The “Other Nights in Albufeira” series debuts with five classical music shows

A total of five shows, to be presented between July 5th and September 10th, most of which will take place at the eastern end of the Albufeira Marina , where an audience for two thousand people will be set up, and another at Praia dos Pescadores, on Municipal Day, make up the lineup for the new cycle «As Outras Noites de Albufeira».

According to maestro Armando Mota, who is the artistic director of the event, “Albufeira is not just about young people and foreigners getting drunk at Areias de São João and downtown. It is more than that. The locals feel uncomfortable with what has been happening and the image it gives. It is an image that is wrong. Albufeira has other attractions. It has beaches, hotels and spectacular cuisine. But it is necessary to have a diverse range of nightlife options for all audiences, always keeping in mind the overriding premise of quality.”

«Therefore, we need to start doing things that will counter this and, above all, raise a cross-cutting and very important discussion: what kind of tourism do we want to have? What kind of people do we want to come to the Algarve?».

To help leverage this audience, the cycle presents “a very high quality. It is an alternative to avoid falling into this litany of alcoholic tourism. I usually say that, if Albufeira claims to be the capital of tourism, it must have, let’s say, the attributes that give it that status”.

The maestro also criticizes the usual offerings of summer festivals, as "everything is already more than seen. What we are going to do is a stone in the pond . No one has ever done, or had the courage to do, a classical music festival" in high season.

The cycle opens on Saturday, July 5, with the acclaimed pianist António Rosado accompanied by the Portuguese Symphonic Band , with Gershwin's Concerto in F, a piece that combines elements of jazz with a very strong rhythmic component, making this work a milestone in the evolution of the identity of American music.

On July 19th, there will be a revival of the ballet «Storm», by the Quorum Ballet Dance Company , which premiered in January at Teatro das Figuras, in Faro.

With a script and original music by maestro Armando Mota and choreography by Daniel Cardoso, «Storm» portrays a fictional story about the theme of climate change and how this current reality will affect the barrier islands of Ria Formosa.

This time, with the Algarve Symphony Orchestra live, at «its maximum potential».

On August 16th, you will see the show “Amália Sinfónico – The great songs of the queen of fado in a symphonic version”. It brings together the voice of Amália Rodrigues (recorded), accompanied by more than 40 musicians from the Lisbon Classical Orchestra, a Portuguese guitar and the participation of the singer Anabela, under the direction of maestro Rui Pinheiro, who once conducted the Algarve Orchestra.

This will be followed on August 21st, at Praia dos Pescadores, by a free concert with the Algarve Symphony Orchestra, which will play soundtracks from great Hollywood classics, also conducted by Armando Mota.

The cycle ends with “an absolutely extraordinary show”, on September 10, with the Vortice Dance Company presenting its reinterpretation of the classic “Carmina Burana” by Carl Orff.

The shows will have a single “affordable price” of 20 euros and will soon be on sale on the Ticketline platform.

Still on the subject of nightlife, “we have to find a modus operandi that can, in some way, control, above all, abuses and excesses, because they harm the entire hotel industry. With great respect for bar owners, who have the right to have their own business, we are not going to jeopardize investments worth millions of euros and an image that we want to improve and defend. We cannot perpetuate this type of tourism”, says the maestro, who has lived in Albufeira for 35 years.

«We need to provide an alternative. Show people that they can come to Albufeira because it’s not just about drunks and bars. There’s also a very high-quality festival here, at the level of the CCB, Casa da Música and Gulbenkian. And they can enjoy it for a practically symbolic price».

Mota also puts his finger on another wound that has not yet healed. “The region has people doing good things that are not supported by the central government,” he says, criticizing the end of the Algarve 365 program.

“Giving support of five thousand euros to non-professional companies is nothing. Algarve 365 was starting to bear fruit , establishing a regular activity, with the local companies that exist, and they do very interesting things. They tried to put an end to that and all the regional leaders were unable to come together and demand investment in culture in the Algarve”, despite the importance that the Algarve has in the country’s GDP.

The cycle «The Other Nights of Albufeira» will be presented at a press conference on Wednesday, June 18, at 11:30 am, by José Carlos Rolo, president of the Albufeira City Council , and conductor Armando Mota, in the Main Hall of the Town Hall.