Librettist: Sérgio Azevedo
Libretto based on the tale The Nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen
Date: 2023
Language: Portuguese
Duration: 50 minutes
Large-scale
Nightingale/Mechanical Nightingale: high coloratura soprano
Emperor: bass‑baritone
Master of Ceremonies/Music Master/Clockmaker: buffo baritone
Courtiers/Ghosts: chorus
Once upon a time there was a Chinese emperor who thought he knew everything there was to know about his immense empire.
Once upon a time there was a nightingale who sang so beautifully that everyone knew of this wonder – except the Emperor.Once upon a time there was an Emperor who, furious at being the only one who knew nothing about this wonderful bird, resolved to have it all for himself.
And that is how the nightingale turned into a singing machine, without soul or heart.
Ah, and once upon a time there was Death, the only thing against which the Emperor’s power was useless. Unless…
…once upon a time there was a little bird that only wanted to sing in freedom.
2 Fl (Picc) | 2 Ob | 2 Cl (Cl Eb / Bcl) | 2 Bsn (Cbsn) | 2 Hn | Tpt C | T / B Tbn | 2 Perc | Timp | Pf (Cel) | Hp | 8 Vln I | 6 Vln II | 4 Vla | 4 Vc | 2 Cb
Date: 2024
Venue: Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisbon
Commission: Teatro Nacional de São Carlos
Stage Direction: Mário João Alves
Music Direction: João Paulo Santos
Cast: Ana Sofia Ventura, Christian Luján, Diogo Oliveira, Gabriel Silva, Martim Galamba, Chorus of the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos and Portuguese Symphony Orchestra
