the soaring budgets and, as a result, the quality of the productions experienced a significant decline. In 1980, the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Grand Theatre Society launched the Consortium of the Great Liceu Theatre, which was later supported by the Spanish Ministry of Culture. In 1994, the opera building suffered another fire and the auditorium needed substantial renovation. Following the launching of the Liceu Great Theatre Foundation, a vehicle for promoting a fund raising campaign among the public, the Theatre Society transferred its activities to the Foundation.

Reopened in 1999, the site celebrated its return with Puccini’s ‘Turandot’. The auditorium had retained its initial horseshoe shape, while its technical facilities were substantially revamped. The list of architects who participated in the restructuring includes Ignasi de Solà-Morales, Xavier Fabré and Lluís Dilmé. The auditorium is a complete replica of the original 1861 auditorium and the number of seats has remained almost intact at 2,292. The auditorium ornamentation has also been restored faithfully, with gilded and plaster moldings, typical for the 19th-century classical structures of this kind. The stage facilities, however, have been entirely replaced by modern ones, thus allowing for quicker scene changes and the simultaneous handling of four different sets.