Pelléas and Mélisande
Gulbenkian Orchestra
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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 FoundationThis concert will be broadcast live on 28 March at 19:00 GMT.
Pricing
25% – Under 30
10% – Over 65
Cartão Gulbenkian:
50% – Under 30
15% – Over 65
- Conductor
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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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Lorenzo Viotti
Conductor
Lorenzo Viotti has established himself as one of the most compelling conductors of his generation, acclaimed for his charismatic presence, emotional depth, and remarkable versatility across both symphonic and operatic repertoire.
The 2025/26 season sees him on major stages around the world, including performances with the Vienna Philharmonic, Wiener Symphoniker, Orchestre National de France, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and the Filarmonica della Scala, with whom he continues a fruitful collaboration. He also appears with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, where he served as Chief Conductor until 2025. In Asia, he returns to Japan with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra ahead of becoming its Music Director in the 2026/27 season.
A passionate opera conductor, Viotti debuts at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia with Faust, and returns to Zurich Opera for Die Fledermaus and to the Vienna State Opera for Puccini’s Il Trittico. His tenure as Chief Conductor of Dutch National Opera (2021–2025) featured critically acclaimed productions such as Peter Grimes, the Amsterdam premiere of Die Fledermaus and a three years Puccini cycle in collaboration with director Barrie Kosky.
He has previously led productions at Teatro alla Scala, the Paris Opera, Zurich Opera, and the Semperoper Dresden, while his symphonic collaborations include engagements with the Berlin Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Berlin, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Cleveland Orchestra, and many others.
Born in Lausanne into a Franco-Italian family of musicians, Viotti studied piano, singing, and percussion in Lyon before continuing his conducting studies in Vienna and Weimar. He rose to international prominence after winning several major competitions, including the Nestlé Young Conductors Award at the Salzburg Festival, the MDR Symphony Orchestra Conducting Competition, and the Cadaqués International Conducting Competition. In 2017, he was named “Newcomer of the Year” at the International Opera Awards.
Alexander von Zemlinsky
Arnold Schönberg
Although Schoenberg expressed his debt to Mahler’s music, it would be Zemlinsky who brought the two together and, in fact, the composer that Schoenberg considered his true master. After a first meeting, when Schoenberg was taking his first steps in composition, Zemlinsky took him under his wing and the friendship developed into a fruitful artistic bond. In this programme, conducted by Lorenzo Viotti, we’ll hear the play Zemlinsky wrote based on The Little Mermaid and the symphonic poem Schoenberg imagined based on the play Pelléas and Mélisande.
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.