The sonoplasta, music, sound designer and ‘performer’ Mariana Leite Soares is the winner of the 7th edition of the Reveal Ageas Teatro Nacional D. Maria II Award, which recognizes and supports new Portuguese talent, was announced today.
© Theater D. Maria II
23/09/2026
by
Lusa
Com an associated monetary value of 5,000 euros, the prize had scheduled delivery for today, in the Garrett Room of D. Maria II, in Lisbon, to the artist born in Porto in 1996.
In a statement, the National Theatre D. Maria II highlighted that Mariana Leite Soares “develops a multidisciplinary path centered on the areas of music, sound, theater and performance, also having experience in video, interpretation, production, technical direction, captioning and drawing of light”.
Cited in the same text, Mariana Leite Soares welcomed being awarded and thanked Ageas and the National Theatre for the “recognition and appreciation” of the work she has been doing, as well as everyone with whom she has worked “for the trust placed” in her.
In 2014, the award winner completed the professional course of Instrumentista de Sopros e Percussion, specializing in clarinet, at the Academy of Music of Costa Cabral, in Porto, and then attended the course of Music Production and Technologies, at the Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espetáculo (ESMAE), where she began the course at the intersection between music and theater.
Throughout her professional career Mariana Leite Soares worked with artists like Ana Isabel Castro, Ana Rita Xavier, Cão Danado, Guilherme de Sousa & Pedro Azevedo, Joana Mont’Alverne, Joana Providence, Tânia Dinis and the Experimental Theatre of Porto, among others.
As a technique, he worked with the Municipal Theatre of Porto, Teatro Nacional São João, the flying mala company, Fundação de Serralves and the Batalha Centro de Cinema.
The award-winning activity also extends to musical production, having collaborated on projects with Inês Justo and Basalto.
“ In 2025, he released KÉLA, an alter ego through which he explores the composition, production and interpretation of pop and electronic music” and, this year, the intersection between music and performance had new development with Marian Devotion, presented at the International Festival of Iberian Expression Theatre (FITEI), adds D. Maria II.
In October, Mariana Leite Soares will debut “Absolute”, her first individual show at the Municipal Theatre of Porto.
The Reveal Ageas Teatro Nacional D. Maria II Award is awarded individually to theatre professionals up to 30 years of age, whose artistic work has been highlighted in the Portuguese theatrical panorama.
Sara Barros Leitão, Mario Coelho, Cárin Geada, Pedro Azevedo, Tita Maravilha and Marco Mendonça were the previous winners of the award.