The Darcos Season 2023 – 16th Edition
A UNION THROUGH MUSIC
The 16th edition will debut with the most ambitious project of the Season, Europe Symphony, which began in 2016 and aims to bring prestigious European orchestras to Portugal. In 2023, Europa Sinfónica will feature the first visit to Portugal of the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra, one of the oldest and most prestigious European musical ensembles, and the Orchestra of Tuscany, the capital institution of that Italian region based in Florence, also in a national premiere. These two programmes will have as soloists the acclaimed Portuguese artists António Rosado and Eduarda Melo, with musical direction by Nuno Côrte-Real.
The fusion project between Fado and Afghan traditional music, Lisbon-Kabul: music itineraries of wonder, will be presented at Maria Matos Theatre, through the collaboration between Ensemble Darcos and ANIM (Afghanistan National Music Institute), with Fado singer Marco Oliveira and guitarist Miguel Amaral. According to the founder and director of ANIM, Dr. Ahmad Sarmast, dozens of young Afghan students fled the terrible Taliban regime, travelling 6,592 kilometres in order to have a future, and for traditional Afghan music to survive. The concert will aim to unite the two cultures through music and celebrate peace.
In this edition, the Folias project is presented, the third book of the series for choir and instruments, Novíssimo Cancioneiro, by Nuno Côrte-Real, this time entirely dedicated to Portuguese dances, a rich and varied repertoire that needs to be revitalised in order to have a greater artistic presence on the contemporary scene, and also the premiere of the project of aesthetic fusion between jazz and classical, Nas asas do indefinido, with the Ensemble Darcos and the international Portuguese singer, Maria Mendes, seeking paths of fusion and discovery between those two distinct worlds.
In partnership with the Estoril Lisbon Festival, a concert will be held to launch the new album of the Ensemble Darcos, Florbela Porter, with music by Cole Porter, George Gershwin and Nuno Côrte-Real, published by Artway Records.
In partnership with the University of Lisbon, the season will present a series of chamber and symphonic concerts in various venues of the University, namely the Amphitheatre of the National Museum of Natural History and Science, the Main Hall of the Rectory and the Aula Magna. The chamber concerts will be performed by the Darcos Ensemble and the soloists Sérgio Carolino and Vicente Alberola will be guests.
The Season also offers a musical programme for the youngest with the project “Lagarto Pintado” (after the CD edited in 2019). A journey through the musical imaginary of the popular Portuguese children’s songbook, with original music and arrangements by Nuno Côrte-Real and a fantastic story narrated by Diana Vaz, with scenic design by Catarina Rôlo Salgueiro.
There will also be master classes with Vicente Alberola (clarinet), Lara Martins (singing – musical theatre), Telmo Costa (clarinet) and Sérgio Carolino (tuba), the first edition of the Darcos International Composition Prize, and an innovative musical workshop for the visually impaired and partially sighted, “Art without Limits”.
The 16th edition of the Darcos Season will continue to follow the line that has guided previous editions: great music, great performers, but always seeking points of contact between different traditions, favouring eclecticism and inclusion. It presents new challenges, national and international circulation, absolute premieres (Sara Ross, Telmo Marques and Anne Victorino D’Almeida) and an important work of archiving and divulging the Portuguese musical heritage within and beyond borders.