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Finalists will be announced on June 3

Finalists

Grand Prix Égide

Carlos Gomes Prize | Amazonas Opera Festival

Contract with Mafra Music Festival “Filipe de Sousa” (FMM)

Contract with Ópera na Academia e na Cidade (Porto)

Tomislav Jukić Croatia Tenor 26

Croatian tenor Tomislav Jukić has been a member of the International Opera Studio at the Opernhaus Zürich since the 2024/25 season, and in summer 2025 he joined the Young Singers Project at the renowned Salzburg Festival. In 2023, he won First Prize at the International Singing Competition “Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský” in Slovakia, as well as at the International Antonín Dvořák International Singing Competition. In 2026, he was also awarded First Prize at the José Palet Competition in Martorell. He studied at the Music Academy of the University of Zagreb under Martina Zadro.

First Prize “Teresa Berganza”, for female voice

Contract with Cascais and Oeiras Chamber Orchestra

Nuri Park South Korea Soprano 27

Soprano Nuri Park is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Opera and Music Drama at the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, studying with Prof. Christoph Ulrich Meier, Prof. Jörg Schneider, and Prof. Roland Schwab. She completed her Bachelor’s degree at Seoul National University in South Korea, where she studied with Prof. Attila Jun. From 2022 to 2024, she performed at the Korean National Opera as Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and most recently appeared as Clorinda in Rossini’s La Cenerentola at the Neue Staatsoper.

First Prize “Maurício Bensaude”, for male voice

Contract with Marvão International Music Festival (FIMM)

Contract with International Virgilijus Noreika Competition for Singers (Vilnius, Lithuania)

Junyoung Choi South Korea Baritone 29

South Korean baritone Junyoung Choi currently pursuing his Master’s at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin. Choi has swept numerous prestigious awards, including First Prize at the 2026 AsLiCo and 2025 Piero Cappuccilli International Competitions. He also holds Grand Prizes from the Korea National Opera and Daegu International competitions, with further honors from the Viotti and Salvatore Licitra awards. His repertoire includes title roles in Falstaff and Scarpia in Tosca at Teatro Sociale di Como. Upcoming highlights include debuts as Macbeth and Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera.

Second Prize

Contract with Festival de Ópera de Óbidos (FOO)

Contract with Mafra Music Festival “Filipe de Sousa” (FMM)

Ljubomir Milanović Serbia Baritone 26

Baritone Ljubomir Milanović is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in Mannheim, Germany in the class of Prof. S. Stamenković, as a scholarship holder of the prestigious German National Academic Foundation. A multiple prizewinner, he received awards at the A. Rothenberger, Nina Solo, F. Wunderlich, E. Köth and P. Salomon-Lindberg competitions. He made his professional debut in 2024 as the Flemish Deputy in Don Carlo at the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern, a role he later reprised at Theater Koblenz. Notable roles include: Figaro, Dr. Falke, Peter Besenbinder, Musiklehrer, Mr. Gobineau i.a.

Third Prize

Best Singer under 25 Award

Contract with Mafra Music Festival “Filipe de Sousa” (FMM)

Contract with Orchestra Alma Mater (Torres Novas / Medio Tejo)

WuTongyu China Soprano 23

WuTongyu was born in 2002 and was awarded the first price in the undergraduate degree at Shanghai conservatory of music school. She was recommended as exemption graduate in 2025.

RTP Audience Prize

Istanbul State Opera and Ballet

OCCO Prize – Best Lusophone Performer

Contract with Algarve International Piano Festival

Beatriz Maia Portugal Soprano 28

Beatriz Maia is a soprano currently pursuing a Master’s in Opera at the Bayerische Theaterakademie August Everding in Munich with the Prof. Christiane Iven. She earned a Music Performance degree (2018) and a Master’s in Music Education (2020) from the University of Aveiro. She has performed various roles, notably Marie (La fille du régiment) and Despina (Così fan tutte), collaborating with distinguished conductors and orchestras. An award-winning singer, she has received first prizes and audience awards at major competitions. She will join the Opera Studio of the Wiener Staatsoper in 26-28.

Contract with Marvão International Music Festival (FIMM)

Contract with Ópera na Academia e na Cidade (Porto)

Seonwoo Lee South Korea Soprano 28

South Korean Soprano Seonwoo Lee has been acclaimed for her artistry, with Opera Canada praising her "phenomenal control" and Opera News calling her "a lyric soprano of extraordinary focus and clarity." She is a graduate of the Bayerische Staatsoper's Opernstudio where roles included Oscar Un ballo in maschera, Frasquita in Carmen, Papagena Die Zauberflöte, and Amanda Le Grand Macabre. She returned to the company as Minette Die Englishe Katze and first Courtier in the world premiere of Of One Blood. She also made her role and house debut as Gilda Rigoletto at Royal Danish Opera.

Contract with Mafra Music Festival “Filipe de Sousa” (FMM)

Arianna Manganello Italy Mezzo 29

Italian mezzo-soprano Arianna Manganello has been a member of the ensamble of Deutsche Oper Berlin since 2020, where she has performed roles such as Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Hansel (Hansel und Gretel), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Smeton (Anna Bolena), Fuchs (Die Schlaue Füchslein), Fenena (Nabucco) etc. She debuted at Teatro Regio di Parma, Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, as well as Teatro Goldoni Livorno, National Theatre in Belgrade, Piccolo Opera Festival Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Programme

6 pm - 8 pm
Final Concert

Overture
G. Rossini (La Gazza Ladra)

Arianna Manganello
W. A. Mozart "Ah chi mi dice mai" (Don Giovanni)
J. Massenet "Werther! Qui m'aurait dit... Ces lettres!" (Werther)

Beatriz Maia
G. Verdi "Gualtier Maldè... Caro nome" (Rigoletto)
G. Donizetti "C'en est donc fait... Salut à la France" (La fille du régiment)

Seonwoo Lee
J. Massenet "Je marche sur tous les chemins" (Manon)
G. Verdi "È strano!... Sempre libera" (La traviata)

Junyoung Choi
W. A. Mozart “Hai già vinta la causa” (Le nozze di Figaro)
G. Verdi “È sogno? o realtà?” (Falstaff)

Intermezzo
Ruggiero Leoncavallo (Pagliacci)

WuTongyu
L. v. Beethoven "O wär ich schon mit dir vereint" (Fidelio)
G. Puccini "Sì, mi chiamano Mimì" (La Bohème)

Nuri Park
G. Donizetti "Chacun le sait" (La fille du régiment)
W. A. Mozart "Ei parte... Per pietà" (Così fan tutte)

Tomislav Jukić
P. I. Tchaikovsky "Kuda kuda" (Eugene Onegin)
G. Puccini "Che gelida manina" (La Bohème)

Ljubomir Milanović
R. Wagner "O, du mein holder Abendstern" (Tannhäuser)
W. A. Mozart "Bravo, bravo... Fin ch'han dal vino" (Don Giovanni)

Coda
Johann Strauss II
Champagner-Lied “Im Feuerstrom der Reben” (Die Fledermaus)

8 pm - 9.15 pm
Break for deliberation

Talk: One day we’ll all go to the opera
Topic: Without patrons, there is no *La Traviata*, with:
Ana Proença - Associação Égide
Embassador António Monteiro - Fundação Millennium bcp
José Pena do Amaral - BPI Fundação La Caixa
Jorge Leitão - Leitão & Irmão Joalheiros
Moderator - Hugo Van der Ding

Antonio Pirolli

Conductor

Inês Thomas Almeida

Presenter and Musicologist

Hugo van der Ding

Moderator

Cascais Symphony Orchestra

With the support of the Municipality of Cascais, OCCO became involved in 2015 in the creation of the Cascais Symphony Orchestra. Aiming to complete and enhance the musical offering of Cascais and Portugal as a whole, the Cascais Symphony Orchestra established itself from the outset with a season of six concerts per year.

The orchestra is composed of full-time musicians from OCCO – Orquestra de Câmara de Cascais e Oeiras, alongside young instrumentalists selected through public auditions.

Its symphonic concerts have become a cultural reference in Cascais and across the region, thanks to carefully curated and engaging repertoire choices and the participation of internationally acclaimed solo artists such as Artur Pizarro, Luís Rodrigues, Svetlin Roussev, Alexander Somov, Iddo Bar-Shai, Douglas Nasrawi, and Romain Garioud, among others, as well as outstanding young talents including Vasco Dantas, Cristiana Oliveira, Anna Paulová, Lilia Donkova, Anastasia Kobekina, and Sofia Vasheruk. The orchestra has also welcomed distinguished guest conductors, including Thomas Sanderling and Richard Rosenberg.

Performances at the Auditório Nossa Senhora da Boa Nova in Estoril and on the main stage of the Festas do Mar stand as testimony to the excellence of this project, which attracts audiences of all ages.

The Cascais Symphony Orchestra is led by its Artistic Director, Maestro Nikolay Lalov.

Cascais Symphony Orchestra

Lilia Donkova

Ricardo Mendes

Marija Mihajlovic

Rui Cristão

Daniel Bolito

Maria João Matos

Fernando Sá

Ricardo Salavessa

Inês Fabião Marta

Maria Santos

Beatriz Morais

Frederico Lourenço

First Violins

Ana Elisa Ribeiro

Gergana Bencheva

Lilit Khachatryan

Lúcia Salvado

João Andrade

Sara Llano

Miroslava Takova

Agnieszka Dziuba

Mariana Santos

Oksana Startseva

Second Violins

Cátia Santos

Jean Aroutiounian

Albert Payà

Maia Kuznetsova

Isabel Serra

Barbara Bernardino

Eva Padrão

Viola

Viktoria Chichkova

Tiago Ribeiro

Maxim Doujak

Barbara Duarte

Elvira Serrano

Angela Escauriaza

Mohan Shaw

Cello

Abel Carvalho

Juan Guevara

João Nunes

Guilherme Reis

Double Bass

Vera Morais

Marina Camponês

Ana Filipa Freire

Flute

João Balegas

Tiago Oliveira

Oboe

Bruno Nogueira

Igor Varela

Clarinet

Tiago Paraíso

Hugo Silva

Bassoon

Sebastião Reis

Kevin Cardoso

João Rodrigues

Ivan Branco

Horn

José Carrilho

Nuno Tiago

Manuel Valério

Trumpet

Oscar Ramos

Rui Correia

Flávio Bernal

Trombone

Tiago Loureiro (Timpani)

Francisco Negreiros

Vicente Simão

Percussion

Maria Kuznetsova

Harp

Pedro Oliveira

Tuba

Antonio Pirolli

Conductor

Cascais Ópera Technical Information

Inês Thomas Almeida

Musicologist

Alexandra Maurício

Cofounder and General Manager

Adriano Jordão

Sergei Leiferkus

Cofounders and Artistic Directors

Maria Amélia Albuquerque

Consultant

Cristina Prista

Finance and Accounting

Madalena Braga Vidal

Ricardo Mendes

Planning and Executive Production

António Sá-Dantas

Musician and International Candidate Coordinator

Cindy Valian

Guida Gregório Romão

Susana Ferreira

Production

Edna Sousa

Madalena Braga Vidal

Pedro Braga

Production Assistance

Ana Abrantes

Communication and Sustainability

Liliana Soares

Press Officer

Sara Machado

Public Relations

Alexandra Costa

Content Editor

Dimensão Global

Image and Web Design

Bárbara Távora

Graphic Design

Priscila Azenha

Margarida Nave

Social Media

Madalena Couceiro Braga

Marisa Escaleira Ribeiro

Aissa Seidi

Co-Designers

Bruno Gonçalves

Ivan Salazar

João Henrique de Nunes

André Pinto da Costa

Video

Miguel Fernandes

Hugo Barreleiro

Pedro Vilela

Photography

Eduardo Jordão

Pianist Coordinator

Pedro Rua

Technical Direction

Paulo Pimentel

Pianos and Tuning

Miguel Fernandes

Hugo Barreleiro

Pedro Vilela

Photography

Eduardo Jordão

Pianist Coordinator

“Recondita armonia” – John Pumphrey

  

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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