MãoSimMão is pleased to invite you to the world premiere of PONS VAROLII, a work by pianist and composer Simão Costa, featuring video by filmmaker Mário Melo Costa, which will take place at Teatro São Luiz, in Lisbon, on 18 and 19 July 2026.
The piece proposes a unique dialogue between the piano, the Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa, and the acoustic landscape produced from the metal grid of the 25 de Abril Bridge, transforming it into musical material and challenging the boundaries between classical music and acoustic ecology.
Inspired both by the architectural archetype of the bridge and by the structure of the human brainstem — the Pons Varolii — the work celebrates the imperative need to create connections between riverbanks, territories, and forms of listening. It not only evokes the exercise of freedom, in the year in which Lisbon’s iconic bridge celebrates its 60th anniversary but also celebrates World Listening Day.
We invite the audience to remain in the theater following the performance for an open talk with the artists on Saturday, July 18th.