Events | Maria de Buenos Aires Revisited offers a new approach to the renowned work of Astor Piazzolla

Maria de Buenos Aires Revisited is an artistic project that proposes a stage recreation of the work “Maria de Buenos Aires”. This project includes a series of performances with the participation of members of the Instituto de Etnomusicologia - Centro de Estudos em Música e Dança (INET-md), professors from the Universidade de Aveiro of Aveiro (UA) and the Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espetáculo (ESMAE-P.Porto), and other collaborating artists. Performances of the operetta are scheduled from November 2024 to January 2025.

The “Maria de Buenos Aires Revisited” project, funded by the Direação Geral das Artes (DGArtes), is a recreation of the Piazzolla-Ferrer operetta, as an alternative to conventional interpretations of this work, in a scenic dimension that takes into account the Portuguese reality and a better balance between the musical and textual aspects. Defying the fatality of the fragmentation imposed by the fixed structure of the 17 frames, the continuity of the work with its multiplicity of meanings is clarified through the interaction between music, dance, dramatic action, and the multimodal presentation of the poetic text.

The main character, María de Buenos Aires, will be played by dancer and actress Maria Belen Giachello, who will combine singing and dancing. The uniqueness of this project lies in the team's transdisciplinary work, which is evident in the staging, choreography, scenography, costumes, video-mapping, light and sound, and integration of various art forms. This project stands out for the collaboration between two institutions, UA and ESMAE/P.Porto, within the artistic research line of the Doctoral Program in Artistic Creation.

The shows feature an orchestra of 11 musicians, including students from both institutions and the prestigious bandoneonist Dario Polonara. The cast also includes a chorus of extras, actors, dancers, and the reciter António Durães. The artistic direction and staging are the responsibility of Jorge Salgado Correia, a researcher at INET-md and lecturer at the UA Department of Communication and Art, and António Salgado, a researcher at CESEM and lecturer at ESMAE/P.Porto. The choreography is led by Claúdia Marisa (ESMAE/P.Porto) and Maria Belen Giachello, while Carlos Neves (ESMAE-P.Porto) takes care of the set design and Manuela Bronze (ESMAE/P.Porto) the costumes. The project also collaborates with Rui Damas in light design, Miguel Canelhas in sound design, Hugo Mesquita in video design, and Ana Sousa in make-up.

Performance Set

November 2nd, 2024, 9h30 pm, Casa das Artes – Grande Auditório, Vila Nova de Famalicão
November 9th, 2024, 9h30 pm, Teatro Diogo Bernardes, Ponte de Lima
November 16h, 2024, 9h30 pm, Teatro Gil Vicente, Barcelos
November 21st, 2024, 9h 30pm, Auditório Municipal de Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto
January 25th , 2025, 9h30 pm, Auditório do Centro Cultural de Ílhavo, Aveiro