Let's go to the opera?
Sunday Concerts
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Date
- / Cancelled / Sold out
Location
Grand Auditorium Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation- Conductor
- Soprano
- Carlos Monteiro Tenor
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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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José Eduardo Gomes
Conductor
José Eduardo Gomes recently won the 1st Prize in the European Union Conducting Competition, and the Beethoven Prize in the same competition. He’s Principal Conductor of FEUP Orchestra (Porto – Portugal) and also Professor in the Lisbon Music University and Porto Music University, as a Principal Conductor of the School Orchestra.
He was Principal Conductor of Center Classical Orchestra (Coimbra – Portugal), Associate Conductor of the Orquestra Clássica do Sul (Faro – Portugal), Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Chambre de Carouge, in Switzerland and principal conductor of the Circulo Portuense de Opera Choir (Porto-Portugal).
He began his musical studies with the clarinet in his born town V. N. Famalicão. Later he continued his studies in ARTAVE and ESMAE - Porto, where he graduated in Antonio Saiote’s class. He followed his studies in Orchestral Conducting at the Haute École de Musique de Genève (Switzerland), with Laurent Gay, and choral conducting with Celso Antunes.
He was distinguished in several competitions: “RTP Antena 2 Young Musicians Award”, Portugal; ”Competition Marcos Romão” Portugal and "International Competition Villa de Montroy", Valencia (Spain), in clarinet and chamber music, and in the Portuguese competition “Prémio Jovens Músicos” in orchestral conducting, with the 2nd prize and the special Orchestra Prize, and also Semi Finalist in the “1º Concorso Citta di Brescia Giancarlo Facchinetti” (Italy).
José Eduardo is founder of the clarinet ensemble Quarteto Vintage and Serenade Ensemble.
In the past few years he has been invited to work with the main Portuguese Orchestras, such as Gulbenkian Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Cdm, Orquestra SInfónica Portuguesa, with soloist such as Maria João Pires, Diemut Poppen, Maria Elisabeth Lott, Sebastian Klinger, Adriana Ferreira, among others and performing in important festivals, such as Dias da Música, Festival de Sintra, Festival PJM, Festival Cantabile, Festival das Artes, Festival de Música de Leiria, FIMA, Música no Colégio, Festival Internacional de Música Religiosa de Guimarães, among others.
In Opera, he conducted some productions, such as Mozart “Don Giovanni” and “Cosi Fan Tutte”, Marcos de Portugal “La Donna di Genio Volubile”, Haydn “Lo Speziale”.
Another important part of his work is dedicated to youth orchestras, all over the country.
In 2018, he was awarded with the “Medalha de Mérito Cultural”, by his hometown, V.N. Famalicão.
Since 2019, José Eduardo is the Artistic Director of JOF (Jovem Orquestra Famalicão), a young symphonic orchestra, with some of the most prominent young Portuguese musicians.
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Sílvia Sequeira
Soprano
Sílvia Sequeira was a member of the Dutch National Opera Studio in Amsterdam. In 2024 she won the 3rd prize, Wagner prize and Público prize at the “Tenor Viñas competition” in Barcelona. She debuted as 'Suor Angelica' in December 2023 in the Netherlands, in September of that year she also debuted as 'Donna Elvira' - Don Giovanni, in Portugal at the Óbidos Opera Festival. She was 'Anna Kennedy' - Maria Stuarda in the Dutch national opera production in May 2023.
She was laureate at the “Queen Elisabeth Competition” in Belgium, where she won the public prize. She was the “ARIA” winner; won 2nd prize, best dramatic voice, a special prize, and the audience prize in the “Ebe Stignani Competition”; 3rd prize in the “Vinceró Competition”; public prize in the “Ciclo Lousada” competition; and winner of the Wagner and Público awards at the International Vocal Competition in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2022. In 2021 she won 2nd prize in the Portuguese Rotary Foundation Competition, that summer she premiered the role “Micaela” from the opera “Carmen” by G. Bizet, in Weikersheim, Germany, directed by Elias Grandy.
She made her debut on international stages in 2019 with “Zanetto”, an opera by P. Mascagni with the role ‘Silvia’ at the Maastricht Conservatory. In 2016/2017 he participated in the production of the opera “Cosí fan tutte” by W. A. Mozart in the role of “Fiordiligi” included in the Postgraduate Course in Opera and Theater Studies at ESMAE, accompanied by the ESMAE Orchestra under the baton of António Saiote, staged by António Durães and Claúdia Marisa. He worked with Cecilia Fontes, Palmira Troufa, João Henriques, Rui Taveira, António Salgado, Luís Rendas Pereira, Connie de Jogn, Susan Waters, Yvonne Schiffelers, Maestra Mya Besselink, Chelsea Bonagura, etc.
Giuseppe Verdi
Giacomo Puccini
Pietro Mascagni
Giacomo Puccini
Giuseppe Verdi
Giacomo Puccini
The first commented programme of the Sunday Concerts has a particular focus on the work of Italian composers Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini, whose fame was due to their prodigious operatic output. Together with an Intermezzo from Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, the Gulbenkian Orchestra and guest soloists will perform a selection of passionate arias from La bohème, Tosca or Madama Butterfly, in an unmissable introduction to this genre which, because it unites music, poetry, theatre and dance, was dubbed “total art” by Wagner.
Sponsor Gulbenkian Music
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.