Theater company O Bando’s 50th anniversary, marked by the celebration of Agustina Bessa-Luís’s work in ‘Agustinopólis,’ the Portuguese debut of ‘Os intransponíveis Alpes, à procura do Currito’ by Spanish choreographer María del Mar Suárez at the Alkantara festival, and ‘Tebas Land’ by Sergio Blanco are keeping the spotlight on the performing arts. This is further emphasized by new creations from actress and director Raquel Castro, and dancers and choreographers São Castro and Teresa Alves da Silva, according to the schedule published by the Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB).
Music remains a constant presence throughout the last three months of the year with performances by Grammy-awarded singer-songwriter Cécile McLorin Salvant, pianist François-Frédéric Guy, and violinist Julien Chauvin. Ensembles such as the Ensemble Bonne Corde and Gabetta Consort will perform, along with fado artists Teresinha Landeiro and José Geadas. The Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra, Portuguese Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonietta de Lisboa, Portuguese Symphony Orchestra (OSP), and the Choir of the National Theatre of São Carlos (TNSC) are set to conclude December with Ponchielli’s ‘Missa para a noite de Natal.’
The launch of a conversation series ‘Sobre a verdade da mentira’ coincides with an era where “social networks have become the main information source.” Another series on music will extend through 2026. CCB has also opened an international ‘call’ for the selection of a new Directorate for Performing Arts until November.
The five-act opera ‘Adilson’ by Dino D’Santiago, with a libretto by Rui Catalão and musical direction by Martim Sousa Tavares, opens the CCB programming on September 12. Commissioned by BoCA – Biennial of Contemporary Arts, the piece follows “the journey of an Afro-descendant man, born in Angola to Cape Verdean parents, who has lived in Portugal for over 40 years without ever obtaining Portuguese citizenship.”
“Adilson represents thousands of people left on the fringes of the system,” reads the opera’s synopsis. “The opera transforms waiting into poetry and makes invisibility an act of resistance. At the climax, a cry echoes beyond the stage: ‘I am not Portuguese. I am Portugal. A country waiting.'”
Dino D’Santiago’s first staging will have three performances at CCB before moving to Theatro Circo in Braga, marking the 50-year anniversary of the end of Portuguese colonial and military presence in African territories.
‘Só mais uma gaivota’ by Inês Barahona and Miguel Fragata, members of Formiga Atómica, follows at CCB on September 18 and runs until the 28th, with parallel events.
Inspired by the memory of Tchekhov’s ‘A Gaivota,’ staged at the end of Miguel Fragata’s Theater course, the play explores the “fate” of the actors who performed it 20 years later and “recovers fragments of characters, imagining the continuation of Act IV of the text.”
The performance accompanies the ‘Diverse Laridae’ residency and exhibition, inviting young artists to juxtapose the original text with today’s world, along with the documentary ‘Gaivotas em terra,’ featuring interviews with the actors from two decades ago.
The Teatro O Bando, celebrating its 50th anniversary on October 15, brings the ‘liberaLinda’ project to CCB, aiming to “revisit some moments” of the company’s history with fresh perspectives. The project includes an outdoor exhibition of 24 costumes, honoring the actors and designers who have been part of O Bando.
The installation ‘madruGada’ features a penetrable structure with slides referring to the 48 years of dictatorship, alongside the documentary ‘oKupação’ by Rui Simões, inspired by the theatrical occupation of TSF’s newsroom on April 24, 2014.
‘By the happy coincidence’ of sharing a birthday with Agustina Bessa-Luís, Teatro O Bando collaborated with Associação Setúbal Voz to create an operatic and theatrical performance directed by João Brites and scored by Jorge Salgueiro. ‘Agustinópolis’ interweaves a multitude of characters and situations from the author’s works. The performance is also an initiative of Mónica Baldaque, Agustina’s daughter, and the Agustina Bessa-Luís Centenary Organizing Committee.
The ‘occupation’ of CCB by O Bando begins on October 15. The premiere of ‘Agustinópolis’ is set for October 17, followed by two additional performances.
In theater, Raquel Castro’s ‘Ansioliticamente falando’ debuts on October 31, and Sergio Blanco’s ‘Tebas Land,’ the inaugural work of director Rubén Sabbadini’s ‘South American Trilogy’ focusing on “central texts of contemporary Latin American theater,” will be staged from November 13 to 16.
In dance, ‘hOLD’ by São Castro and Teresa Alves da Silva offers “a sensitive listening” on “aging not just as a biological issue, but a social construct,” debuting on October 9.
Until December, the Creative Affinities workshops with artists and groups like Gaya de Medeiros, Aurora Negra, and Os Possessos will take place.
A tribute to Peter Brook (1925-2022) on November 22 features a conversation with his son, filmmaker Simon Brook, and the screening of ‘Mahabharata,’ “the iconic cinematic adaptation of the Indian epic” staged by the director.
The complete schedule is available on the CCB website.
