IPP – ESMAE/ESE

CESEM – P PORTO is a branch formed by several professors of the Polytechnic Institute of Porto. It is housed in its own room in the Library of the Polytechnic Institute of Porto (Instituto Politécnico do Porto – IPP). The following research projects are currently underway:

1. Inventory, cataloging and digitization of the Music Fund of the Former Museum of Ethnography and History – Porto. At the outset, it is important to preserve and disseminate an important musical collection that is in the possession of the Regional Northern Culture Directorate, which contains manuscripts by composers Lucien Lambert (1861-1945) and Hernâni Torres (1881-1939). For the implementation of the project a protocol was signed with the Regional Northern Culture Directorate.

2. “The old S. João Theater of Porto (1798-1908): heritage and theatrical culture in the North of Portugal”. The objective of this research project was to study the activity of the main theater in Porto during the 19th century in an interdisciplinary perspective, bringing together an architect, theater historians and musicologists. Between 29 and 30 September 2017 the colloquium “The old theater of São João do Porto (1798.1908): History cultures and policies of the operatic and theatrical spectacle in the long 19th century” was held at the National Theater of S. João (https://cesem.fcsh.unl.pt/event/coloquio-o-velho-teatro-de-sao-joao-do-porto-1798-1908/). The publication of the book The Old Theater of S. João (1798-1908): theater and music in Porto from the long 19th century (c. 350 pp., Illustrations), coordinated by Luísa Cymbron and Ana Isabel Vasconcelos, is expected until mid 2020. This is a joint publication by CESEM and Edições Afrontamento, with the support of the Teatro Nacional de S. João.

3. The practice of the canon as a learning tool: A didactic approach to the teaching and interpretation of Renaissance polyphony, a project developed by Pedro Sousa Silva. [See Project Website]

4. The Performer and the Communication of E-motion in Lyrical Singing: study of Biosignals involved in the induction of emotional content conveyed during the performance of singing. Based in the research of Biosignals, and by using the person-machine interaction as an aid in the measurement process, this project aims to investigate how emotional content is conveyed through the lyrical singing. The main objective of this study is to collect Biosignals (EDA – Electrodermal Activity) through a BITalino type device, which will allow to measure the induction of emotions conveyed through the performance of the lyrical singing both in the public and in the performer.

5. MARCOS PORTUGAL – LA DONNA DI GENIO VOLUBILE: This opera was composed by Marcos Portugal for the Teatro San Moisè in Venice, and premiered there on October 5, 1796. Two years later, it took the stage in Genoa and Dresden. The Portuguese premiere took place in Lisbon, at the Teatro de São Carlos, on November 23, 1799, the year in which it would also be sung in Barcelona, at the Teatro Principal and in Milan, at the Teatro alla Canobiana. In 1801, he joined the lyrical season of Teatro Caños del Peral, in Madrid. In the year that marks the 220th anniversary of the inauguration and the 110th anniversary of the fire of the first Teatro de S. João, La Donna di Genio Volubile returns to Porto, to the successor of the theater where he came on the scene, on November 19, 1805. He adds that of all his operas, it was La donna di genio volubile that had the greatest reach, with about 80 productions in Italy and the rest of Europe, over more than 20 years. The premiere of the opera by Marcos Portugal is made by the score used in 1805, copied and offered by soprano Carolina Grifoni, prima donna of the lyrical company of S. João, to Viscondessa de Balsemão, D. Maria Rosa Brandão Alvo Godinho Perestrelo Pereira de Azevedo . The score, the only handwritten copy of the opera in Portugal, belonged to the Sociedade Filarmónica Portuense (1840-1880), the most prominent concert society in Porto in the mid nineteenth century. The merger of Sociedade Filarmónica with Club Portuense, in 1880, led him to keep all the musical assets of the Philharmonic, which he has kept in his archives until today (Ana Liberal). The autograph score did not survive and the libretto (text) of the original production reproduces the original version. Subsequent copies of the song, as well as later editions of the libretto, are all from the revised version, but still introduce other changes (on purpose or by mistake). For these reasons, the establishment of a reliable modern edition requires the use of multiple sources, both text and music. The main musical source used for this edition is a handwritten score, in two volumes, which is kept at Clube Portuense. Having been copied in Lisbon, at the Teatro de S. Carlos, it will have been used for production in Porto, at the Teatro de S. João, in 1805. We also used manuscripts in Dresden and Madrid. As for the text, it was necessary to use five editions (Venice 1796, Florence 1797, Lisbon 1799, Rovigo 1803 and Porto 1805) in order to clarify questions of text, punctuation and scenic directions. The editing was carried out by Tiago Videira, under our guidance, under the Marcos Portugal Project (David Cranmer). The modern premiere took place on July 6 and 7, 2018, at the current National Theater of São João, in Porto, under the artistic direction of António Salgado, staged by António Durães and the musical direction by José Eduardo Gomes. The soloist roles were performed by ESMAE students of the post graduated opera course and by the students of music degree in singing; the orchestra made up of ESMAE students of music; ESMAE stage direction, ESMAE costumes, ESMAE Set design, and ESMAE Light design. The production of the opera was a co-production between ESMAE and the TNSJ. The first of these performances was recorded and filmed by ESMAE Audiovisual Services, and a DVD was edited under the coordination of Marco Conceição. Currently, the project works on the critical edition of the full score and of the vocal score of the opera La Donna di Genio Volubile by Marcos Portugal.