St. Matthew's Passion
Gulbenkian Orchestra and Choir / Martina Batič
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Date
- 20:00 / Cancelled 20:00 / Sold out Wednesday, 20:00
- 20:00 / Cancelled 20:00 / Sold out Thursday, 20:00
Location
Grand Auditorium Calouste Gulbenkian FoundationPricing
50% – Under 30 years old
15% – Over 65 years old
- Conductor
- Coro Infanto-Juvenil da Universidade de Lisboa
- Soprano
- Tenor
- Marco Alves dos Santos 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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Martina Batič
Principal Conductor
Martina Batič is one of the leading choir directors of her generation. As the winner of the renowned Eric Ericson Competition 2006, she is celebrated for her particular versatility in conducting a broad choral repertoire from chamber music to symphony.
Martina Batič has been Principal Conductor of the Chœur de Radio France from 2018-2022. Before that, she held the position of Artistic Director of the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir. From 2004-2009, Martina Batič was Artistic Director of the Choir of the Slovenian National Opera in Ljubljana. In season 2023/24 she is taking the Chief Conductor position of Danish National Vocal Ensemble in Copenhagen.
The Slovenian is a sought-after guest conductor and has been on podium of the RIAS Chamber Choir, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, MDR Rundfunkchor, SWR Vokalensemble, Chorwerk Ruhr, as well as the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, Swedish Radio Choir, Danish National Vocal Ensemble, The Norwegian Soloists' Choir, Suomen Laulu Choir & Finnish Baroque Orchestra, Nederlands Kamerkoor, Netherlands Radio Choir, Flemish Radio Choir, Gulbenkian Choir and others.Future highlights include her return visits to Nederlands Kamerkoor, Netherlands Radio Choir, Gulbenkian Orchestra & Choir and engagements with Flemish Radio Choir, SWR Vokalensemble, Coro Casa da Musica Porto, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Zürcher Sing-Akademie, Helsinki Chamber Choir, Bachchor Salzburg among others.
Martina Batič has conducted A cappella concerts at festivals such as Baltic Sea Stockholm, Ultima Oslo, Choregies d’Orange, Montpellier, Saint-Denis and Présences Paris. In 2018 she conducted the Swedish Radio Choir & Eric Ericson Chamber Choir in a gala concert on the occasion of Eric Ericson's 100th birthday.
Martina Batič obtained her Bachelor of Music from the Music Academy of the University of Ljubljana in 2002. She continued her studies at the University of Music and Theater in Munich in the class of Prof. Michael Gläser, where she completed her master's degree in choral conducting with distinction in 2004. She attended master classes across Europe and worked with renowned choral conductors such as Eric Ericson.
In 2019 Martina Batič received the Slovenian national prize “Prešeren Fund Awards” for her artistic achievements in the field of choral conducting. -
Ana Quintans
Soprano
Ana Quintans studied at the Conservatory of Lisbon and the Flanders Opera Studio. She worked with conductors like Ivor Bolton, William Christie, Michel Corboz, Vincent Dumestre, Leonardo Garcia Alarcón and Marc Minkowski.
Recordings include Fauré’s Requiem, and La Spinalba by Almeida, Monteverdi´s L´Orfeo with Cappella Mediterranea and Les Indes Galantes with La Chapelle Harmonique. She also recorded a solo CD, featuring arias by Albinoni as well as the title role in Sebastian Duron´s Coronis. DVD-recordings include Charpentier´s David et Jonathas and Monteverdi´s L´Incoronazione di Poppea, both with Les Arts Florissants under William Christie9
She worked with stage directors like Deborah Warner, Andreas Homoki, Barry Kosky, Pier Luigi Pizzi and Graham Vick and at theatres like Opéra de Lyon, Bavarian State Opera, Teatro Real Madrid Dutch National Opera and concert halls like Gulbenkian, Salle Pleyel as well as at the festivals of Aix-en-Provence, Edinburgh, Glyndebourne and Salzburg.
Recent highlights include Salieri´s opera Cublai gran Kan di Tartari at Theater an der Wien with Les Talens Lyriques under Christophe Rousset (also recorded for CD) and the title role of Joao Guilherme Ripper´s chamber opera Domitila at the Fundacion Juan March in Madrid, which she repeated at the Teatro Mayor in Bogota. Other projects this and coming season include concerts with the ensembles of Cappella Mediterranea (a tour of choreographed concerts of Rameau´s Les Indes Galantes) and Le Poème Harmonique.(Dido and Aeneas by Purcell), Purcell´s The Fairy Queen at the Savonlinna Festival as well as the role of Sangaride in Lully´s Atys at the Royal Opera of Versailles.
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Toby Spence
Tenor
An honours graduate and choral scholar from New College, Oxford, Toby Spence studied at the Opera School of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He was the winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society 2011 Singer of the Year award.
In concert Toby has sung with some of the most renowned orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He has appeared as a guest soloist at the Easter Festival in Salzburg and the Edinburgh International Festival. He has worked with an impressive array of conductors such as Christoph von Dohnanyi, Sir Simon Rattle, Michael Tilson Thomas, Sir Antonio Pappano, Valery Gergiev, Sir Colin Davis, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gustavo Dudamel, Edward Gardner, Roger Norrington and Charles Mackerras.
Operatic highlights include recent role debuts as Erik Der Fliegende Holländer for Teatro La Fenice, Alonso The Tempest for Teatro alla Scala, and title role Parsifal for Opera North, Aschenbach Death in Venice for Opéra National du Rhin, Captain Vere in Deborah Warner’s Billy Budd for Teatro Real, Opera di Roma and ROH, Alwa Lulu for La Monnaie , Anatol Vanessa for Frankfurt Opera, Don Ottavio for the Liceu Barcelona, Eisenstein Die Fledermaus and Antonio The Tempest for the Metropolitan Opera, Tito, Tamino, Henry Morosus Die Schweigsame Frau and Monsieur Taupe Capriccio for the Bayerische Staatsoper, Florestan Fidelio for Garsington Opera and Opera North, Ghandi Satyagraha at the English National Opera, Don Ottavio and Tito for the Wiener Staatsoper as well as Tom Rakewell and David Die Meistersinger for Opéra de Paris. Toby’s longstanding relationship with ROH has seen him sing David Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Tamino Die Zauberflöte, Ferdinand TheTempest, Count Almaviva Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Ramiro La Cenerentola, Tom RakewellThe Rake’s Progress, and Essex Gloriana.
Plans for the 2024/25 season include a return to the role of Erik (Der Fliegende Holländer) for the Irish National Opera, as well as performances of Der Mönch (Die Jakobsleiter) with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra. On the concert platform, Toby will perform Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the Royal Albert Hall, Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with Ben Goldscheider and Fantasia Orchestra, and Handel's Messiah with the Hallé Orchestra.
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Marianne Beate Kielland
Mezzo-Soprano
Marianne Beate Kielland is established as one of the foremost singers of Europe and is the only Norwegian singer to have received a US Grammy nomination in the category «Best Vocal Classical Album». The versatile mezzo-soprano started her international career as an ensemble member of the Staatsoper Hannover, and since then she has been working frequently with leading orchestras and ensembles and enjoying a vast concert repertoire spanning from early 17th century works through to Classical, Romantic and the contemporary eras.
She has appeared with major orchestras and ensembles including Wiener Symphoniker, Oslo Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra, Liverpool Philharmonic, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, Dutch Radio Orchestra, Orchestra of the 18th century, Iceland Symphony, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Royal Flemish Orchestra, Akademie für alte Musik Berlin, Concerto Köln, Europa Galante, Les Talens Lyriques, RIAS Kammerchor, Anima Eterna, Le Concert des Nations, Collegium Vocale Gent and Bach Collegium Japan; and has worked with such distinguished conductors as Herbert Blomstedt, Leonardo Alarcon, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Fabio Biondi, Thomas Dausgaard, Fabio Luisi, Michel Corboz, Juanjo Mena, John Fiore, Philippe Herreweghe, Manfred Honeck, René Jacobs, Andrew Manze, Marc Minkowski, Vasily Petrenko, Daniel Reuss, André de Ridder, Helmut Rilling, Christophe Rousset, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Jordi Savall, Masaaki Suzuki, Thomas Søndergård and Robin Ticciati.
Kielland is also in great demand for Baroque operatic roles including Dido in Dido and Aeneas by Purcell, Merope in Vivaldi's Oracolo in Messenia (an extensive tour with Europa Galante), Messaggiera and Proserpina in Monteverdi’s Orfeo, Fernando in Attilio Ariosti’s La Fede nei tradimenti, Apollo in Handel's Terpsichore, Ercole in Caldara’s Il piu bel nome, Monteverdi's Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda and Aronne in Francesco Nicolò Fago’s Il Faraone Sommerso. She has also appeared as Fricka in Wagner’s Das Rheingold.
Kielland has made more than 50 CD recordings of oratorios, operas, cantatas and songs by Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Caldara, Scarlatti, Beethoven, Schumann, Mahler, Mussorgsky, Martin, Chausson, Korngold, von Suppé, Schönberg, Webern, Berg and Sigurd Islandsmoen. In 2012 she was nominated to a GRAMMY Award in the category Best Classical Vocal Solo for the album Veslemøy Synsk, which features works by composers Edvard Grieg and Olav Anton Thommesen. She performs regularly with pianist Nils Anders Mortensen and the duo has appeared in Norway, Germany Estonia, Russia and Finland. She has also appeared with pianists such as Leif Ove Andsnes, Pascal Roge, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Lise de la Salle and Jos van Immerseel.
Johann Sebastian Bach
St Matthew Passion, BWV 244
If Bach created some of the most beautiful works of sacred music, then the St Matthew Passion is amongst the most divine. Composed and premiered in 1727, it was revised in following years and revived a century later thanks to the enthusiasm of Felix Mendelssohn. According to the latter, it was “the most extraordinary of all the Christian works”, ensuring its continued place today at the summit of the great repertoire of choral music. In this new presentation at Gulbenkian Música, its sublime creation is revealed by the Slovenian conductor Martina Batič, musical director of the Radio France Choir.
Sponsor Gulbenkian Music
Sponsor Gulbenkian Orchestra
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