Romeo and Juliet
Sunday Concerts
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Date
- 12:00 / Cancelled 12:00 / Sold out Sunday, 12:00
- 16:00 / Cancelled 16:00 / Sold out Sunday, 16:00
Location
Grand Auditorium Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation- Conductor
- Commentary
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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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Tianyi Lu
Conductor
Internationally recognized for her thrilling energy on the podium, deeply creative interpretation, and open-hearted leadership, Chinese-born New Zealander Tianyi Lu collaborates with leading orchestras and opera houses around the world. Her work is driven by an ethos of empowerment, creating connection, and compassion across diverse communities through music.
After winning first prize in 2020 at both the Sir Georg Solti International Conductors' Competition and the International Conducting Competition ‘Guido Cantelli’ in Italy, Tianyi Lu was appointed Conductor-in-Residence with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra in Norway, a position she held until the end of the 2023/24 season. She served as Principal Conductor of the St Woolos Sinfonia in the UK until 2024 and was Assistant Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra from 2017 to 2019.
Recent highlights include Tianyi Lu’s BBC Proms debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sol Gabetta, as well as performances and recordings with the New York Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, London Philharmonic Orchestra, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, Philharmonia Orchestra, The Hallé Manchester, MDR-Sinfonieorchester, Orchestre National de Lyon, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, and Sydney Symphony. A former Dudamel Fellow, she made her Hollywood Bowl debut with the LA Philharmonic in 2021 and returned for her Walt Disney Concert Hall debut in 2023. Her operatic engagements include “Rigoletto” at Aalto-Musiktheater Essen and the 2023 world premiere of “Marie & Pierre” at Theater Basel.
In the 2025/26 season, Tianyi Lu makes notable debuts with international orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, National Symphony Orchestra Washington, New World Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Utah Symphony Orchestra, Tiroler Symphonieorchester Innsbruck, Athens State Orchestra, Bochumer Symphoniker, and embarks on a touring project debut in Belgium with the Orchestre National de Belgique. She also returns to perform with the Residentie Orkest Den Haag, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and the Pacific Symphony.
Deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to fostering a more empathetic world through the arts, Tianyi Lu serves on the Board of Directors of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and is an Artist Ambassador for Opera for Peace. She is frequently invited to collaborate with communities and institutions, sharing her insights on empowering leadership, cultural transformation, resilience, and wellbeing. Her outreach work includes appearances on Welsh National Opera’s podcast “The O Word”, guest speaking for London Marathon Events and the “Do More Good” podcast, and conducting and hosting “Ears Wide Open” concerts with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Tianyi Lu completed her Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting with Distinction at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 2015, studying under David Jones. She has assisted or participated in masterclasses with Sir Andrew Davis and Xian Zhang (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra), Daniele Gatti (Concertgebouworkest), and Bernard Haitink (Lucerne Festival Orchestra). Tianyi is also an alumna of the Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera. Her teachers and mentors include Sian Edwards, Carlo Rizzi, Neemi Järvi, Alexander Polianichko, Kenneth Kiesler, Carlo Montanaro, and Alice Farnham.
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Iva Barbosa
Clarinet
Iva Barbosa began studying music with her father. She later studied at the Music Conservatory of Oporto and at ESMAE, with Adam Wierzba and António Saiote, respectively. She has been an award winner in over a dozen competitions, in particular, first prizes received at the 12th Estoril Interpretation Competition / El Corte Inglês Award, at the Young Musicians Award, at the 1st International Clarinet Competition of Oporto and at the Rotary International Young Revelation Competition. She received second place in the international Young Artist Competition, in Utah (USA), at the International Villa de Montroy Competition, in Valencia, and was a semi-finalist in the international “Prague Spring” competition.
As a soloist, she has played with various orchestras, including: National Orchestra of Oporto, Academic Orchestra of Oporto, Gulbenkian Orchestra, ESMAE Orchestra, Cascais and Oeiras Chamber Orchestra, Metropolitan Orchestra of Lisbon, Beiras Philharmonic and the Portuguese Symphonic Orchestra.
She has been invited to give master classes on the International Music Courses of Guimarães, the Oliveira do Bairro Summer Courses, at the Costa Cabral Academy of Music, the Piaget Institute of Mirandela, the Regional Conservatory of Vila Real, the Academy of Avintes, the Espinho Professional School of Music, the Conservatory of Music of Portalegre, the Las Palmas Conservatory and the Tenerife Conservatory. She is 1st Soloist at the Gulbenkian Orchestra and a founder member of the Vintage Quartet.
Jean Sibelius
The Tempest, Suite no. 1, op. 109/2
(selection)
Sergei Prokofiev
Romeo and Juliet
(suites 1 and 2 – selection)
Duration: 60 minutes without intermission
In these Sunday Concerts, the energetic and creative attitude of the conductor Tianyi Lu is put at the service of two fascinating works, linked by inspiration in the work of William Shakespeare. The challenge for Sibelius to create music from The Tempest, a play in which the English playwright sets Prospero to resort to magic to unleash a storm and cause a shipwreck, would stimulate in the composer one of his most stunning symphonic pieces. Prokofiev, for his part, created the ballet Romeo and Juliet, a dance version of the archetypal romantic narrative.
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.
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