Mendelssohn's Elias
Gulbenkian Orchestra and Choir
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Date
- 20:00 / Cancelled 20:00 / Sold out Thursday, 20:00
- 19:00 / Cancelled 19:00 / Sold out Friday, 19:00
Location
Grand Auditorium Calouste Gulbenkian FoundationPricing
25% – Under 30
10% – Over 65
Cartão Gulbenkian:
50% – Under 30
20% – Over 65
10% – 30 to 65
- Conductor
- Soprano
- Mezzo-Soprano
- Tenor
- Baritone
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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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Hannu Lintu
Music Director
“Dynamic and sharp on the podium” (Bachtrack) and with an “extreme clarity of purpose, every detail worth noting” (Los Angeles Times), Hannu Lintu maintains his reputation as one of the world’s finest conductors. This season Lintu continues his tenures as Music Director of Orquestra Gulbenkian and Chief Conductor of Finnish National Opera and Ballet, proving himself a master of both symphonic and operatic repertoire, as well as beginning his tenures as Artistic Partner of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director of the International Sibelius Festival.
Last season also saw Lintu’s appointment as Music Director of Singapore Symphony Orchestra from 2026/27, where he will appear this season for several performances, including for Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Shostakovich’s 7th Leningrad Symphony. Other highlights include returns to the BBC, St Louis, Toronto, Baltimore and Detroit Symphonies, as well as productions of Strauss’ Elektra and a world premiere of Sebastian Fagerlund’s The Morning Star at Finnish National Opera.
Symphonic highlights of recent years have seen Lintu conduct the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic (including an immediate re-invitation from the orchestra to perform at Bravo! Vail Festival), Berliner Philharmoniker, The Cleveland Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Radio France, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, London Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, St Louis Symphony, and Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal.
As an expert in both operatic as well as symphonic repertoire, Lintu’s recent opera highlights have included Enescu’s Œdipe with the Vienna Symphony at Bregenz Festspiele, Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer at Opera de Paris and Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande at Bayerische Staatsoper as a guest conductor, as well as multiple productions at Finnish National Opera and Ballet, including a recent multi-season Ring Cycle, Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, a choregraphed reimagining of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, Puccini’s Turandot, Richard Strauss’ Salome, and Britten’s Billy Budd.
Lintu has made several recordings for Ondine, BIS Records, Naxos, Avie Records and Hyperion Records. His diverse discography comprises recordings of Magnus Lindberg’s orchestral works, the complete Beethoven Piano Concertos with Stephen Hough, and Lutoslawski’s Symphonies Nos. 1-4, all with Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. His often-gilded work boasts two International Classical Music Awards and several nominations for Gramophone and GRAMMY awards in recognition of recording projects such as Bartók’s Violin Concertos with Christian Tetzlaff, works by Sibelius featuring Anne Sofie von Otter, Rautavaara’s Kaivos, and the Violin Concertos of Sibelius and Thomas Adès with Augustin Hadelich and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Lintu studied cello and piano at the Sibelius Academy, where he also later studied conducting with Jorma Panula. He participated in masterclasses with Myung-Whun Chung at L’Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy, and took first prize at the Nordic Conducting Competition in Bergen in 1994.
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Christina Landshamer
Soprano
With her versatility spanning a diverse repertoire, Christina Landshamer is a globally soughtafter concert, opera, and lieder singer. Currently based in Stuttgart, she pursued her vocal studies at the Munich University of Music and later with Dunja Vejsovic in Stuttgart.
Renowned conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Manfred Honeck, Alan Gilbert, Marek Janowski, Franz Welser-Möst, and Christian Thielemann regularly invite her to perform with top-tier orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra Hamburg, the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, the SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, as well as the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Orchestre de Paris, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Rome, and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra Stockholm. In the USA, she has appeared with ensembles including the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
The upcoming 2023/24 season promises a series of musical highlights in concert performances. These include Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 2 ("Lobgesang") with the
Vienna Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marie Jacquot at the Vienna Musikverein, as well as another performance with Herbert Blomstedt, this time with the Saxon State Orchestra Dresden. She will also present Brahms' A German Requiem with the Bavarian Radio Choir at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and Samuel Barber's rarely performed "Knoxville: Summer of 1915" paired with Mahler's Symphony No. 4 with the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra. Her engagements with Beethoven include a performance of the C Major Mass with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich under Giovanni Antonini, and she will conclude the season with Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 on New Year's Eve with the Munich Philharmonic under Pablo Heras Casado and with the Bonn Beethoven Orchestra under Dirk Kaftan.In the realm of opera, Christina Landshamer's engagements have led her to the Stuttgart State Opera, the Opéra du Rhin in Strasbourg, the Komische Oper Berlin, the Theater an der Wien under Nikolaus Harnoncourt, and the Salzburg Festival under Sir Simon Rattle. She portrayed Pamina at the Bavarian State Opera and Het Muziektheater Amsterdam in Simon McBurney's unique production of "The Magic Flute." Other roles include Ännchen in the new production of Weber's "Der Freischütz" under Christian Thielemann at the Semperoper Dresden, Almirena/Rinaldo at Glyndebourne, and Sophie/Rosenkavalier at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Her most recent appearance at the Bavarian State Opera was as Woglinde in Wagner's "Das Rheingold" under Kirill Petrenko. In the spectacular La Fura dels Baus production of Haydn's "The Creation," she performed the soprano parts in Paris and at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York.
In May 2024, Christina Landshamer will once again portray Pamina in a production by Nikolaus Habjan with the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst. With her warm and lyrical soprano voice, Christina Landshamer is a passionate lieder singer. Alongside her piano partner Gerold Huber, she is a welcome guest at prominent lieder centers such as the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, the Berlin Pierre Boulez Saal, the Hugo Wolf Academy, the Wigmore Hall in London, the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, and the Kioi Hall in Tokyo.
Numerous CD and DVD recordings for labels including Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Music, Pentatone, BR Klassik, Oehms Classics, Phi, EMI, and Unitel document her artistic endeavors. In 2022, her solo CD featuring works by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven was released under the Pentatone label, accompanied by the Academy for Ancient Music Berlin.
Since 2021, Christina Landshamer has been sharing her extensive knowledge and experience as a professor of voice at the University of Music Trossingen.
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Jennifer Johnston
Mezzo-Soprano
Widely regarded as one of Britain’s most commanding vocal talents, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston has carved out a distinguished career as a consummate interpreter of the monumental works of Mahler, Wagner, Britten, Beethoven, and Elgar, making her the soloist of choice for many of the world’s foremost orchestras and conductors. In 2021, Johnston was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Singer Award, honouring her “commitment and emotional force” in both performance and education and, beyond the stage, she is a passionate and articulate advocate for the Arts.
Jennifer Johnston’s 2025/2026 season is marked by several significant role debuts, notably Ježibaba (Rusalka) which she sings both in Tatjana Gürbaca’s production for Den Norske Opera under the baton of Edward Gardner and with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Domingo Hindoyan, and Fricka in Das Rheingold and Die Walküre with Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal under Patrick Hahn. She returns to her acclaimed interpretation of Judith in Bluebeard’s Castle with BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under Anja Bihlmaier.
On the concert stage this season, Johnston brings her signature depth and artistry to Mahler Symphony No.3 with Taiwan Philharmonic and Jun Märkl, and Symphony No.2 with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä. She performs Wagner Wesendonck Lieder with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and David Hill, and Mendelssohn Elijah with Gulbenkian Orchestra under Hannu Lintu. A passionate advocate for song and programme curation, she unveils two new programmes this season: The Age of Hollywood at London’s Cadogan Hall with Julius Drake, and Lost in the Stars at Wigmore Hall with Malcolm Martineau.
Mahler’s works have been a central feature of Johnston’s career, with key performances including his Symphony No.8 with Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Klaus Mäkelä, Wiener Philharmoniker under Franz Welser-Möst, Bayerisches Staatsorchester under Kirill Petrenko, and with Semyon Bychkov conducting both NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Prague Philharmonic Orchestra; Symphony No.3 with Cleveland Orchestra under Mäkelä and with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Domingo Hindoyan and Symphony No.2 with Philharmonia Orchestra under Santtu-Matias Rouvali (released on disc). In huge demand on the concert platform, other notable repertoire includes Judith (Bluebeard’s Castle) with Oslo Filharmonien under Mäkelä, Ravel Schéhérazade with BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sakari Oramo, Jocasta (Oedipus Rex) under Sir John Eliot Gardiner with Berliner Philharmoniker, Wagner Wesendonck Lieder with Hallé Orchestra under Madaras, Verdi Messa da Requiem with BBC Symphony Orchestra and Oramo as part of the First Night of the BBC Proms, Schumann Faustszenen with Daniel Harding and Gewandhausorchester, and Britten Phaedra with Martyn Brabbins and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Jennifer Johnston has enjoyed a close collaboration with Bayerische Staatsoper, where she has sung over 80 performances including as Brigitta (Die tote Stadt), Mrs Sedley (Peter Grimes), Second Norn (Götterdämmerung), Roßweise (Die Walküre), Floßhilde (Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung), Hedwige (Guillaume Tell) and La Ciesca (Gianni Schicci). Highlights elsewhere have included Johnston’s critically acclaimed Judith (Bluebeard’s Castle) for English National Opera, Juno (Semele) for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Mrs Grose (The Turn of the Screw) and Gaia (Battistelli’s CO2) at Teatro alla Scala, Carmi (Mozart’s La Betulia Liberata) and Leda (Die Liebe Der Danae) at Salzburg Festival, and Dido (Dido and Aeneas) at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.
A former BBC New Generation Artist, and a graduate of Cambridge University and the Royal College of Music, Johnston has an extensive discography including her first solo recording, A Love Letter to Liverpool (Rubicon Classics), the Grammy-nominated Vaughan Williams’s Four Last Songs (Albion Records), Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex (LSO Live), Wagner’s Die Walküre (Waltraute) with Sir Simon Rattle and Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchester and, Gramophone Awards’ 2022 Recording of the Year, Korngold’s Die tote Stadt from Bayerische Staatsoper.
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Maximilian Schmitt
Tenor
Maximilian Schmitt discovered his passion for music as a member of the Regensburger Domspatzen. He studied voice with Prof. Anke Eggers at the Berlin University of the Arts and received further training with Roland Hermann; he currently works with Tobias Truniger. He gained his first stage experience at the Opera Studio of the Bavarian State Opera and was a member of the ensemble at the Nationaltheater Mannheim for four years, where he built a broad repertoire.
He attracted international attention in 2012 with his debut as Tamino at the Dutch National Opera under Marc Albrecht. This was followed by roles such as Idomeneo (Opéra du Rhin), Don Ottavio (Vienna State Opera), and Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail at La Scala in Milan under Zubin Mehta. As Max in Weber’s Freischütz, he appeared at the Aalto Theater Essen, and as Erik in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer in Graz, Cologne, and at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. In the 2023/24 season, he made his debut as Siegmund in Die Walküre with Concerto Köln under Kent Nagano. In 2025/26, he will reprise this role in concert performances in Wuppertal and on tour with Act I of Die Walküre alongside the SWR Symphony Orchestra under François-Xavier Roth.
Maximilian Schmitt is a regular guest on international concert stages. He has performed with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, The Cleveland Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Concertgebouworkest Amsterdam, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Vienna Philharmonic. He enjoys close collaborations with conductors such as Franz Welser-Möst, Kirill Petrenko, Teodor Currentzis, Daniel Harding, Manfred Honeck, Fabio Luisi, Philippe Herreweghe, Thomas Hengelbrock, and René Jacobs.
The 2025/26 season sees his role debut as Lohengrin in a major new production at the Staatsoper Hannover. He also performs Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in Bucharest and Madrid, and Haydn’s The Creation in Trondheim and Gateshead. In Vienna, he will be heard in Franz Schmidt’s The Book with Seven Seals at the Konzerthaus under Fabio Luisi.
This season also highlights major oratorios and sacred works: Schmitt sings the Evangelist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in Amsterdam and Baden-Baden with the Concertgebouworkest, Mendelssohn’s Elijah in Lisbon, Mozart’s Requiem in Monte Carlo, and Beethoven’s Fidelio in concert at the Beethoven Festival in Warsaw. He also returns to The Book with Seven Seals with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra under Manfred Honeck.
Lieder recitals remain a core part of his artistry. In Hanover, he performs Schubert’s Winterreise accompanied by Gerold Huber. As a duo, they have appeared at the Heidelberger Frühling, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, London’s Wigmore Hall, and the Cologne Philharmonie.
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Matthias Goerne
Baritone
Celebrated around the globe for his opera and concert performances, German baritone Matthias Goerne is a frequent guest with leading orchestras and renowned festivals and concert halls. Among his musical partners are conductors such as Claudio Abbado(†), Herbert Blomstedt, Riccardo Chailly, Christoph von Dohnányi, Gustavo Dudamel, Christoph Eschenbach, Daniele Gatti , Bernard Haitink, Manfred Honeck, Mariss Jansons(†), Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi, Vladimir Jurowski, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Seiji Ozawa, Antonio Pappano, Kirill Petrenko, Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Franz Welser-Möst.
Matthias Goerne has appeared on the world’s principal opera stages, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Teatro Real in Madrid; Paris National Opera; Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, and the Vienna State Opera. His carefully chosen roles range from Amfortas, Marke, Wolfram, Wotan, Orest, and Jochanaan to the title roles in Béla Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle and Alban Berg’s Wozzeck.
Goerne’s artistry has been documented on numerous recordings, many of which have received rave reviews and prestigious awards, including five Grammy nominations, an ICMA award, a Gramophone Award, the BBC Music Magazine Vocal Award 2017, Diapason d’or arte, and the ECHO Klassik 2017 in the category “Singer of the Year”. In 2001, he was appointed an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music in London. In the past three years, he has released four albums with Deutsche Grammophon: Beethoven Songs with Jan Lisiecki, a collection of Wagner, Strauss and Pfitzner Songs with Seong-Jin Cho, an album of Schumann and Brahms Songs with Daniil Trifonov, which was awarded “Vocal Recording of the Year” by Limelight, and “Schubert Revisited”, the latest album with The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen released in 2023, which brings the composer’s songs to life in arrangements for voice and orchestra. He is featured as Wotan on the Naxos release of the entire Ring Cycle with the Hong Kong Philharmonic and conductor Jaap van Zweden.
In the 2017/18 season, Matthias Goerne was the artist of residence at Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, and The New York Philharmonic named him Artist-in-Residence for their 2018/19 season. He will be an artist in residence with the Shanghai Symphony in the 24/25 season.
Highlights of the past season include concerts with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra as well as the Orchestre National de France conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen as well as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under Manfred Honeck, and a tour of Asia with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra under Fabio Luisi. Matthias Goerne performed the role of Marke in Toulouse as well as the role of Amfortas at the Liceu Barcelona. Recitals with Leif Ove Andsnes, Markus Hinterhäuser and Víkingur Ólafsson took take him to Paris, London and Florence, among other cities.
During the 2023/24 season, Goerne embarked on an extensive recital and orchestral tour of China and has performed in a series of recitals with Evgeny Kissin in Europe and the United States. He sang the world premiere of Jörg Widmann's Schumannliebe at the Casa da Musica in Porto and the Cologne Philharmonie. In addition to a series of concerts with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, he sang Britten's War Requiem on tour in Germany with the SWR Symphony Orchestra. During the summer festival season, Goerne began a Schubert lied cycle at Lanaudière Festival and was the soloist with the OSM Montreal. He also returned to the Ravinia Festival and to Wigmore Hall, where he sang two recitals with different programs. Goerne also appeared at the Salzburg Festival, where he gave a lieder recital with Markus Hinterhäuser and performed Widmann’s Schumannliebe with the Camerata Salzburg.
In the upcoming 2024/25 season, his schedule includes tours in Asia with Maria João Pires and in Australia with Daniil Trifonov. Goerne will perform Bluebeard with Mikko Franck and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and will also appear at the Musikverein in Vienna for the Christmas concert and perform John Adams' “The Wound Dresser” with Marin Alsop. At the 2025 Mahler Festival, he will be a guest at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with the NHK Symphony Orchestra conducted by Fabio Luisi. He will sing Frank Martin's Jedermann Monologue with the orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera under the baton of Vladimir Jurowski, and he will also appear in Israel with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Lahav Shani. At the Hamburg International Music Festival, he will perform in Wozzeck with Alan Gilbert and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra.
Born in Weimar, he studied with Hans-Joachim Beyer, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Drawing on the writings of the Old Testament, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy created a sumptuous work depicting the life of the prophet Elijah. Considered the most popular oratorio of the 19th century, it is a majestic and dramatic account of the storms, deluges, earthquakes, and fires that surround Elijah’s prophecies, exile, and ascension to heaven. The grandeur of this work, in the spirit of Bach and Händel, which Mendelssohn tirelessly perfected, led to it being chosen by conductor Hannu Lintu to mark the closing of the 25/26 season, bringing together the Gulbenkian Choir and Orchestra in this thrilling final concert.
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