Marcos Portugal

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Marcos Portugal
Engraving of Marcos Portugal
Born
Marcos António da Fonseca Portugal

(1762-03-24)24 March 1762
Lisbon, Portugal
Died17 February 1830(1830-02-17) (aged 67)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Other namesMarco Portogallo
Occupation(s)Composer, organist

Marcos António da Fonseca Portugal (24 March 1762 – 17 February 1830), known as Marcos Portugal, or Marco Portogallo, was a Portuguese-born Brazilian classical composer, who achieved great international fame for his operas.[1]

Biography

Marcos António da Fonseca Portugal was born in

Demofoonte (premièred at La Scala, Milan, in 1794) and Artaserse; he set many stories that had been used before, including Serse, Alceste, Adrasto, Semiramide and Sofonisba
.

Page from Portugal's manuscript of Zaira (1802)

Marcos Portugal returned to Portugal in 1800. He became

São Carlos National Theatre in Lisbon and was appointed music master at the Patriarchal Seminary in Lisbon. He continued to write operas, mainly opere serie, and a large number of religious works, until the Prince Regent summoned him to the Portuguese colony of Brazil
in 1811. Upon arriving, Portugal was appointed music master to the sons and daughters of the Prince Regent and became the official Royal Composer.

He wrote mainly religious music until at least 1824, the date of his last known surviving autograph. In Portugal and Brazil, his reputation rests mainly on his religious music, a genre he cultivated throughout his life. He remained in Rio de Janeiro when the Portuguese Court returned to Portugal in 1821, and continuing in the employ of his pupil, the First Emperor of Brazil, D. Pedro, as he had previously served his father, King John VI of Portugal. He died as a Brazilian citizen in Rio de Janeiro in 1830.

He authored the first official national anthems of Portugal (Hymno Patriótico, 1809) and Brazil (Hino da Independência, 1822).

In 2010, Bampton Classical Opera presented the UK première of Portugal's The Marriage of Figaro. On Site Opera produced this work's North American premiere in 2016.[2] In 2023, In the Mateus Palace announced the return of the opera Le donne cambiate from Marcos Portugal as the most affirmative milestone of the XXXI edition of the International Summer Meetings.[3] The performance had an international cast, musical direction of Ricardo Bernardes and stage direction of Nicolás Isasi.[4] It was the first time that it was performed with period instruments and in a Portuguese version together with the Mateus Baroque Orchestra at the Teatro de Vila Real.[5]

References

  1. ^ Marques, António Jorge. "PORTUGAL, Marcos António". Caravelas. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Review: Following Figaro From Room to Room in a Townhouse" by Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times, 15 June 2016
  3. ^ "AS DAMAS TROCADAS | Ópera de Marcos Portugal". www.casademateus.pt.
  4. ^ Clarín.com (2023-07-12). "Un joven director de ópera argentino, en conexión con Borges, estrena en Portugal". Clarín (in Spanish).
  5. ^ Ferreira, Diana (2023-07-20). "As Damas Trocadas: estreia moderna de ópera de Marcos Portugal, em Vila Real". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marcos Portugal.

External links

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