Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Teatro Real Wins International Opera Award for Sustainability

The prize recognizes a walkable solar roof plus efficiency upgrades that raised the opera house’s energy rating.

Overview

  • The award was presented in Athens at the Greek National Opera’s Stavros Niarchos Hall, with finalists including Wuppertal, Santa Fe, Vienna Volksoper, Longborough Festival and Leipzig.
  • Teatro Real’s team of Justin Way, Enrique Collell and Nuria Gallego accepted the honor on behalf of the Madrid institution.
  • The recognition caps a program launched in 2019, branded Teatro Más Sostenible, targeting Nearly Zero Energy Building performance.
  • In March 2025 the theatre unveiled a transitable solar roof with more than 2,000 photovoltaic panels covering about 1,500 square meters, helping lift its energy grade from D to A.
  • The interventions were framed within Spain’s Plan de Transición Energética, with reports attributing funding to Next Generation EU, and drew public congratulations from ministers Sara Aagesen and Ernest Urtasun.