DISTINGUISHED PORTUGUESE COMPOSER IN LAGOS

The city of Lagos will host the World Premiere of a new musical work titled ‘Bravura’ to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Lagos Choral Group Association (AGCL). The milestone concert takes place on 1 November 2026, at 4:00 PM in the Church of São Sebastião, with free admission.

Composed by internationally acclaimed Portuguese composer Eurico Carrapatoso, who will attend the event, the work brings together all three sections of the AGCL: the Grupo Coral de Lagos, the Lagos Children’s and Youth Choir, and an ensemble of teachers from the Lagos Conservatoire of Music and Arts, led by resident conductor Maestrinha Vera Batista.

Subtitled ‘A Millennium of Portuguese Poetry’, the piece guides listeners through nearly 1,000 years of Portuguese-language poetry, ranging from 11th-century Algarve poet Al-Mu’tamid to 20th-century authors.

The work’s title refers to the nearby Bravura Dam, which refilled during the winter of 2025/26 following years of drought. Carrapatoso uses the reservoir as a metaphor for cultural memory, depicting art as a vessel that accumulates emotions, voices, and words across centuries to release them back to the community during performance.