Gulbenkian Choir
Founded in 1964 by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Coro Gulbenkian has a full symphonic formation of around 100 singers and can also appear as a smaller vocal ensemble, according to the nature of the performed musical works.
Thus, the Coro Gulbenkian may appear as an a cappella ensemble, performing 16th to 18th century Portuguese polyphony, or join the Orquestra Gulbenkian or other orchestras to perform the Classical, Romantic and Contemporary choral-symphonic repertoire. It has also performed (and often premiered) many 20th century works by Portuguese and international composers.
Coro Gulbenkian has been frequently invited to collaborate with major international orchestras – such as the London Philharmonia, the Freiburg Barockorchester, the San Francisco Symphony, the Orchestra of the XVIII Century, the Monte Carlo Philharmonic, the Baden-Baden Symphony, the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphony, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Czeck Philharmonic, the Strasbourg Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Orchestre National de Lyon and Orchestre de Paris, among others –, working with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Colin Davis, Emmanuel Krivine, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Frans Brüggen, Franz Welser-Möst, Gerd Albrecht, Istvan Fischer, Michael Gielen, Michael Tilson Thomas, Rafael Frübeck de Burgos, René Jacobs, Theodor Guschlbauer and Leonard Slatkin.
In addition to these international tours, with either the Orquestra Gulbenkian or other orchestras and ensembles, Coro Gulbenkian has collaborated with important music festivals around the world, including performances at the Eurotop Festival (Amsterdam), the Veneto Festival (Padua and Venice), the City of London Festival, the International Music Festival of Granada and the Hong Kong Arts Festival. In 2010, Coro Gulbenkian embarked on a tour of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, with the Freiburg Barockorchester conducted by René Jacobs, with semi-staged performances in Brussels (Palais des Beaux Arts), Lisbon (Gulbenkian Grand Auditorium) and Paris (Salle Pleyel), which were acclaimed by the public and the critics. In 2011, Coro Gulbenkian performed at the Royal Festival Hall, in London, with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, a performance which featured Bartók’s Cantata Profana, within an annual series dedicated to the music of Bartók. In 2012, Coro Gulbenkian was a guest artist at the Auditório Nacional de Música in Madrid, Spain, and performed three concerts of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Orchestre National de Lyon, conducted by Leonard Slatkin, in the Auditorium ONL in Lyons, France, the last of which was recorded and broadcasted live on the channel www.medici.tv. Recent international engagements include five performances of Richard Strauss’ Elektra, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen and directed by Patrice Chéreau, at the Festival de Aix-en-Provence, as well as concerts in Santiago de Compostela, in Spain, with the Real Orquesta Filarmónica de Galicia.
Coro Gulbenkian has recorded extensively for Philips, Archiv-Deutsche Grammophon, Erato, Cascavelle, Musifrance, as well as FNAC-Music, performing a wide-spanned repertoire from Early-Renaissance polyphony to Xenakis, either a cappella or with different orchestras. Several of these albums received international awards such as the «Berlioz Prize» of the French Académie Nationale du Disque Lyrique, the «Grand Prix International du Disque» of the Charles Cross Academy or the «Orphee d’Or», amongst others. It also recorded, for Portugaler label, works a cappella by XVI-XVII century composers Pero de Gamboa and Lourenço Ribeiro, as well as Vilancicos Negros of the XVII century, from the Monastery of Santa Cruz de Coimbra. Recent releases include a CD of Portuguese Christmas Songs, which obtained unanimous acclaim of both the public and the critics.
Michel Corboz was the Principal Conductor of the Coro Gulbenkian between 1969 and 2019. Martina Batič is currently the Principal Conductor, Inês Tavares Lopes is the Associate Conductor and Jorge Matta the Artistic Consultant.
Conductors
Choir Members
Sopranos
Ana Bela Covão, Ana Caramelo, Ariana Russo, Beatriz Ventura, Bianca Varela, Carina Matias Ferreira, Catarina Carvalho, Clara Coelho, Claire Rocha Santos, Cristina Ferreira, Filipa Passos, Inês Rasquinho, Isabel Cruz Fernandes, Laura Matadinho, Lucília de Jesus, Margarida Simões, Maria João Sousa, Maria José Conceição, Mariana Lemos, Mariana Moldão, Marisa Figueira, Mónica Beltrão, Mónica Santos, Rosa Caldeira, Sara Afonso, Sofia David, Susana Duarte, Tânia Viegas, Teresa Costa Queirós, Teresa Duarte, Verónica Silva
Contraltos
Ana Urbano, Beatriz Cebola, Catarina Saraiva, Carmo Pereira Coutinho, Elsa Gomes, Estrela Martinho, Fátima Nunes, Helena Rodrigues, Joana Esteves, Joana Nascimento, Laura Lopes, Laura Martins, Liliana Silva, Lucinda Gerhardt, Luísa Vaz Pinto, Madalena Barão, Manon Marques, Margarida Simas, Maria Bustorff, Markéta Chumová, Marta Queirós, Marta Ribeiro, Michelle Rollin, Patrícia Manso, Patrícia Mendes, Rita Tavares, Tânia Valente, Verónica Santos
Tenores
Alberto Vilas Boas, Aníbal Coutinho, António Gonçalves, Artur Afonso, Bruno Sales, Dinis Rodrigues, Diogo Pombo, Francisco Cortes, Gerson Coelho, Gustavo Paixão, Hugo Martins, Jaime Bacharel, João Ávila Coutinho, João Barros, João Custódio, João Pedro Afonso, Miguel Carvalho, Nuno Fonseca, Nuno Raimundo, Pedro Miguel, Pedro Rodrigues, Ricardo Moniz e Castro, Ross Buddie, Rui Aleixo, Rui Miranda, Sérgio Fontão, Simão Pourbaix
Baixos
Afonso Moreira, Alexandre Gomes, Diogo Gonçalves, Filipe Leal, Frederico Paes, Gonçalo Freitas, Henrique Coelho, Hugo Wever, João Costa, João Líbano Monteiro, João Luís Ferreira, João Silva, José Bruto da Costa, Lucas Mandillo Robert, Luís Mayer-Bento, Luís Neiva, Luís Pereira, Mário Almeida, Martim Líbano Monteiro, Miguel Jesus, Miguel La Feria, Nuno Gonçalo Fonseca, Nuno Rodrigues, Pedro Casanova, Pedro Morgado, Rui Bôrras, Rui Gonçalo, Tiago Batista, Tiago Navarro, Tomé Azevedo
Coordination
António Lopes Gonçalves
Production
Inês Rosário, Marta Ferreira de Andrade and Inês Nunes