Secret Life of Thing & Last Movement Francisco Lima da Silva (1992) & Pedro Laranjeira Finisterra (1994)

A great night with opera of today at the 5th Maratona Ópera XXI competition!

The 5th edition of the Maratona Ópera XXI contemporary opera competition offers a double bill of exciting opera, with the world premiere of works by talented young composers Francisco Lima da Silva and Pedro Laranjeira Finisterra, based on the original librettos by Miguel Castro Caldas. One is about an artificial intelligence platform about to be discontinued – a robot that breaks hearts wherever it goes –, another about a local accommodation tenant who has an affair with his landlady, in a gentrified world, and amid a strike during the Farewell Symphony. Where will they go?

Only one will be the winner of the Maratona Ópera XXI competition in its 5th edition and will win the Carlos de Pontes Leça Prize.

Which is your favorite?

Secret Life of Thing

Eve, an artificial intelligence platform about to be discontinued, is confronted with human reality in a city occupied by slaves coming from abroad to serve the “masters” who come on vacation. Suddenly, it seems to have the ability to develop something new within itself, like a plant that blossoms into a flower. As always, love will overcome all barriers.

Last Movement

A local accommodation tenant is having an affair with his landlady. Her husband is jealous, and while they argue over who should leave and who should stay, they realize that they are inside the orchestra playing Joseph Haydn's Farewell Symphony, the one in which, in the last movement, the musicians leave the stage as they end their performance as a form of protest. Where are they going?

More about the Maratona Ópera XXI Competition