Commemorative Concert
70 Years of the Gulbenkian Foundation
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Date
- 19:00 / Cancelled 19:00 / Sold out Saturday, 19:00
Location
Grand AuditoriumCalouste Gulbenkian Foundation
This concert will be recorded by RTP – Rádio e Televisão de Portugal and broadcast live on this page.
- Conductor
- Soprano
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Gulbenkian Choir
Coro Gulbenkian was founded in 1964 by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation as a full symphonic body of around 100 singers. The choir joins the Orquestra Gulbenkian and other orchestras to perform Classical, Romantic and Contemporary choral-symphonic repertoire, but can also perform a cappella. It has performed – and often premiered – many 20th century works by Portuguese and international composers.
Coro Gulbenkian has been invited to collaborate with major international orchestras, under the direction of conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Colin Davis, John Nelson, Emmanuel Krivine, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Frans Brüggen, Franz Welser-Möst, Gerd Albrecht, Michael Gielen, Michael Tilson Thomas, Rafael Frübeck de Burgos, René Jacobs and Leonard Slatkin, among others.
Besides its regular season of concerts in Lisbon and frequent national tours, Coro Gulbenkian has repeatedly toured Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Macao, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Uruguay.
Coro Gulbenkian has recorded extensively for Philips, Deutsche Grammophon, Erato, Cascavelle, Musifrance, as well as FNAC-Music, performing a wide range of repertoire, from Early-Renaissance polyphony to Xenakis. Several of these albums received international awards.
Michel Corboz was the Principal Conductor between 1969 and 2019. Jorge Matta and Inês Tavares Lopes are currently the Associate and Assistant conductors, respectively.
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Gulbenkian Orchestra
In 1962, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation decided to establish a permanent orchestral ensemble. Originally with only twelve musicians (strings and continuo) it was named “Orquestra de Câmara Gulbenkian”. This collective was successively enlarged and today the “Orquestra Gulbenkian” (the name it has adopted since 1971) has a permanent body of sixty instrumentalists, a number that can be expanded depending on the repertoire.
This structure allows the Gulbenkian Orchestra to interpret works from the Baroque and Classical periods, a significant part of 19th century orchestral literature and much of the music of the 20th century, including works belonging to the current repertoire of the traditional symphonic orchestras. In each season, the orchestra performs on a regular series of concerts at the Gulbenkian Grand Auditorium in Lisbon, where it has had the opportunity of working together with some of leading names of the world of music (conductors and soloists). It has also performed on numerous locations all over Portugal, in an effort to decentralize music and culture.
The orchestra has been constantly expanding its activities in the international level, performing in Europe, Asia Africa, and the Americas. In the recording field, Orquestra Gulbenkian is associated to labels as Philips, Deutsche Grammophon, Hyperion, Teldec, Erato, Adès, Nimbus, Lyrinx, Naïve and Pentatone, among others, and this activity was recognized with several international prizes.
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Carlo Rizzi
Conductor
Carlo Rizzi holds a long-standing reputation as one of the world's foremost operatic conductors, in demand as a guest artist at the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals. Equally at home in the opera house and the concert hall, his vast repertoire spans everything from the foundation works of the operatic and symphonic canon to rarities. Combining a deep expertise in the vocal art with theatrical flair and the practical collaborative skills honed over decades of experience in the world's finest theatres, he is acclaimed by singers and audiences alike as a master of the operatic craft.
Born in Milan, Rizzi studied at the city’s conservatoire, and following his graduation was employed as a repetiteur at the legendary Teatro alla Scala. He launched his conducting career in 1982 with a production of Donizetti’s L’ajo nell’imbarazzo, and has now performed over a hundred operas, with a broad repertoire that is rich in Italian works in addition to the major titles.
In September 2019 he was appointed Music Director of Opera Rara, the UK-based company devoted to resurrecting and returning to the repertoire undiscovered and undervalued works from opera’s celebrated and neglected composers. Since 2015, Rizzi has been Conductor Laureate of the Welsh National Opera, following his tenure as Music Director (1992-2001 and 2004-8). He also has held long- standing relationships with the Teatro alla Scala, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Rizzi is also critically acclaimed as a symphonic conductor with distinguished orchestras. In 2024 Rizzi was awarded the honour of ‘Grande Ufficiale’ (Grand Officer) of the ‘Ordine della Stella d’Italia’ (Order of the Star of Italy) for his commitment and contribution to promoting Italian music and culture internationally.
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Caitlin Gotimer
Soprano
In the 2026/27 season, Ms. Gotimer returns to The Metropolitan Opera to cover Mimì in La bohème and makes her stage debut as Ancella in Cherubini’s Medea with Maestro Rizzi. She also makes her role début as Liù in Turandot with North Carolina Opera and returns to Dayton Opera as Mimì in La bohème.
Last season, Ms. Gotimer reprised the title role in Tosca at the renowned Glyndebourne Festival under Robin Ticciati. She made a thrilling debut at the Royal Danish Opera, singing Nedda in Pagliacci under the baton of Giulio Cilona; made her role debut as Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly with North Carolina Opera; and joined the roster of The Metropolitan Opera to cover Mimì in La bohème. In concert, she performed Handel’s Messiah with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.
In the 2024/25 season, Ms. Gotimer returned to Deutsche Oper Berlin for La fiamma, portraying La Madre and covering the title role of Silvana. At Opéra national de Paris, she covered the title role in Suor Angelica and Giorgetta in Il tabarro in a production directed by Christof Loy, under the baton of Maestro Carlo Rizzi. She also made two major role debuts: Nedda in Pagliacci with Pittsburgh Opera and Mimì in La bohème with Arizona Opera. Concert engagements included Handel’s Messiah with the Idaho Falls Symphony and Dream Requiem with the Netherlands Philharmonic at the Royal Concertgebouw under André de Ridder.
Tosca is quickly becoming a signature role for Ms. Gotimer, earning her widespread acclaim. Her role debut with Arizona Opera in the 2022/23 season was praised for its dramatic intensity and vocal brilliance. She later covered the role at The Santa Fe Opera. These successes led to celebrated performances at Palm Beach Opera and Dayton Opera in 2023/24, further solidifying her reputation as a rising star in this iconic role.
Previous highlights include her European debut as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Deutsche Oper Berlin; as well as further debuts as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro at the Aspen Music Festival as a Renée Fleming Artist, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette with Arizona Opera, and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte with Dallas Opera. She has also covered Musetta in La bohème at the Bravo! Vail Music Festival under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. On the concert stage, Ms. Gotimer has performed Handel’s Messiah with the Santa Fe and Idaho Falls Symphonies, Mozart’s Requiem at Québec’s Festival Songe d’été en musique, and Bach’s Missa Brevis with Binghamton University.
A graduate of the Marion Roose Pullin Arizona Opera Studio, she made notable role debuts there as Micaëla in Carmen, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, and Mrs. Anderssen in A Little Night Music. As a resident artist with Pittsburgh Opera, she appeared in the title role of Handel’s Alcina, portrayed Elettra in a reimagined Idomeneo, and covered Mimì in La bohème. Other early credits include Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi) and Musetta (La bohème) with Crested Butte Opera Studio, as well as Suor Angelica and Magda (La Rondine).
A finalist in the 2023 Operalia Competition, Ms. Gotimer has received numerous accolades from the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition, YPO/Florida Grand Opera Voice Competition, Vincerò Competition, Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition, Pittsburgh Festival Opera’s Mildred Miller Competition, Opera Guild of Dayton Competition, Corbett Competition, and the National Biennial Collegiate Voice Competition hosted by NFMC. Ms. Gotimer holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and she received her Bachelor of Music in Voice from Binghamton University.
Georges Bizet
Giacomo Puccini
Pietro Mascagni
Giacomo Puccini
Charles Gounod
Antonín Dvořák
Ruggero Leoncavallo
Jules Massenet
Charles Gounod
Lili Boulanger
Giuseppe Verdi
Jules Massenet
* Due to unforessen circumnstances, Sonya Yoncheva is replaced by Caitlin Gotimer.
Conceived to mark the 70th anniversary of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, this concert brings together the Gulbenkian Choir and Orchestra for a journey through some of the most emblematic moments of the European operatic repertoire, under the direction of Carlo Rizzi and featuring soprano Caitlin Gotimer.
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation reserves the right to collect and keep records of images, sounds and voice for the diffusion and preservation of the memory of its cultural and artistic activity. For further information, please contact us through the Information Request form.