A night with Rodrigo Leao
Thailand and Portugal are marking the 500th anniversary of the First Pact of Friendship and Trade between Portugal and Siam (1518), with a performance by internationally acclaimed Portuguese musician Rodrigo Leao on June 12 at the Thailand Cultural Centre.
The performance “Os Portugueses – The Portuguese” will mark the opening of the festivities celebrating the long-lasting Thai-Portuguese relationship.
The upcoming concert will be Leao’s debut in Thailand and for this very special occasion, the artist will present a variety of his work in Portuguese along with the instrumental written for the TV documentary series “Portugal – A Social Portrait”, a seven-episode documentary about the evolution of Portuguese society during the last 50 years.
On stage, Leao will be accompanied by the Mozambican singer Selma and a lineup anchored in a string suit (violin, cello and viola), as well as a multi-instrumentalist set that will allow him play back the multiple sound environments of the original recordings.
Rodrigo Leao was one of the musicians and composers behind the extraordinarily successful Portuguese ensemble Madredeus and stayed in the band for nearly 10 years before focusing on his own solo career.
He composed music for and performed in Wim Wenders’ “Lisbon Story” (1994), and composed the soundtrack for the Lee Daniels’ Oscar-nominated historical drama “The Butler” (2013) starring Forest Whitaker.
Rodrigo’s 2004 album was titled “Cinema”, and from then on his backing group became known as the Cinema Ensemble. As he moved further in his exploration of instrumental textures, he felt the need to return to the simplicity of the pop song. He has collaborated with Portishead’s Beth Gibbons, The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon and Tindersticks’ Stuart Staples and also performed with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Ludovico Einaudi.
Admission is free but reservations are required by email to [email protected]
For more information, call (02) 234 2123 extensions 404 or 403.
