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The 44 candidates from 19 countries who will compete for the prizes at the 2nd edition of Cascais Opera have been selected.  

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The grand final takes place on May 4 at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Grand Auditorium.

The Cascais Ópera – International Vocal Competition has just announced the 44 candidates selected to compete for the prizes in its 2nd edition. Hailing from 19 countries, these young talents were chosen from a record 340 entries from 49 countries, reinforcing the competition’s growing international profile.

The chosen singers represent Germany (3), Serbia (1), South Korea (6), China (4), Poland (1), Russia (5), Portugal (7), USA (2), Spain (2), Italy (1), Israel (3), France (1), Georgia (1), Ukraine (2), United Kingdom (1), Ireland (1), Australia (1), Finland (1) and Armenia (1). Portugal (7) tops the shortlist, followed by South Korea, Russia and China, highlighting the competitiveness of this edition and Portuguese talent in a demanding international context.

It will now be up to the internationally renowned jury, chaired by the prestigious baritone Sergei Leiferkus and made up of figures such as Anna Samuil (Berliner Staatsoper), Antonio Pirolli (titular conductor of the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra), Eline de Kat (Artistic Coordinator of the Monte-Carlo Opera), Ivan van Kalmthout (Senior Opera Executive), soprano Juliane Banse, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore, and Pal Moe (Glyndebourne), evaluate the contestants during the face-to-face auditions.

From April 23 to 30, Cascais will be the epicenter of operatic singing, welcoming the candidates for a week of qualifying exams, open to the public at the Cascais Cultural Center. During this period, there will also be masterclasses and a semi-finalists’ concert (at a venue to be announced), promoting the training and visibility of the participants.

The competition culminates in the live Grand Final, on May 4, at 5pm, in the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Grand Auditorium, where the 8 finalists will perform some of the most iconic opera arias accompanied by the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Antonio Pirolli.

Tickets are now available.

The competition is co-organized by the CIVOC Association, Cascais Town Hall and the D. Luis I Foundation. It has the support of the “La Caixa” Foundation, Égide – Associação Portuguesa das Artes, Millennium bcp Foundation, Turismo de Cascais, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon City Council, SRS Legal, Cascais and Oeiras Chamber Orchestra, Leitão & Irmão Joalheiros and its institutional partner is the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos.

Cascais Ópera – The birthplace of the future of opera!

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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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