Other Worlds: Sound Journeys for a summer that goes beyond the Classical

Cistermúsica — Alcobaça Music Festival opens windows to other sounds, from Jazz to Pop-Rock, to Bossa Nova

There are ‘other worlds’ that only music can reveal — made of emotion, unlikely encounters and soundscapes that awaken the senses. After presenting the Main Programme for the 33rd edition of the Alcobaça Music Festival, anchored in classical music, it is now time to discover Other Worlds: a programme that, without ever disconnecting from its classical roots, opens up to creative freedom and the crossing of genres, geographies and forms of expression.

Let's start at the end: crowning the more than 50 concerts planned, the last chapter of the festival takes place on 2 August at 9.30 pm, with a closing concert and tribute to the music of Coldplay. The Vocal Emotion project revives the soul of songs that have marked generations and, after selling out the Coliseums, now brings to the Cloister of Rachadouro do Montebelo Mosteiro de Alcobaça Historic Hotel the vibrant energy of British pop performed by 50 voices, with a string quartet and rock band.

Another highlight of this journey through Other Worlds is the transatlantic bridge promised by the Bossarenova project, led by Paula Morelenbaum. The heiress to an unavoidable name in the history of Brazilian music and the striking voice of Bossa Nova is joined by virtuosos Ralf Schmid (piano) and Joo Kraus (trumpet). The trio — which will feature António Zambujo as a special guest — will present the programme Atlântico na Cerca do Mosteiro de Alcobaça on 25 July at 9.30 pm, celebrating names such as Tom Jobim, João Donato and Ivan Lins in a concert that intertwines tradition and innovation.

The musical exploration continues on 26 July, at 9.30 pm, in the Monastery Refectory, with the BallArte Ensemble and the programme La Balena, an invitation to inhabit a fable through baroque and electronic music, performance and immersive scenography. A whale asleep on top of the mountain triggers a spectacle of magical realism, where the audience is both accomplice and traveller.

This programme also makes room for the contemporary jazz of João Rosa Quinteto, with the Chaos of Changes programme on 12 July at 11.30 p.m. at Armazém das Artes, and extends outdoors with the Bosque lounge, ‘in the shadow’ of the Monastery. There are four free concerts that punctuate Saturday evenings: the jazz language of the group Estardalhaço da Geringonça, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the album Old Tradition New Ignition (5 July); the nod to electronic music by the Casa Bonita project (12 July); the unlikely encounter in Branco toca Marco Paulo, in a trio led by guitarist Pedro Branco (19 July); and the virtuosity of guitarist Eugénia Contente with her trio, exploring soundscapes full of improvisation, groove and contemporary fusion (26 July).

Amidst exciting soundscapes, the Outros Mundos programme invites you to listen to the unexpected and discover new horizons in music, expanding the territory of Cistermúsica beyond the canon — without ever losing sight of it — and affirming the festival as a meeting place for diverse audiences and multiple artistic expressions.

Tickets for the Alcobaça Music Festival are on sale at the Blueticket online ticket office and at the usual locations, as well as at the Alcobaça Music Academy.

Organised by ABA – Banda de Alcobaça Associação de Artes, the festival is supported by Fundação La Caixa, in collaboration with BPI, and the Portuguese Republic – Culture / Directorate-General for the Arts. It is held in partnership with the Municipality of Alcobaça and Museus e Monumentos de Portugal, EPE /Mosteiro de Alcobaça, with Volkswagen as the official sponsor.