Opus One

Opus One is an orchestra created in 2021 by guitarist and Dr. in musicology Xavier Alern, with the aim of interpreting the music of Mike Oldfield, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his "magic trilogy": Tubular Bells (1973), Hergest Ridge (1974) and Ommadawn (1975). Three masterpieces of contemporary music.

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Opus One prides itself on offering a careful interpretation, without anachronisms and with the utmost respect for the spirit of these legendary recordings. On the other hand, it is the only musical formation in the world that collaborates with the singers who, in their day, worked with Mike Oldfield.

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In addition to the magical trilogy, Opus One also performs the rest of Mike Oldfield's best repertoire: a selection of songs from the albums Platinum, Five Miles Out, Crises, Discovery, Islands, Earth Moving, Guitars, Voyager, The Music of the Spheres and Man on the Rocks.

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In its more than three years of existence, Opus One has performed in such prestigious venues as the Palau de la Música Catalana, the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid, the Cartuja Center CITE, the Teatre Principal in Alicante, the Auditori del Fòrum (CCIB) in Barcelona or the Auditori de Girona, among other important auditoriums.

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The international presentation of Opus One took place on May 23, 2023 (exact date of the fiftieth anniversary of Tubular Bells) with a concert streamed from the Alba Synchrotron in Barcelona. The concert was watched live by almost 5,000 people and, to date, has more than 1.7 million views.

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Another emblematic event occurred on August 12, 2026, when Opus One was chosen to perform a concert as part of the celebrations of the total solar eclipse in Palencia. In front of more than 6,000 people, and with an orchestra of twenty-four musicians, Opus One performed Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn consecutively for the first time in history.

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Opus One is a musical initiative of Baridà Music.

Mike Oldfield is not personally involved and he will not participate in our concerts.