A man who finds and loses love, even the love he has for himself, but who rediscovers it, is the starting point of the show that Joana Moreira and Miguel Maduro-Dias, co-founders of the beOMNIExpression platform, will premiere on Friday at the Angra do Heroísmo Cultural and Congress Center.
“A story of LOVE” is the first chapter in a cycle. Each show will be a “narrative on an irrefutably human theme.”
Miguel Maduro-Dias and Joana Moreira, from Terceira, have higher classical training; he is a lyric singer and a pianist, but they don’t bring classical music. “What we thought, perhaps in our innocence, was to get closer to people,” says Maduro-Dias.
As Joana Moreira explains, the arts on stage will be a mixture. “We have poetry, texts that are almost entirely our own, dialog, history, light – which also helps to create the atmosphere and the various scenes – and music,” she describes.
He stresses that “it’s not just a set of songs that we’re performing” but an attempt to leave “something that makes people think.”
With very different musical tastes, Joana Moreira and Miguel Maduro-Dias chose pop, jazz, rock, and hip-hop themes. The love story has “Zorro” by António Zambujo, but also “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2, or “My Valentine” by Paul McCartney.
“Classical music is still seen as being for the elite. We want to break down this, but first, we must create bridges,” says Joana Moreira.
Also, for Maduro-Dias, classical music “isn’t that far away” from the songs that inhabit people’s daily lives.
The love story to be seen on Friday is both “realistic” and universal. “I’m playing this character of a man, but in any case, this could be a woman, an animal, whatever. It’s not just romantic love but also family, love, friendship, and self-love. It’s all represented in some way,” explains Miguel Maduro-Dias.
“Real life, not just love, but all of life, always has incredible moments and the really good parts. There’s always that balance. Sometimes, there isn’t that awareness; people find an obstacle and block it. You have to realize that it’s normal, that it happens, that there is a way out,” the pianist adds.

The show is essentially like the platform, based on a vision that tears down the walls that can contain the arts. “The English word ‘be’ is combined with omni, to be omnipresent, to be all forms of expression. To be total… The platform is also a love story, a meta-project that is happening and that people are coming to understand,” says the lyrical singer.

On Friday, February 23rd at 9.30pm, admission is free and there is no need to book tickets or seat.

In Diário Insular-José Lourenço, director

Editors Note: It is impressive to see such talent throughout the nine islands of the Azores.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance)  at California State University, Fresno–PBBI thanks the sponsorship of the Luso-American Development Foundation from Lisbon, Portugal (FLAD)