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Cascais Ópera Joins International Mentorship Program for Women in the Cultural Sector

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The Executive Director of Cascais Ópera, Alexandra Maurício, is participating as a mentor in the first edition of the Mentorship Program of the Women’s Forum of Ópera Latinoamérica (OLA) — an initiative designed to promote professional development and empower women in the performing arts sector, with a special focus on opera and Ibero-American cultural institutions.

This program, developed by OLA — an international collaborative network of which Cascais Ópera is an active member — is supported by the Chilean organization Mujeres Empresarias, and aims to strengthen the role of women within member institutions by creating opportunities for growth, learning, and leadership.

As a mentor, Alexandra Maurício joins a group of leading women professionals from prominent theatres, festivals, and opera companies, including the Teatro Municipal de São Paulo, Municipal de Santiago (Chile), Teatro Real (Spain), Teatro Nacional Sucre (Ecuador), and SODRE (Uruguay), among others.

This inaugural edition of the program not only supports the advancement of female talent in the industry, but also fosters networks of support and experience-sharing among professionals from diverse countries and cultural contexts.

Cascais Ópera – International Vocal Competition is proud to be part of this global network of institutions working together to promote equality, artistic excellence, and cross-cultural exchange.

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Over the past three decades, primarily in London, Portugal and Amsterdam, Dr Jorge Balça
has developed a strong portfolio of work and a unique combination of skillsets – as a stage
director (of theatre, opera, and hybrid forms), a teacher and workshop leader, a presentation
skills, acting and creativity coach, and practice-based researcher. His work in all these
domains is distinguished by his commitment to and skill in making fantasy and invention
emerge from precise knowledge and training – and by his ability to inspire a similar alchemy
in his collaborators.

Classically trained as an actor and countertenor, he studied theatre directing in London and
Moscow, specialising in Shakespeare, techniques of adaptation, Meyerhold and commedia
dell’arte. Jorge also holds a PhD exploring the dramatic training of opera performers.
With a love for site-specific projects and collaborative forms, and an equal flair for comedy
and drama, his work is dramaturgically inventive, visually striking, and physically engaged.
He was the artistic director of Bloomsbury Opera and associate director of The Opera
Makers, both in London. In Portugal, he has recently directed L’Heure Espagnole and The
Turn of the Screw at Centro Cultural de Belém, and Don Giovanni and La Voix Humaine at
Festival de Ópera de Óbidos.

Jorge is committed to his work as a teacher, having taught at the Dutch National Opera
Academy, Morley College London, Universidade de Évora and other institutions. He
maintains an international coaching private practice and is the acting coach at the Neil
Semer Vocal Institute in Italy.

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Over the past three decades, primarily in London, Portugal and Amsterdam, Dr Jorge Balça
has developed a strong portfolio of work and a unique combination of skillsets – as a stage
director (of theatre, opera, and hybrid forms), a teacher and workshop leader, a presentation
skills, acting and creativity coach, and practice-based researcher. His work in all these
domains is distinguished by his commitment to and skill in making fantasy and invention
emerge from precise knowledge and training – and by his ability to inspire a similar alchemy
in his collaborators.

Classically trained as an actor and countertenor, he studied theatre directing in London and
Moscow, specialising in Shakespeare, techniques of adaptation, Meyerhold and commedia
dell’arte. Jorge also holds a PhD exploring the dramatic training of opera performers.
With a love for site-specific projects and collaborative forms, and an equal flair for comedy
and drama, his work is dramaturgically inventive, visually striking, and physically engaged.
He was the artistic director of Bloomsbury Opera and associate director of The Opera
Makers, both in London. In Portugal, he has recently directed L’Heure Espagnole and The
Turn of the Screw at Centro Cultural de Belém, and Don Giovanni and La Voix Humaine at
Festival de Ópera de Óbidos.

Jorge is committed to his work as a teacher, having taught at the Dutch National Opera
Academy, Morley College London, Universidade de Évora and other institutions. He
maintains an international coaching private practice and is the acting coach at the Neil
Semer Vocal Institute in Italy.

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