Opera
The dead travel by metro
opera in one act with prelude
libretto by Armando Nascimento Rosa
Original title in Portuguese: Os mortos viajam de metro
Year: 2010
Characters: Young Suicidal Woman / Ophelia (soprano), Florbela Espanca (mezzo-soprano), Virginia Woolf (soprano), Agatha Christie (mezzo-soprano), Sylvia Plath (soprano) and Sarah Kane (soprano)
Detailed instrumentation: orchestra » 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubling english horn), 2 B-flat clarinets (2nd doubling B-flat bass clarinet), 2 bassoons; 2 horns in F, 2 trumpets in C, 1 tenor trombone; percussion (2 players: 1. tam-tam, 2 suspended cymbals, snare drum, tubular bells, triangle, 2 gongs and crotales; 2. 2 timpani [28’’ and 25’’ (plus an extra cymbal to place on the membrane)], vibraphone, bass drum, triangle, glockenspiel, whip, 2 suspended cymbals and 2 gongs); piano; violins I (4), violins II (4), violas (3), violoncellos (3) and double bass (1)
Duration: ca. 1: 05’
Dedication: to my parents, Alda and Carlos; to my sister, Inês
Commission: São Luiz Municipal Theatre / EGEAC, SA
Date and place of the premiere: 9th April 2010 - São Luiz Theatre (Lisbon)
Performers of the premiere: Portuguese Symphony Orchestra – João Paulo Santos, conductor
Raquel Alão (Young Suicidal Woman / Ophelia), Madalena Boléo (Florbela Espanca), Margarida Marecos (Virginia Woolf), Susana Teixeira (Agatha Christie), Sandra Medeiros (Sylvia Plath) and Sónia Alcobaça (Sarah Kane)
Paulo Matos (stage direction)
Other public performances:
10th and 11th April 2010 - São Luiz Theatre (Lisbon)
the same performers of the premiere
Radio programme: Na outra margem (7th April 2010), interview with Manuela Paraíso. Also with the participation of Armando Nascimento Rosa, João Paulo Santos and Paulo Matos.
part 1 part 2
Short synopsis
In a long since abandoned tube station, a Young Suicidal Woman wants to bring her life to an end with a revolver. She has lost the memory of who she is or who she was and is only driven by the all-consuming idea of her own suicide. In this underground metro station where trains no longer pass through, there are also other characters, but none of them knows what brings them there, to such an inhospitable spot. They are ghosts of female writers, whom have committed suicide: Florbela Espanca, Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath and Sarah Kane. Among them, is also Agatha Christie trying to solve the mystery. However, none of them knows the identity of the Young Suicidal Woman, which may offer the key to release them from this strange limbo, by which singing is the only means of communication with each other. In order to understand who this lonely young girl is it is necessary to decipher the name of their surroundings – namely the metro station. In this opera for six female singers, the connections between poetic creation and the urge for death are fictionalised in a serious and lyrical parody giving voice to feminine icons of our collective consciousness.
The two women of Sigmund Freud
short opera
libretto by Armando Nascimento Rosa
Original title in Portuguese: As duas mulheres de Sigmund Freud
Year: 2008
Characters: Martha Freud and Minna Bernays (sopranos)
Detailed instrumentation: 13 players » flute (doubling piccolo), oboe, B-flat clarinet (doubling bass clarinet), bassoon, horn in F, trumpet in C, trombone, percussion (1 player: tam-tam, 4 suspended cymbals, triangle and vibraphone), violin I, violin II, viola, violoncello and double bass
Duration: ca. 12’
Prizes: Prize Opera in Creation 2008 (S. Luiz Theatre - Lisbon)
Date and place of the premiere: 25th March 2008 – S. Luiz Theatre, Jardim de Inverno Room (Lisbon)
Performers of the premiere: Youth Symphony Orchestra – Christopher Bochmann, conductor; Margarida Marecos (Martha) and Nataša Šibalić (Minna), sopranos
Other public performances:
26th March 2008 – S. Luiz Theatre, Jardim de Inverno Room (Lisbon)
the same performers of the premiere
short opera
libretto by Armando Nascimento Rosa
Original title in Portuguese: As duas mulheres de Sigmund Freud
Year: 2008
Characters: Martha Freud and Minna Bernays (sopranos)
Detailed instrumentation: 13 players » flute (doubling piccolo), oboe, B-flat clarinet (doubling bass clarinet), bassoon, horn in F, trumpet in C, trombone, percussion (1 player: tam-tam, 4 suspended cymbals, triangle and vibraphone), violin I, violin II, viola, violoncello and double bass
Duration: ca. 12’
Prizes: Prize Opera in Creation 2008 (S. Luiz Theatre - Lisbon)
Date and place of the premiere: 25th March 2008 – S. Luiz Theatre, Jardim de Inverno Room (Lisbon)
Performers of the premiere: Youth Symphony Orchestra – Christopher Bochmann, conductor; Margarida Marecos (Martha) and Nataša Šibalić (Minna), sopranos
Other public performances:
26th March 2008 – S. Luiz Theatre, Jardim de Inverno Room (Lisbon)
the same performers of the premiere