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Sustainability

The Harmony of Culture and Sustainability

Cascais Ópera takes place in museum spaces with their own established policies in these areas, to which we are committed to adapting, thereby reinforcing their positive impact and contributing to a sustainable and responsible cultural experience, aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES

What we do?

  • Installation of water dispensers at event venues to encourage the use of reusable cups and bottles, reducing the consumption of single-use plastic bottles.

     

  • All purchased materials are selected with reuse in mind across multiple editions of the competition. Communication materials are already designed to be recyclable and transformed into new products.

     

  • Sustainable mobility plan.

  • Carbon footprint calculation.

ACCESSIBILITY and inclusion

What we do?

  • We work in partnership with Sopradores de Imagens (Image Whisperers), a project that allows blind and visually impaired audiences to independently access the Final of Cascais Opera at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. A free ticket is offered to the volunteer Whisperer. Read more

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROJECTS

What we do?

  • The communication materials from the first edition of Cascais Opera are being reused to create new products through a creative and sustainable process. This transformation is being carried out with participants from the Centro Paroquial da Boa Nova and Associação Gaivotas da Torre, in a project that combines empowerment, creativity, and social impact.

     

  • The participatory designer of Cascais Opera is leading workshops with these women, teaching them new sewing methodologies that stimulate both creativity and motor skills. To support this work, Cascais Opera donated an industrial sewing machine to each institution, providing new learning opportunities and greater autonomy.

     

  • Throughout the workshops, participants not only create new products from reused materials, but also develop skills in operating the industrial sewing machine. These new abilities can be applied to future projects within their organizations, promoting employability and social inclusion.

     

  • With this initiative, we give new life and purpose to materials, promoting the Circular Economy. Additionally, by sharing the origin of the materials, we spark curiosity and foster a love for opera, engaging new audiences. All participants are invited to attend the live auditions of the competition, offering them a fresh artistic and emotional experience.

Voice Masterclass

by members of the Jury. Open to students and singers

9, 12 and 13 april

As the Juri of the International Vocal Competition includes great singers who simultaneously are great pedagogues, Cascais Opera has the opportunity to provide open masterclasses , also open to the candidates.

In parallel to the competition, Vocal masterclasses will take place in April 9, 12 and 13, at Casa das Histórias Paula Rego, expanding in this way the scope of the event.

"ACTING THROUGH THE SINGING METHODE" Masterclass

Acting on Opera Stage Masterclasses

9, 12 and 13 april

After a public presentation of Novi Sad Servian National Theatre with photos, short trailers for the operas, notable soloists, costumes and scenography workshops, Senior Opera Director, Aleksandar Nicolic, will lead a masterclass under the attractive and understandable name: “ACTING THROUGH THE SINGING METHODE”.

The active participants in the masterclass shall propose three arias, of which two will be chosen and one prioritize for the work. In three sessions up to nine participants will be accepted.

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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