30 October 2024
To mark World Opera Day on 24 and 25 October, the second edition of Cascais Opera captivated opera lovers in France, with major events in Paris and Bougival. Organised by the city of Cascais in partnership with the European Music Centre (CEM), this international competition aims to reveal young talent while honouring Europe's cultural heritage.
The finalists from the first edition were present at the Villa Viardot: Anna Erokhina, soprano, Haesu Kim, baritone, Oleh Lebedyev, tenor, Sílvia Sequeira, mezzo-soprano, and Teresa Sales Rebordão, soprano, accompanied by pianist António Rosado (photo Cascais - Denis Bourges).
The evening of 24 October opened at the Portuguese Embassy in Paris, where guests were welcomed in a warm atmosphere with emblematic products from Cascais, including Carcavelos wine and traditional Areias pastries from Cascais. The evening was marked by an exceptional concert featuring five finalists from the first edition of the competition: Anna Erokhina, soprano, Haesu Kim, baritone, Oleh Lebedyev, tenor, Sílvia Sequeira, mezzo-soprano, and Teresa Sales Rebordão, soprano. These young artists performed works from the classical repertoire, including a piece by Joly Braga Santos, celebrating both the centenary of the Portuguese composer's birth and the 500th anniversary of the death of the poet Camões with O Céu, a terra, o Vento sossegado - Três Sonetos de Camões for mezzo-soprano and piano.
The following day, 25 October, the celebrations continued at the Villa Viardot in Bougival, an emblematic site restored by the Centre Européen de Musique. Under the artistic direction of Jorge Chaminé, the CEM brought this historic site back to life with a programme paying tribute to Pauline Viardot, a great figure in European music, and to Georges Bizet. Visitors also had the opportunity to discover the House of Bizet and the Turgenev Dacha, symbols of the region's cultural heritage.
Ukrainian soprano Anna Erokhina and Korean baritone Haesu Kim at the Villa Viardot on 25 October (photo Cascais - Denis Bourges).
The Cascais Opera competition, which is open to young singers of all voices aged between 18 and 32, has become an international platform for emerging talent. Under the artistic direction of baritone Sergei Leiferkus, who will also be President of the Jury in 2025, the competition attracts eminent opera figures to its jury, including Pal Moe (Glyndebourne), Ivan van Kalmthout (Senior Opera Executive), Anna Samuil (Berliner Staatsoper), as well as singers Juliane Banse and Jennifer Larmore, not forgetting Eline de Kat, Artistic Coordinator of the Monte-Carlo Opera.
The next edition, scheduled for 23 April to 4 May 2025, will be held in Portugal and will culminate in the Grand Auditorium of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, where the finalists will be accompanied by the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra of the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos. Participants will compete for a total prize fund of 40,000 euros, divided into nine categories, and will have the opportunity to sign contracts with prestigious theatres and festivals across Europe.
From left to right, the two artistic directors of Cascais Opera: Adriano Jordão, Sergei Leiferkus and the founding president of the Centre Européen de Musique, Jorge Chaminé, at the Villa Viardot on 25 October (photo Cascais - Denis Bourges).
Through this collaboration with the Cascais Opera, the Centre Européen de Musique is reaffirming its commitment to the preservation and promotion of Europe's musical heritage, as well as its support for young musical talent, as Jorge Chaminé, founding president of the CEM, has had occasion to point out. Together with Teresa Berganza, he organised a number of masterclasses at Bougival between 2008 and 2014.
This second edition of Cascais Opera in France will have enabled us to celebrate opera in all its facets, while providing a springboard for the talents of tomorrow and strengthening the cultural links between France and Portugal, in the service of a universal art form.
30 October 2024
To mark World Opera Day on 24 and 25 October, the second edition of Cascais Opera captivated opera lovers in France, with major events in Paris and Bougival. Organised by the city of Cascais in partnership with the European Music Centre (CEM), this international competition aims to reveal young talent while honouring Europe's cultural heritage.
The finalists from the first edition were present at the Villa Viardot: Anna Erokhina, soprano, Haesu Kim, baritone, Oleh Lebedyev, tenor, Sílvia Sequeira, mezzo-soprano, and Teresa Sales Rebordão, soprano, accompanied by pianist António Rosado (photo Cascais - Denis Bourges).
The evening of 24 October opened at the Portuguese Embassy in Paris, where guests were welcomed in a warm atmosphere with emblematic products from Cascais, including Carcavelos wine and traditional Areias pastries from Cascais. The evening was marked by an exceptional concert featuring five finalists from the first edition of the competition: Anna Erokhina, soprano, Haesu Kim, baritone, Oleh Lebedyev, tenor, Sílvia Sequeira, mezzo-soprano, and Teresa Sales Rebordão, soprano. These young artists performed works from the classical repertoire, including a piece by Joly Braga Santos, celebrating both the centenary of the Portuguese composer's birth and the 500th anniversary of the death of the poet Camões with O Céu, a terra, o Vento sossegado - Três Sonetos de Camões for mezzo-soprano and piano.
The following day, 25 October, the celebrations continued at the Villa Viardot in Bougival, an emblematic site restored by the Centre Européen de Musique. Under the artistic direction of Jorge Chaminé, the CEM brought this historic site back to life with a programme paying tribute to Pauline Viardot, a great figure in European music, and to Georges Bizet. Visitors also had the opportunity to discover the House of Bizet and the Turgenev Dacha, symbols of the region's cultural heritage.
Ukrainian soprano Anna Erokhina and Korean baritone Haesu Kim at the Villa Viardot on 25 October (photo Cascais - Denis Bourges).
The Cascais Opera competition, which is open to young singers of all voices aged between 18 and 32, has become an international platform for emerging talent. Under the artistic direction of baritone Sergei Leiferkus, who will also be President of the Jury in 2025, the competition attracts eminent opera figures to its jury, including Pal Moe (Glyndebourne), Ivan van Kalmthout (Senior Opera Executive), Anna Samuil (Berliner Staatsoper), as well as singers Juliane Banse and Jennifer Larmore, not forgetting Eline de Kat, Artistic Coordinator of the Monte-Carlo Opera.
The next edition, scheduled for 23 April to 4 May 2025, will be held in Portugal and will culminate in the Grand Auditorium of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, where the finalists will be accompanied by the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra of the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos. Participants will compete for a total prize fund of 40,000 euros, divided into nine categories, and will have the opportunity to sign contracts with prestigious theatres and festivals across Europe.
From left to right, the two artistic directors of Cascais Opera: Adriano Jordão, Sergei Leiferkus and the founding president of the Centre Européen de Musique, Jorge Chaminé, at the Villa Viardot on 25 October (photo Cascais - Denis Bourges).
Through this collaboration with the Cascais Opera, the Centre Européen de Musique is reaffirming its commitment to the preservation and promotion of Europe's musical heritage, as well as its support for young musical talent, as Jorge Chaminé, founding president of the CEM, has had occasion to point out. Together with Teresa Berganza, he organised a number of masterclasses at Bougival between 2008 and 2014.
This second edition of Cascais Opera in France will have enabled us to celebrate opera in all its facets, while providing a springboard for the talents of tomorrow and strengthening the cultural links between France and Portugal, in the service of a universal art form.
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