Maria del Mar Bonet will return to the Olympia in Paris, 50 years later

PalmHalf a century later, Maria del Mar Bonet's voice will once again fill the Olympia in Paris. This was announced in Mallorca by the singer-songwriter and the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, who confirmed that his government will promote a series of concerts featuring Catalan artists in the iconic venue of the French capital. The Mallorcan singer's concert is scheduled for the autumn of 2026 and will mark her return to one of the stages that defined a turning point in her career. Numerous articles have been written about that recital, many of them on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary, which Bonet celebrated with several concerts and the re-release of the album. At the Olympia that emerged, but now she herself will write, on the spot, a new page. "I will experience it very well, because the last time I sang, the concert was also part of a cycle of voices called Chansons en liberté, at a time when freedom was hard to find in our country. Now that I have reissued the recording of that concert, I am very happy to be able to take it to the Olympia, which is an absolutely wonderful theater," she said.

The historic concert took place on April 27, 1975, precisely on the day that Maria del Mar Bonet turned 28. There was still more than six months to go before Franco's death, and that recital of the Chansons en liberté cycle had been promoted by the director of the Olympia, Bruno Coquatrix, and had already featured, among others, Paco Ibáñez and Lluís Llach. And, in fact, that day at the Olympia, it wasn't just the young Maria del Mar Bonet performing—though she had already dedicated a significant part of her life to music—but also Ovidi Montllor and Toti Soler, as the singer-songwriter recalled. Their enthusiasm, nerves, and awareness of witnessing a unique event were captured in the photographs taken by Toni Catany, who, like the writers Vicent Andrés Estellés and Biel Mesquida, was a witness to that performance. Maria del Mar Bonet's repertoire in 1975 included versions of poems by her admired Bartomeu Rosselló-Pòrcel, and also a piece based on... Romanzo, by Miquel Martí i Pol, as well as popular Mallorcan songs, such as His tambourine and the Harvesting tuneand original compositions, such as I'm leaving home and the delicate yet evocative AprilIn the Olympia hall, it also played that day Aigowhere Maria del Mar Bonet proclaimed that "before, Lord, you were orchards, / now, Lord, dust and wind. / Before, Lord, you were people, / and now, where are they, where are your people?".

The long-awaited reissue of the album

Months after the recital, the recording of that performance was released as an album by the Ariola label, instantly becoming one of the singer's most iconic works—and therefore, one of her most emblematic concerts. However, it wasn't until 2025, on the occasion of the concert's fiftieth anniversary, that a reissue was released, not only remastering it but also updating its content. In fact, the new edition, released by Discmedi/Azul on both CD and vinyl, includes the performance of What do these people want?, banned by Francoist censorship and left off the 1975 album. Also included are tracks such as I wouldn't want anything else now. and Song for a good death, which had been left out of the original album, and have been removed, for example, the French dialogue and other songs such as Romance and I don't know how I'll end up, among other things.Maria del Mar Bonet herself actively participated in both the updating of the repertoire and design, as well as in the new mix, made from the original vinyl and the preserved open-reel tapes of the complete concert recording.

In addition to the reissue of the album that emerged, the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Olympia recital has also included several concerts that have taken place in Palma, Ciutadella, and Barcelona, ​​among other locations, during 2025. "Nostalgia, la justa," from the recital given by Bonet at the Auditori in Barcelona, ​​"because, as she sings in AlenarThe entire path the Mallorcan singer takes "will be to move forward," and she maintains her voice, her intention, and her enthusiasm to keep going. And she will do so again next autumn with her new recital at the Olympia, her gaze fixed on the present without letting go of the past, given that she is doing it with the singer who has sustained Bonet, against totalitarianism and in favor of her own language and culture. "I have always sung in Catalan. We have to work to turn things around regarding the language. We are a clear minority and we cannot let ourselves be swayed by these right-wing and far-right currents that want to return to that Francoism of..."Divide and conquer"...not being able to study in our language. I learned it with my grandfather, at home; I was never lucky enough to go to school in my language," she confessed.