Programme

Enigma

The 7th edition of Operafest revolves around the theme of the enigma, celebrating the centenary of Puccini's unfinished opera Turandot and contemporary Portuguese opera creation!

From birth to death and from the beginnings of life, our existence is marked by the attempt to decipher enigmas. Find keys to open closed doors, open new paths, news understanding in yourselves and in the world, in search of answers.

This “enigmatic” edition kicks off in Oeiras, in the unique setting of the Cloisters of the Cartuxa Convent - Caxias, in the outskirts of Lisbon, transformed into an open-air opera hall…

With excellent acoustic conditions, metamorphosing into Ancient China to host Turandot (1926), the last unfinished opera by the master of emotion Giacomo Puccini, in celebration of his centenary, in co-production with Philharmonic Portuguese Orchestra.

One of the greatest repertoire operas of all time, centered on solving the enigma as a factor of survival, with a great cast starring the acclaimed Russian soprano Olesya Golavenva, who has given outstanding performances in this role, the Mexican tenor Rodrigo Garull, under the musical direction of maestro Osvaldo Ferreira, bringing to Portugal the original production of the Hessisches Staastheater in Wiesbaden, premiered in 2024, with the staging of Daniela Kerck, who returns to Lisbon after the successful national premieres of Vanessa by Samule Baber and Julie by Philippe Boesmans, in the last edition of the festival.

Still in the Cartuxa Convent, Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro (1786), with the deliciously scathing humor of Lorenzo da Ponte's libretto, based on the work of Beaumarchais, around complex human relationships and desires, full of betrayals and deceit, weaving social criticism of the abuse of the wealthier classes, always current. This great classic with Mozart's unique music, has a cast of outstanding national talent, under the direction of maestro Pedro Carneiro, staged by Mónica Garnel, with the Portuguese Chamber Orchestra, who return to Mozart after their memorable Magic Flute.

Back in Lisbon, as part of the Ópera Satélite cycle, the performance Anátema celebrates the bicentenary of Portuguese novelist Camilo Castelo Branco, evoking central themes of his work, such as atonement and sacrifice, bringing together soprano Catarina Molder and dancer and choreographer Tânia Carvalho, at Lisbon's Teatro Romano. In the Estúdio Valentim de Barros room, the festival once again challenges the multifaceted artist Gustavo Sumpta, this time to explore the theme of this edition of Operafest with the performance Enigma Mist Nothing. In Âmbito Cultural El Corte Ingés the conferences Turandot: femme fatale of Puccini? and Love & Arsenic: Chemistry behind the opera scenes by João Paulo André, professor at the University of Minho and scientific communicator who has explored intersections between science and arts and in particular chemistry with opera and Mozart and the marital crimes by the great radio broadcaster and opera communicator, Jorge Rodrigues.

The cine-opera, in partnership with the Cinemateca Portuguesa, around the multiple contagions between cinema and opera, proposes a cinematographic version with extraspherical interpreters such as Plácido Domingo, Katia Ricciarelli and Ghena Dimitrova, by Franco Zeffirelli from the opera Turandot (1983), the paradigmatic film Aria (1987) in which ten great directors build disconcerting narratives around well-known arias from the great operatic repertoire. And also Fellini's masterpiece, evoking the figure of the diva and all the Italian eccentricity of the opera itself in E la nave va (1983) and ending with Miloš Forman's remarkable film Amadeus (1984), which gives us back a passionate and tragic Mozart, sharing with the general public the troubled and short life of the Austrian genius.

The Laboratory Opera XXI - a platform for today's opera, which focuses on the training, professionalization and dynamization of contemporary opera, with several initiatives that take place throughout the year, aimed at professionals and students in the sector, also intersecting with Operafest, proposes a set of activities aimed at singers: Singing Masterclasses to deepen vocal technique and interpretation and Building Singing Characters, a stage construction workshop aimed at singers, by actress and director Mónica Garnel, with the final presentation of the exercises, worked excerpts.

Crowning this edition, at Teatro Camões, the contemporary opera competition, Maratona Ópera XXI, offers two exciting operas, in absolute premiere, by two young composers selected in 2025, based on two librettos commissioned for this purpose from the playwright Miguel Castro Caldas, who makes his debut in this genre, evoking themes of our present and future reality with Castro Caldas’ unique touch of humor. Secret Life of Thing by Francisco Lima da Silva, around issues raised by Artificial Intelligence and digital service platforms, and Last Movement by Pedro Laranjeira Finisterra, evoking the effects of gentrification and growing dehumanization of cities, stripped of their population. Both composers also obtained composition scholarships, and the best opera will be awarded the Maratona Ópera XXI Prize. The production also marks the debut of actress and director Rita Calçada Bastos in staging an opera, with the musical direction of Diogo Costa.