The great celebration of opera returns for its 7th edition, from August 5 to September 11, across Oeiras and Lisbon, under the banner of the “enigma”, celebrating the centenary of Puccini’s unfinished opera Turandot and Portuguese contemporary opera creation.

Born during the pandemic, the festival led by soprano Catarina Molder and produced by Ópera do Castelo returns for its 7th edition with great classics, world premieres, new formats, the contemporary opera competition Maratona Ópera XXI, alongside Cine-Opera screenings, conferences, masterclasses and workshops. A stimulating programme that combines tradition and avant-garde, continuously reaching new audiences and proposing new paths for opera.

The festival opens in Oeiras, in the unique setting of the Convento da Cartuxa in Caxias, with Turandot, Giacomo Puccini’s final opera and one of the grandest operas ever written, celebrating its centenary in an original production from the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, staged by Daniela Kerck and conducted by Osvaldo Ferreira with an outstanding cast.

Also featured is Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, staged by Mónica Garnel and conducted by Pedro Carneiro.

In Lisbon, the programme includes the world premiere of the performances Anátema, bringing together Catarina Molder and dancer/choreographer Tânia Carvalho in celebration of Camilo Castelo Branco, and Enigma Mist Nothing by Gustavo Sumpta.

Cine-Opera at the Cinemateca Portuguesa, conferences linked to this year’s programme at the Âmbito Cultural El Corte Inglés.

Closing this edition are the world premieres of two operas in the 5th edition of the contemporary opera competition Maratona Ópera XXI: Secret Life of Thing by Francisco Lima da Silva and Last Movement by Pedro Finisterra, staged by Rita Calçada Bastos and conducted by Diogo Costa at Teatro Camões.