The Creation
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
15% – Over 65
- Conductor
- Soprano
- Tenor
- Bass-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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Louise Alder
Soprano
One of the most in demand artists today, British soprano Louise Alder has firmly established herself as “an instinctive singing-actress” (The Arts Desk) and “a terrific talent, combining a big, lustrous voice with flawless intonation and keen intelligence” (The Times). A hugely versatile artist she is equally at home in the world’s most important opera, concert and recital venues such as Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, Glyndebourne Festival, Bayerische Staatsoper, Carnegie Hall and the Wigmore Hall, where she held a widely acclaimed artistic residency in 2024.
In the 2024/25 season, Alder will make several anticipated role debuts: her debut as Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Wiener Staatsoper; Micaëla Carmen at San Francisco Opera and
her first Contessa in a new production of Le nozze di Figaro at Glyndebourne; as well as returning to the role of Susanna in the same opera, in the production she premiered at the Bayerische Staatsoper last season. On the concert platform her appearances include Strauss’ Vier Lieder Op. 27 with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra; a concert of Mozart Arias at the Royal Danish
Theater; and Haydn’s The Creation with the Gulbenkian Orchestra. Handel also features heavily this season with engagements such as Messiah with the Academy of the Ancient Music, Alexander’s Feast at the Mozartwoche in Salzburg; L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato with Arcangelo; and a tour of Giulio Cesare together with The English Concert at the Barbican and in North America, culminating with Carnegie Hall. In recital, Alder joins forces with tenor Mauro Peter and pianist Joseph Middleton for Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch which they will present at the Leeds Lieder, Wigmore Hall, Musikverein in Vienna and Oper Frankfurt.Her engagements last season included Fiordiligi Così fan tutte and Susanna in a new production of Le nozze di Figaro at the Bayerische Staatsoper; and Cleopatra Giulio Cesare for Glyndebourne Festival Opera. On the concert platform she sang Mozart concert arias with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; arias by Mozart and Rossini with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; the title role in Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri with the Royal Northern Sinfonia; Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks; Mahler’s Symphony no. 4 with the Bayerisches Staatsorchester and Vladimir Jurowski; Haydn’s Creation with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Edward Gardner; and Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and Philippe Jordan. She also gave recitals in Schwarzenberg, Vienna, Helsinki, Stockholm and curated a season-long residency at London’s Wigmore Hall.
Recent opera successes include Susanna for the Wiener Staatsoper, the Bayerische Staatsoper, and the Opernhaus Zürich; Zerlina Don Giovanni for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and the Teatro Real in Madrid; Gretel Hänsel und Gretel and Marzelline Fidelio for the Bayerische Staatsoper; Sophie Der Rosenkavalier for the Wiener Staatsoper and the Glyndebourne Festival; Anne Truelove The Rake’s Progress for the Glyndebourne Festival and Cleopatra Giulio Cesare for the Theater an der Wien and Oper Frankfurt.
In concert, highlights include Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle and his Symphony No. 4 with the Bayerisches Staatsorchester and Vladimir Jurowski; Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen with Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and Jakub Hrůša; Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Kirill Petrenko; Strauss’s Four Last Songs with the Ulster Orchestra and Daniele Rustioni at the BBC Proms; the title role in Theodora at the BBC Proms and at the Konzerthaus in Vienna with Arcangelo and Jonathan Cohen; the title role in Semele on tour with the Monteverdi Choir and Sir John Eliot Gardiner; Schumann’s Szenen aus Goethes Faust with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; Messiah with the New York Philharmonic and Harry Bicket; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Tokyo Philharmonic; and Mozart Arias at the Salzburg Mozartwoche with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Daniel Harding.
A hugely acclaimed recitalist her appearances include the BBC Proms, the Musikverein in Graz, Madrid’s Fundación Juan March and the Fundación Privada Victoria de los Ángeles in Barcelona, Snape Maltings, and the Oxford International Song Festival.
Her extensive discography includes Chère Nuit: French Songs, featuring songs from Ravel to Yvain (Chandos); The Russian Connection, programming songs by Rachmaninov, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Medtner and Britten (Chandos); a disc of Strauss Lieder, Through Life and Love (Orchid Classics) with pianist Joseph Middleton; Title role Theodora (Arcangelo/Alpha Classics); Lucia The Rape of Lucretia (Opus Arte/Glyndebourne); and the Title Role in Handel’s Semele (Monteverdi Choir/SDG).
A former member of the ensemble of Oper Frankfurt, Alder studied at the Royal College of Music’s International Opera School where she was the inaugural Kiri Te Kanawa Scholar. She is the winner of the Young Singer Award at the 2017 International Opera Awards; the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize at the 2017 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition; the 2015 inaugural Young British Soloists’ Competition; and is the recipient of Glyndebourne's 2014 John Christie Award.
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Nicholas Phan
Tenor
Described by the Boston Globe as “one of the world’s most remarkable singers,” American tenor Nicholas Phan is increasingly recognized as an artist of distinction. An artist with an incredibly diverse repertoire that spans nearly 500 years of music, he performs regularly with the world’s leading orchestras and opera companies. An avid recitalist and a passionate advocate for art song and vocal chamber music, in 2010 Phan co-founded Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, an organization devoted to promoting this underserved repertoire.
A celebrated recording artist, Phan’s most recent album, A.Change.Is.Gonna.Come, was released to critical acclaim in May 2024. His album, Stranger¿.Works.for.Tenor.by.Nico.Muhly? was nominated for the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. His previous albums, Clairières.and Gods.and.Monsters, were nominated for the same award in 2020 and 2017. He is the first singer of Asian descent to be nominated in the history of the category, which has been awarded by the Recording Academy since 1959.
Sought after as a curator and programmer, in addition to his work as artistic director of CAIC, Phan is the host and creator of BACH 52, a web series examining the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. He has created programs for broadcast on WFMT and WQXR and has also served as guest curator for projects with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Bravo! Vail Music Festival, San Francisco Opera Center, and San Francisco Performances, where he served as the vocal artist-in-residence from 2014-2018. Phan’s programs often examine themes of identity, highlight unfairly underrepresented voices from history, and strive to underline the relevance of music from all periods to the currents of the present day.
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Robert Gleadow
Bass-Baritone
Canadian bass-baritone Robert Gleadow continues to make his mark on opera and concert stages worldwide since graduating from the Royal Opera House Covent Garden's Jette Parker Young Artists Programme and the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio.
His performances at the Houston Grand Opera as Talbot in Donizetti's Maria Stuarda, alongside Joyce DiDonato and conducted by Patrick Summers, were very well received by the critics. Most of his engagements are devoted to Mozart, a repertoire for which he is widely acclaimed.
In recent seasons, he has appeared at the Auckland Opera, the Paris Opera, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Opéra de Lausanne and the Bremen Music Festival. This season, Robert sings Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte at Opéra de Lausanne and Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro at Opéra de Marseille. He also recently performed the role of Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni at the Opéra Royal de Versailles. Critics readily acknowledge his total physical commitment to his roles and his magnetic theatricality, not to mention his powerful, expressive voice, full of ease.
Robert can be heard as Lorenzo in Capuleti e Montecchi on the Deutsche Grammophon release with Anna Netrebko.
Joseph Haydn
One of the special moments of the 24/25 season will be the performance of Joseph Haydn’s oratorio The Creation, directed by Hannu Lintu. The Principal Conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra refers to this masterpiece by the Austrian composer as one of the most optimistic in the choral repertoire, travelling from chaos to a radiant future. A score that draws on the books of Genesis, the Psalms and John Milton’s poem Paradise Lost to create a dazzling celebration of the creation of the world. For Lintu, every Haydn piece is an adventure, and this one, he believes, is the most beautiful of all.
Sponsor Gulbenkian Music
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