Alexandra Moura, soprano
Pedro Telles, baritone
IMAGIN’ART String Quartet
Anna Pereira, violin I
Teresa Tenrinho, violin II
Carolina Gonçalves, viola
António José Oliveira, cello
Bach, J. S. (1685-1750) Air, from "Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068"
Monteverdi, C. (1567-1643) Pur ti miro, pur ti godo, from the opera "L'incoronazione di Poppea"
Haendel, G. F. (1685-1759) Ombra mai fu, from the opera "Xerxes"
Mozart, W. A. (1756-1791) Allegro, from “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, KV 525”
Mozart, W. A. (1756-1791) Laudate Dominum, from "Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, KV 339"
Bach, J. S. (1685-1750), Gounod, C. (1818-1893) and others - Ave Maria / I Believe
Shostakovich, D. (1906-1975) Waltz No. 2, from "Jazz Suite No. 2"
Offenbach, J. (1819-1880) Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour, from "The Tales of Hoffmann"
Bernstein, L. (1918-1990) Somewhere, from "West Side Story"
Webber, A. L. (1948- ) All I ask of you, from "The Phantom of the Opera"
In this concert, the soprano, Alexandra Moura, and the baritone, Pedro Telles, accompanied by the IMAGIN’ART String Quartet present the most emblematic works of various periods in the History of Music, beginning with the Renaissance period, with Monteverdi, passing through the Baroque where Bach is one of the most distinguished representatives. Next, you will enjoy music from the classical era with Mozart’s masterpieces, as well as a passage through the romantic opera in the voice of two of the best Portuguese interpreters of this musical genre.
The concert also showcases works by Shostakovich and Webber as a representation of the twentieth century. Thus, the title D’ouro Recital is threefold justifiable – by the performers who are worth their weight in gold, by the spectacular gold interiors of the church venue, and not the least, by the magnificent Douro River on whose banks the event is hosted.
ALEXANDRA MOURA, soprano
Alexandra graduated in singing from the Superior School of Music, Porto, in the class of José de Oliveira Lopes. She continued studying in the Opera Studio of Casa da Música, Porto, where she received orientation from Peter Harrison, Jill Feldman and Jeff Cohen among others.
Alexandra won Best Interpretation of 20th Century Music in the Tomaz Alcaide International Singing Competition 2000 and an honorable mention award at Luísa Todi Singing Competition 2005.
Her varied concert activity has included Kurtág’s Vier Capriccios, Haddock's Eyes by David del Tredici, Cinque Frammenti di Saffo, among other works by L. Dallapicola; 4 Canzoni Popolari and O King by Luciano Berio; Stabat Mater by Haydn and Pergolesi; Stravinsky’s Pulcinella; Zemlinsky’s Maeterlinck Lieder; Vasco Mendonça’s Shadows Circles; Ligetti’s Aventures; Passion and Resurrection by Jonathan Harvey and Jorge Peixinho’s Viagem da Natural Invenção.
She has worked with conductors such as Martin André; Brad Cohen; Yoichi Sugiama; Pierre-André Valade; Aldo Brizzi; Nicola Giusti; Douglas Boyd; Emilio Pomárico; Paul Daniel, Christoph König; Peter Rundel; Baldur Brönnimann; Laurence Cummings; Danail Rachev; Sofi Jeannin; among others.
In opera she has played Vixen (Cunning Little Vixen - Janácek); Pamina/First Lady (Magic Flute - Mozart); Gretel/Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel - Humperdinck); Flora (The Turn of the Screw - Britten); Rowan/Juliet (The Little Sweep - Britten); Criside (Satyricon – B. Maderna); Bettina (L ́Amore Industrioso - J. Sousa Carvalho); Josabet (Joaz - B. Marcello); Strawberry Seller (Death in Venice – B. Britten); Rosa (Rapaz de Bronze – Nuno Corte-Real); Giannetta (L’Elixir d’Amore- G. Donizetti) and Mylia (Jerusalém– Vasco Mendonça).
Works regularly with various vocal or instrumental groups, including the Choir of Casa da Música.
PEDRO TELLES, baritone
Pedro Telles began his vocal and performance studies with Fernanda Correia and completed his master’s in music teaching at the Conservatório Superior de Gaia under the guidance of teachers Maria do Rosário de Sousa and Fernanda Correia.
He was the protagonist in several operas: Papageno in Mozart's "Magic Flute", Giorgio Germont in "La Traviata" Verdi, Don Colagianni in "Il Maestro di Musica" Pergolesi, Dottore Malatesta in "Don Pasquale" Donizetti, Eneas in "Dido and Eneas " Purcell, Figaro in "The Wedding of Figaro" Mozart, Marcello in "La Bohéme" Puccini, The Pilot in "The Little Prince" by Rachel Portman, Rigoletto in "Rigoletto" Verdi, Sage in "The Forest" Eurico Carrapatoso, Figaro and Dottor Bartolo in Rossini's "Barber of Seville" and Sharpless in Puccini's "Butterfly".
He was also a soloist in several oratorios: Magnificat, Cantata Ich habe genug, Cantata 147, 4 Missas Brevis and Passion according to St. John by Bach. Missa Solemnis of S.Cecília de Gounod. Liszt's Way of the Cross. Sorrowful Mass of Caldara. Mass D Major by Otto Nicolai. Coronation Mass and Mozart's Requiem. Passio de Arvo Part. Christmas Cantata by Vaughan Williams. Christmas Cantata by Saint Säens. Rossini's Mass Solemnis and Stabat Mater. Dvorak's Stabat Mater and Requiem. Children's Mass by John Rutter. Fauré's Requiem. Donizzetti's Requiem. The Armed Man by Karl Jenkins. Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. Beethoven's 9th Symphony.
He developed, for several years, his technical and artistic knowledge with the great Singer and Teacher Hilde Zadek in Vienna Austria.
In the various productions in which Pedro was involved, he was conducted by Ferreira Lobo, Manuel Ivo Cruz, Mário Mateus, Gunther Arglebe, Ferreira dos Santos, Artur Pinho, Eugénio Amorim, Cesário Costa, Evgueni Zouldikine, Gaetano Soliman, Belarmino Soares, Marc Tardue, Julian Reynolds, Fernando Lapa, António Baptista, António Lourenço, Jairo Grossi, Armando Vidal, Sérgio Ferreira, Filipe Veríssimo, António Baptista and Lawrence Golan. He is a Professor of the Music Degree at the University of Minho in Braga. Conductor of the Choir of the music course at the University of Minho and of the São Tarcísio Choir.
Porto’s Sao Francisco Church (Igreja de São Francisco), the city’s most important 14th century Gothic monument, is one of the most notable examples of Baroque architecture, boasting stunning gilded interiors dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries.
It was the exquisiteness of its gild carved woodwork that led Count Raczynskito describe it as the ‘Church of Gold’. Overwhelmed, he said: “The gild of this church is so beautiful and rich that it goes far beyond everything I have seen in Portugal and in the whole world”. This architectural treasure is a Portuguese National Monument since 1910 and a World Heritage-listed Site since 1996.