THE 70TH WEEK

The Book of Daniel is probably one of the most mysterious books in the Bible. The description of the events and prophecies include murder, treason, orgies, and torture. But it has also several very interesting and enigmatic prophecies that can be interpreted in many ways to be related to the present times. Social instability, global war, mass extermination, and many other events can possibly be interpreted in the prophetic writings of this young boy.
This visual music opera includes several events in the life of this prophet and his companions, as well as the three main prophecies that still may not have been fulfilled.
The 70th week described in the book is one of these prophecies, and it relates to a state of constant war, sacrilege and destruction, that will finally lead to a miraculous transformation of the world in a new space of peace and justice. This prophecy is then re-stated in the Book of Revelation, in the Bible.
As the description of the piece (a visual music opera) suggests, the operatic action is re-interpreted in a screen, using several computer-generated images and sounds, as well as pre-recorded vocal lines and dance movements. Some of the 8 scenes that constitute this piece are imagined representations of the events described in the book and some other scenes are symbolic. The texts used are direct transcriptions of the original texts in the book, sung in Latin, Hebrew and Aramaic.
The 70th Week was the result of a commission by the Ministry of Culture in Portugal. It also received the support of Manitou Fund (USA), mpmp – Património Musical Vivo (Portugal), University of Aveiro (Portugal) and University of California – Santa Barbara (USA). It was composed between March 2021 and September 2022.