José Corvelo

Baritone José Corvelo completed his advanced singing studies at Escola Superior de Música e das Artes do Espectáculo, in Porto, Portugal, with José de Oliveira Lopes. He attended master-classes under the guidance of Fernanda Correia, Oliveira Lopes, Rudolf Knoll, Lamara Tchekónia, Liliana Bizineche, Francisco Lázaro, Enza Ferrari, Jorge Vaz de Carvalho, Ambra Vespesiani, Ettore Nova and Daniel Muñoz. José Corvelo is now one of the most sought-after Portuguese baritones. In 2000 he began a regular collaboration as a soloist with Circulo Portuense de Ópera, Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Orquestra do Norte and The Portuguese Opera Company. There he made important debuts such as Uberto, Bartolo, Figaro, Leporello, Germont, Monterone, Escamillo, Sharpless, Alfio, Tonio/Taddeo and many others. He took part in the world première of Eurico Carrapatoso’s A Floresta (The Forest, 2004, Teatro São Luis, Lisboa – co-production with Teatro Nacional de São Carlos) and recorded in DVD Carrapatoso’s O Lobo Diogo e o mosquito Valentim (Diogo the Wolf and Valentim the Mosquito, Casa da Música, Porto). His vast concert repertoire includes oratorio, masses and lieder. He has worked with distinguished scene directors and with conductors such as M. Tardue, J. Reynolds, Ferreira Lobo, Félix Carrasco, Osvaldo Ferreira, R. Giovaninetti, Martin André, Zsolt Hamar, NikŠa Bareza, R. Manfredini, N. Giusti, Enrico Dovico, César Viana, J. Paulo Santos, C.Bochmann, Ivo Cruz, R. Massena, G. Andreoli, Cesário Costa, G. Arglebe, António V. Lourenço, Emílio de César, R. Perez, J. Willig, M. Letonja, G. Bülh and many others.
(text by José Corvelo)

Luís Rodrigues

Photo: Alfredo Rocha

Baritone Luís Rodrigues studied in Lisbon at Conservatório Nacional with José Carlos Xavier and at Escola Superior de Música with Helena Pina Manique. In his country he won the “Luísa Todi” Singing Contest and the RDP-Young Musicians Award (with pianist David Santos), and abroad the 2nd prize at the Concours Festival de la Mélodie Française de Saint-Chamond (France, 1996) and the 1st prize ex-aequo at the PoulencPlus Competition ( New York, 1999 ). He’s regularly invited to S. Carlos Opera Theatre in Lisbon, where he performed roles such as Shaunard, Masetto, Count Robinson, Harlekin, Ping, Figaro, Guglielmo and Marcello. He sang Marcello and Germont at Oporto´s Coliseo and took part in productions of Hänsel und Gretel, Die Zauberflöte, Cosi fan Tutte, Cunning Little Vixen, L’Elisir d’Amore, D. Giovanni, Tosca, Carmen and Il barbiere di Siviglia throughout his country. Under João Paulo Santos direction he sang in Sweeney Todd, Albert Herring, The English Cat and Neues vom Tage. His interpretation of Semicúpio in “Guerras do Alecrim e Mangerona” won him the Portuguese press award for classical musicians Prémio Bordalo - Casa da Imprensa . He performed in many occasions with Gulbenkian Foundation Orchestra and Chorus, singing Oratorio with Michel Corboz and Opera in concert versions with Lawrence Foster. His concert performances also include “Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen” and “Poème de l’amour et de la mer” with Portuguese Symphonic Orchestra and “Kindertotenlieder” with National Orchestra of Oporto. He recorded Suppé’s Requiem with Gulbenkian Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Michel Corboz (Virgin Classics) and Schubert’s Winterreise with David Santos (AboutMusic). (adapted from text by Luís Rodrigues)

Discography

Catarina Molder

Born in Lisbon, soprano Catarina Molder got her Master degree of Singing at Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa, followed by post-graduation in Singing at Hamburg Music University. She worked with the choir of Teatro Nacional de São Carlos and made several recordings for RDP plus concerts with orchestra under the direction of João Paulo Santos, Jorge Matta, Christopher Bochmann, Cesário Costa, Leite Raposo and Will Humburg. She took part in the Music Festivals of Macau, Musicatlântico with two Opera Galas in Azores, the International Music Festivals of Guarda and Leiria. Between 1999 and 2002 she did recitals with german lider, mélodie, kabarett songs, Portuguese songs, among others, all over Portugal. She created the show “Universo da Infância”, Song and Piano Recitals for Children which, since the success of its premiere in Lisbon, in October 99, travelled all over the country for more than 5 years, with over 200 performances. She featured in José Júlio Lopes’ contemporary opera “Nefertiti”, among others, and produced several successful operas and opera shows, some of them for children audiences. Her enormous flexibility in repertoire, from Puccini to contemporary music, from lied and melodie to Kabarett, musical or jazz, and her special skills as an actress lead her to do both repertoire Operas or modern experimental shows. She participated as narrator and performer in Concerts for Children where she also sung with the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra and Gulbenkian Orchestra. Besides her career as a singer, she also directs her own Opera Company (Companhia de Ópera do Castelo) in Lisbon. In 2005/06 she was invited by the Gulbenkian Foundation to create and direct the Educational Project Discovering Music at Gulbenkian, where she is also the artistic director of a Mini-Saison specially design for children and young people. (adapted from text by Catarina Molder)

Contacts: ph. 00 351 936355794
catarinamolder@gmail.com coperadocastelo@gmail.com

Catarina Molder's show "Memory of Angels":

Bruno Monteiro

Bruno Monteiro is hailed by critics as “one of today´s best Portuguese violinists”. He received his Master’s in Music in Violin Performance with academic honors from the Chicago College of the Performing Arts/Roosevelt University. He is also a graduate with the highest grades from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. His major teachers were Shmuel Ashkenasi, Patinka Kopec, Isidore Cohen, Peter Winograd and Laurie Carney. He received also the guidance of Gerardo Ribeiro, with whom he worked privately in Chicago. Prior to his studies in the USA, he was a student in Portugal of Carlos Fontes and obtained his conservatory violin diploma with the highest distinction. Awarded national and internationally, he won, among others, the First Violin Prize of the Portuguese Musical Youth Competition and was a winner, with a Special Violin Mention, at the Ibla Grand Prize International Music Competition in Italy. With an active repertoire that ranges widely from the Baroque to our days, he performs in recital, as soloist with orchestra and as a chamber musician in the most important venues of Portugal. He also performed extensively on the Portuguese Television and Radio. Bruno Monteiro was chosen to represent Portugal at the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra, joining the first violin section. He also performed in many concert halls outside Portugal. His first CD, “Début” (2007), contains works by Franck and Grieg, while the second, “20th Century Expressions” (2008), features works by Szymanowski, Bloch and Korngold. A third (“Recital”) will come out In March 2009, and offering Brahms, Fauré, Respighi and Sarasate (all three CDs with pianist João Paulo Santos, whom he appears in recitals with). (adapted from text by Bruno Monteiro)

Bruno Monteiro's website

Available discography