The Blue of the Sea | 21 Feb 2026

The mysterious deaths of two of his apprentices have cursed the fisherman Peter Grimes, a man driven to self-destruction by the inhabitants of the village where he lives. Benjamin Britten’s first opera unfolds amidst waves of loneliness and has become a landmark in the history of British music. It includes the Four Sea Interludes, brimming with dramatic force, which have taken on a life of their own and are frequently performed as standalone pieces. Conducted by Joana Carneiro, the Symphony Orchestra opens this programme with another work splashed by the foam of the waves. The ocean separating Portugal and Brazil, and the common language of their peoples, inspired Luís Tinoco to compose O sotaque azul das águas. In a leap through time, the concert concludes with Felix Mendelssohn’s Fifth Symphony, a work that evokes the Lutheran Reformation.