The Marriage of Figaro
Marcos António da Fonsca Portugal (1762-1830), also known as Portogallo, was one of the most successful operatic composers of his time, with a career that took him from Portugal to Italy and eventually to Brazil. Born in Lisbon, he at first composed operas to Portuguese texts, before moving to Naples in 1792. Over the next seven years he wrote over twenty Italian operas, mostly comedies, many of which were widely performed from London to Dresden. Returning to Lisbon in 1800 he was appointed in charge of the music at the Royal Chapel and as Director of the Teatro de S. Carlos. These were tempestuous times however, and the Napoleonic invasion in 1807 forced the Portuguese court to transfer to Rio de Janeiro. Marcos Portugal remained in Lisbon until 1811 when he joined the court in Rio, resuming his post in the Chapel, and running the new Teatro de São João. His later career was devoted mostly to church music, and he remained in Brazil until his death.
Press
‘...a work among the most interesting and attractive Bampton have discovered Opera Now, Jan/Feb 2011
...every gesture carefully conceived, every word audible, and every note precise and true Opera, October 2010
...the uniformly excellent cast which Bampton Opera is so adept at gathering together The Oxford Times, 30 July 2010
The other ‘Marriage of Figaro’ Opera Today, October 2010
