Coliseu will present 150 shows throughout this year

The Coliseu Porto Ageas presented its programme for this year, highlighting the debut, in Portugal, of one of the best contemporary circus companies in the world – Les 7 Doigts de la Main, with "Passagers". About 150 shows have been planned until December, including concerts of all genres, dances, theatre, opera, dance, comedy, children's shows, and, of course, the Christmas Circus.

Among the main highlights, the programme also includes an opera by Philip Glass, the return of the National Dance Company, and musical tours. The Coliseu's own programme will focus on national lyrical and symphonic productions, several as total debuts, taking advantage of the special uses of the main room, as well as the tradition and experience gained in 81 years of history. There are 13 different proposals, from classical to contemporary, crossing different artistic disciplines: staged opera, symphonic and symphonic choir concerts, dances with live music, lyrical musical theatre and electroacoustic opera, and even an opera festival.

When it comes to dance, the Coliseu is integrating proposals with symphonic live music. We highlight the return of the National Ballet Company (NBC), with two large-scale projects that showcase the company's classic and contemporary facets, and always with live music. On June 16, the programme brings together two choreographers who, with different approaches, propose works on the symbiotic relationship between dance and music: Miguel Ramalho's Symphony of Sorrows, with music by Henryk Górecki, and Mauro Bigonzetti's "Cantata", a piece that had its world debut in Lisbon in 2001 at the Ballet Gulbenkian. At the Coliseu on October 13, the NBC stages August Bournonville's "La Sylphide", considered to be the first romantic ballet in the history of dance.

There are plenty of Promenade Concerts and, of course, the circus

Regarding classical music, two very different proposals are presented: on March 17, maestro António Victorino d'Almeida returns to the Coliseu to, together with Mário Laginha, present "Improvisação a dois Pianos”; on May 12, Europe Day, the Portuguese Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Osvaldo Ferreira, debuts the concert "Mitos da Europa".

In musical theatre, the Coliseu will present one of the main political theatre musical pieces written in the United States: “The Cradle Will Rock” by Marc Blitzstein, the contemporary composer from Brecht.

With kids and families in mind, and continuing with tradition, the Concertos Promenade 2.0 cycle is returning. With artistic direction by conductor Cesário Costa, the new cycle will include emblematic works such as “The Four Seasons” by Vivaldi or “My Mother Goose” by Maurice Ravel. One Sunday a month (starting on February 19), in a relaxed environment, kids and adults are invited to enter the settings of the pieces and discover all the fun facts, with the comments by musicologist Jorge Castro Ribeiro and Sara Botelho's multimedia design.

Part of the Coliseu's genesis, and where it becomes increasingly innovative, the circus highlights the national debut of the contemporary circus company Les 7 Doigts de la Main, on February 11, with the show "Passagers" and, later in the year, the already traditional Christmas Circus.

In addition to their own programme, and already confirmed, Xutos e Pontapés, Jorge Palma, Aurea, Valete, Pedro Abrunhosa, and Canto Nono, with a tribute to José Mário Branco, as well as The Waterboys, Meute, Martinho da Vila, Orochi, Ana Carolina, or Emicida, among others, will also be having shows at the Coliseu.