Music Theatre Festival: Cartographies in Motion (2nd edition)

The Music Theatre Festival: ‘Cartographies in Motion’ is an international music theatre festival based in Lisbon, Portugal, dedicated to exploring the intersections of music, theatre, movement/dance and contemporary performance. Its second edition will take place from 9 to 19 June 2027, under the artistic direction and curatorship of Filipa Magalhães. The Festival aims to rediscover, reimagine and bring to the stage significant works from the history of music theatre, while engaging with contemporary artistic practices and new creations. Particular attention is given to works developed during the 1970s and 1980s, a period of remarkable experimentation that challenged conventional boundaries between musical composition and theatrical performance. In Portugal, this artistic movement was strongly influenced by the pioneering work of composer Constança Capdeville, whose interdisciplinary approach continues to inspire new generations of artists. By revisiting historical works and placing them in dialogue with contemporary creations, the Festival seeks to demonstrate the continuing vitality and relevance of music theatre. 

The title ’Cartographies in Motion' reflects the Festival's ambition to trace a European map of music theatre, bringing together composers and performers who have shaped the genre and those who continue to transform it today. Each work explores its own artistic territory between sound, body, space and theatrical action, contributing to an evolving landscape of artistic encounters and exchanges. A defining feature of the Festival is its close relationship with academic research. Rather than treating historical works as fixed objects, it approaches archives as living resources for artistic experimentation. Scores, recordings, documents and other performance materials become starting points for processes of reconstruction, reinterpretation and re-performance. The Festival also seeks to document these creative processes, generating new knowledge about performance practices, artistic memory and the transmission of experimental works across generations. 

The 2027 programme brings together Portuguese and international artists through performances, new productions and encounters with composers. It includes works by Constança Capdeville, Heiner Goebbels, Carlos Alberto Augusto, Jocy de Oliveira, Manos Tsangaris and Carola Bauckholt, reflecting a diversity of approaches to contemporary music theatre. Performances will take place at several cultural venues, including São Luiz Teatro Municipal in Lisbon, the National Museum of Music in Mafra and BOTA Anjos in Lisbon. Through these partnerships, the Festival aims to reach different audiences and encourage dialogue between artistic communities, institutions and the public. International collaboration is central to the Festival's identity. By bringing together artists, ensembles, researchers and cultural organisations from different countries, ‘Cartographies in Motion’ fosters cross-border exchange, interdisciplinary experimentation and new opportunities for artistic cooperation. Above all, the Festival seeks to create a space where artistic heritage and contemporary creativity meet: a living cartography in which music theatre is continuously rediscovered, questioned and reinvented through performance.