Fernando joined Ludovice Ensemble (dir. Miguel Jalôto) for a sumptuous concert of Portuguese XVIII century music freshly dug out the archives of Lisbon Cathedral. Works by Giovanni Giorgi, Antonio Tedeschi and António Teixeira, among others, were part of the program in the beautiful setting of the Jesuit church of St. Roch. (full cast and info here).

Fernando joins once again the Gulbenkian Orchestra and Choir in a very emotional concert that will bring together the inimitable J. S. Bach and the recently re-discovered genius of Giovanni Giorgi, an italian musician who worked for the Portuguese royalty right before the terrible earthquake of 1755.  The guest conductor is Leonardo García Alarcón, and Fernando will be joined by fellow soloists Robin Blaze (counter-tenor) and Alejandro Meerapfel (baritone).

Here's an interesting article on the concert by portuguese musicologist Cristina Fernandes.

21 & 22 Nov | Igreja de S. Roque | Lisbon, PT
J.S. Bach: Mass in g minor BWV 235
G. Giorgi: Messa a due cori tutti pieni
Gulbenkian Orchestra, Leonardo García Alarcón (cond.)

After the hugely successful La Spinalba (2011), portuguese baroque orchestra Os Músicos do Tejo (dir. Marcos Magalhães) just started recording a new serenade by F. A. Almeida - Il Trionfo d'Amore - in which will be their second CD for Naxos, the world's largest distributor of the genre. Fernando sings the role of Adraste, joining a mostly portuguese cast which includes Ana Quintans (Nerina), Carlos Mena (Arsindo), João Fernandes (Mirenio), Joana Seara (Termosia) and Cátia Moreso (Giano). A week of hard work but pure bliss ahead!

After being considered the gem of this year's edition of the Festival d'Aix, Cavalli's Elena now started its tour and keeps attracting generalised praise from audience and critics. Here's an excerpt from the review by Michele Fizaine of the première in Montpellier:

"Auréolé de son récent succès à Aix-en-provence, Elena est donné ce soir à Montpellier. Ce "feu d'artifice baroque" suggère parfaitement ce que pouvait être une fête à Venise en 1659. La distribution exceptionnelle est magnifiquement accompagnée par la Cappella Mediterranea."

Read the full review here, or click here for a video excerpt of the opera.