The fourth edition of the Festival «Cidades Invisíveis», which will have the Barcelona theme, is the most relevant event of the new season of the Municipal Theater of Portimão (Tempo), which starts tonight with the concert «Carlos do Carmo canta Ary dos Santos». almost exhausted.
The festival is scheduled for October 19th to 29th, and will feature, for example, the presentation in Portimão, an absolute debut in Portugal, by the Catalan company amchàtka, which presents a show that mixes music, theater and a new circus.
Another highlight is the Transit Dansa Dance Company, by choreographer Maria Rovira, which won the Spanish National Dance Award, for the cinema by Ventura Pons and the photography by Lluís Bussé.
After Buenos Aires, Istanbul and Dublin, this edition of the festival “Cidades Invisíveis” proposes a trip to the literary Barcelona of Eduardo Mendoza, author of “A Cidade dos Prodígios.
The Festival also includes a contemporary/flamenco dance workshop with the Catalan dancer and choreographer Maria Rovira, a show photography workshop with the Portuguese photographer Susana Paiva.
"We're going to have two shows that are typical of big cities, like Barcelona, Paris, London," explained João Ventura, director of Tempo, in an interview with Sul Informação.
"This will allow the public in the Algarve to have a taste of Barcelona's Grec Festival, which is one of the most important performing arts festivals in Europe," he added.
Closing the festival, on October 29th, will be in Portimão Toni Puig, who will present, throughout the day, the conference «Barcelona, the history of a city that jumped from almost nothing to the first division».
Toni Puig was linked to the renewal and affirmation of Barcelona in the world panorama, namely with the Olympic Games or with a bet on Gaudi. A conference in which this Catalan specialist will try to explain how to redesign a city-brand in times of crisis, after all, such an important issue not only for Portimão, but for the Algarve in general.
New season starts today with Carlos do Carmo
But the Tempo program starts this Friday, September 14th, with the concert «Carlos do Carmo sings Ary dos Santos», in which one of the most prestigious Portuguese singers pays homage to a great poet and lyricist of the XNUMXth century.
In the show, scheduled for 21:30 pm at the Grand Auditorium Nuno Mergulhão, Carlos do Carmo will review memorable themes that brought together the two artists, with ticket prices varying between 20 and 22 euros.
Also in September, at 21 pm on the 30th, Quorum Ballet returns to Tempo to present Daniel Cardoso's latest creation, “The Elements”, with tickets for €29 and €10.
Music is a strong presence this season and, to welcome autumn, there's nothing better than the “Piano Trilogy”, which brings together three of the most renowned Portuguese pianists.
Solo, always at 21 pm, Mário Laginha (October 30th), Pedro Burmester (November 6th) and António Pinho Vargas (December 10th) guarantee three unique concerts and a set of themes that mark the uniqueness of each one, at a cost tickets for each of these great concerts between 15 and 18 euros.
Still in the field of music, but allied to movement, the Oficina do Espetador do Tempo presents «Som com Cores», an electronic music concert for babies, where the sound universes are associated with dance and image projection, in three sessions: two for schools, at 9:30 am and 10:30 am on October 12th, and one for families, on October 13th at 16:00 pm at the Black Box, with prices starting at €4 for children and €6 for adults.
On November 23, at 21 pm, Ana Moura will be at the Grande Auditorio do Tempo to present her new album, with tickets at 30 and 15 euros.
Still at the end of November, and with the end of the first term approaching, Oficina do Espetador presents “Sopa Cloud”, a gastronomic thriller that combines theater, cinema, music and a soup that is cooked live and served by family to families.
“Sopa Cloud” is aimed at children over 8 years old and includes two sessions: the one on November 30, at 14:30 pm, aimed at schools; the one on December 1st at 16 pm is for families, with prices of 00 euros for children and 4 euros for adults.
Also in the Grand Auditorium, Tempo hosts on November 27, at 21 pm, “The Swan Lake” by the Russian Classical Ballet, which will return on December 30 to present another classic, “The Nutcracker”, with tickets between 12 and 25 euros.
Bet on local creation but don't neglect what comes from abroad
«Despite the difficulties that are known to all, this program for the last four months of 2012 turned out to be interesting», guarantees João Ventura.
«It is a program that is in line with the initial concept of this Municipal Theater, which goes through a diversified program. That's why we'll have theatre, new circus, classical music, non-classical music, ballet, dance, fado, shows for children and families. There will be a little of everything», he adds.
In addition, underlines the director of Tempo, “there will also be an articulation between the local and what comes from outside, with a cosmopolitan vision of what the programming of a theater should be”.
This commitment to the connection to the site begins precisely today, with the exhibition on Associativism in Portimão, by the local Parish Council.
As part of the partnership between Tempo and the Junta de Portimão, the large auditorium will once again be the stage for the presentation of the new work «Cortes e Recortes», by the Senior Theater Group, scheduled for the 16th and 17th of November .
In connection with the venue, emphasis is also given to the presentation, on September 22, between 15:30 pm and 23:30 pm, of the LATA project «Show what you have». With the participation of Rafael Correia (GI Joe), Roundhouse Kick (Igor & Adriana), Etic Algarve, Vasco Fortes, Matizz, PAL+, and journalist João Tiago as mediator, «Show that you have» is a presentation event by the LATA collective , a project of local creatives from different artistic areas, which aims to support and streamline creation, especially in the area of music and visual arts.
Rafael Correia/GI Joe (machines) and Emmy Curl (voice) make up the group «Deep:Her», whose first album will be released on October 31 (21:30) at the Small Auditorium, with tickets for 5 euros. It is also an Algarve project.
On November 3rd, the stage of the Grand Auditorium receives another edition of the 4th Festival Acústico Alvor FM, which brings together names with national projection and bands that stand out in the Algarve region.
Also in the region, on October 13th The Algarve Theater Company (ACTA) presents its new play «Carta a um Santo», performed by Glória Fernandes and Luis de A. Miranda, with tickets for 5 euros.
Proximity and low costs
Closing the season, the highlight is the photography exhibition «Vizinhos», scheduled to open on December 11, a project by Patrícia Canha, produced by the Municipal Theater of Portimão.
«We want to be a theater of proximity, not only from a geographical point of view, because we are in the city center and because, whenever there are shows here in Tempo, we really contribute to energize this area, its restaurants and cafes, bringing people to these streets, but also with an affective proximity», explained João Ventura.
«We went to photograph our neighbors – the pharmacy, the hairdresser, the barber, the people who live here beside us – in a tribute to our neighbors, who are close to us, who treat us well and who are often our audience. It is our project, the responsibility of Patrícia Canha and it is an innovative project for a theater. We want to know who lives next to us, as these people can be our partners and our communicators».
With a strong and diversified schedule, in times of crisis and budgetary restraint, how can all this be sustained?
"We put our imagination to work", guaranteed the director of Tempo. "Companies and artists know the difficult times we are living in and that is why the box office is the support of shows even by renowned names such as Carlos do Carmo, Ana Moura, Pedro Burmester or even Catalan companies," he added.
«In the case of Quorum Ballet, for example, which also comes to the box office, they risk coming here because, on social networks, the Algarve spectators demonstrated that they really liked their previous presentation», he said. «We take little risk, it's the artists who take the risk, but obviously we're interested in it going well, because that way other artists can come here. We spend a minimum of resources to make this program, which is a reference for any municipal theater».
This demonstrates, stresses João Ventura, "that, despite everything, it is possible and that the crisis must not bring us down."
«The big expense, the big investment in the Municipal Theater has been made, was its construction. Now, we make our contribution to the city, creating a program that people can enjoy. And we demonstrate that, with little, you can have active spaces».
«We do this so that the people of the city of Portimão feel proud and say: my land has a Municipal Theater that works well, which, despite the crisis, has a program with its feet firmly on the ground and with little cost», concluded João Ventura.
How to buy tickets?
All tickets can be purchased at the Tempo ticket office from Tuesday to Saturday, from 14:00 pm to 19:00 pm, and on show days from 14:00 pm to 21:30 pm. For more information or reservations: 282 402 475 / 961 579 917, or through the website: www.teatromunicipaldeportimao.pt.
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