Frágua de Amor

A famous king, “so gifted that he conquers the whole world”, wants to take over a castle that is “graceful, strong, terrible, beautiful as possible”. The king is D. João III of Portugal and the “castle” is D. Catarina, sister of Emperor Charles V of Spain. Meanwhile, Cupid, the little god of love, has fled Olympus and his mother, Venus, to help the king conquer Catarina. To do so, he creates a magic forge, powered by the music of the planets and the joys of love, which prepares Portugal for a new era. The machine recasts the Portuguese people, transforming those who enter it into something better: an old man into a boy, a monk into a warrior, justice, “hunchbacked, crooked, very badly done”, into a new and straightened justice. Frágua de Amor , the tragicomedy written by Gil Vicente in 1524 to celebrate the union between D. João III and D. Catarina, is also the reason for the meeting between A Escola da Noite and the ancient music ensemble O Bando de Surunyo. Because it is with theatre and music that this “great and beautiful forge” is animated.