On May 19, the Universidade Aberta will host the premiere of the biographical documentary “Mestres e Sons Lusitanos” about the Portuguese composer Marcos Portugal, which will be screened in the Salão Nobre of the Palácio Ceia at 6:30 pm. The preview will feature CESEM researchers Mafalda Nejmeddine, author of the documentary, and António Jorge Marques, host of the session. Registration at ceg.estudosglobais@uab.pt.

The documentary is part of the series “Mestres e Sons Lusitanos”, a six-part series about the most famous Portuguese composers who marked the history of Portuguese music in the era of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. This episode takes us on a journey through the past to discover the life and work of Marcos Portugal, a composer from Lisbon who was always at the service of the royal family and whose life and career were affected by the great events in Portugal’s history at the beginning of the 19th century. Marcos Portugal travelled twice to Italy, where he gained fame with his operas. He lived through the Spanish and French invasions of the transition from the 18th to the 19th century. The film tells how the composer gave in to Napoleon’s demands and the circumstances of his move to Brazil, where he lived the last years of his life as a celebrity.

Technical file
Author and interviews: Mafalda Nejmeddine
Production and direction: Fouad Nejmeddine
A series of: AcademyOn
Support: Portuguese Republic – Culture | Directorate-General for the Arts
Organisation/Partners: AcademyOn, Unipessoal Lda; Universidade Aberta; Centro de Estudos Globais – Universidade Aberta; CESEM – Polo Universidade de Évora; IN2PAST; Universidade de Évora.