The recording of Michelangelo Falvetti's oratorio Nabucco - in which Fernando takes the title role - has been awarded the prestigious Prix Caecilia 2013. This yearly award recognises the best recordings of the previous season, according to the Belgian musical press, and had previously been awarded (in 2011) to another recording of Falvetti's music in which Fernando takes a major part: Il Diluvio Universale. Congratulations to everyone involved!

Here's a new excerpt of Michelangelo Falvetti's "Nabucco", recorded live in concert at the beautiful abbey of Ambronay and broadcast by classical TV network Mezzo. Portraying the title role, Fernando is joined by Cappella Mediterranea and the Choeur de Chambre de Namur under the helm of conductor Leonardo García Alarcón.
The full CD recording (on the label Ambronay Editions) is available for sale here.


Michelangelo Falvetti (1642-1692)
"Nabucco" (Messina, 1683)

Aria "S'alla mia imago" / Aria "Di mia scolpita effigie"

"S'alla mia imago tributa il Tago arene d'oro"
To mi image let the Tagus offer in tribute its golden sands
"Grati profumi d'arabi fumi tramanda il Moro"
And let the Moor convey to us the pleasant perfumes of Arabian incense
"Di mia scolpita effigie i bei splendori incensi l'Asia e Babilonia adori"
And let Asia revere and Babylon adore the fair splendours of my sculpted likeness

Francesco Cavalli's opera Elena -  in which Fernando plays one of the leading roles (Teseo) and which had its modern première last summer in the Aix-en-Provence Festival - was recently nominated for the 2014 Opera Awards, in the "Rediscovered Work" category. 
The winners list will be unveiled on April 7th, during the official ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. Fingers crossed!:)

The full nominees' list in every category can be found here.

The Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci recently unveiled its program for their 2014 edition which includes Der Goldene Apfel (The Golden Apple), an opera pasticcio mainly constituted by scenes from "Il pomo d'oro" (Antonio Cesti) and "Gli amori d'Apollo e di Dafne" (Francesco Cavalli), as well as villanelle, arias and songs by Dowland, Kapsberger, Sartorio et al. 

Fernando will take part in this exciting project, returning to Potsdam after having performed at the Festival in its 2011 production of Bontempi's "Il Paride", with L'Arpeggiata. 

This year's production will be conducted by german violist Pierre Pitzl at the helm of his ensemble Private Musicke and Fernando will be joined by the likes of Marcos Fink, Emanuela Galli, Marie-Sophie Pollak and Benno Schachtner. It's also a chance to work again with stage director Christoph von Bernuth, after the very successful collaboration of 2011.

Full details here.

Here's another small excerpt from the recording sessions of the upcoming release of Reinhard Keiser's Brockes-Passion, with Les Muffatti and Vox Luminis, under the label Ramée. Enjoy!:)

"Music for a while...", the beautiful concert based exclusively on music by Henry Purcell where Fernando joins the Belgian baroque orchestra B'Rock, given last December at De Bijloke (Gent), will be broadcast tonight on Belgium's classical radio Klara (8pm CET). Don't miss it!:)

Click here for the live broadcast.

Fernando will be on Radio France this afternoon, as part of the beautiful Monteverdi Vespers given at the Ambronay Festival last September. Click here for the broadcast, featuring Cappella Mediterranea, the Choeur de Chambre de Namur and a wonderful cast of soloists.

Outhere Music recently announced its new releases for the first semester of 2014 and Fernando features on two of these recordings:  Reinhard Keiser's "Brockes-Passion", in which he joins Les Muffatti (Peter van Heyghen) and Vox Luminis (alongside fellow soloists Peter Kooi, Zsuzsi Tóth, Jan van Elsacker et al.), under the label Ramée; and Giovanni Zamponi's highly awaited opera "Ulisse all'Isola di Circè", alongside Clematis, Cappella Mediterranea and Leonardo García Alarcón (also featuring the likes of Céline Scheen, Furio Zanasi and Dominique Visse), under the label Ricercar. Click here for the full catalogue and scroll below for a preview of what you can expect from these exciting new releases!

Fernando is now in beautiful Ghent, for the second stop in the mini-tour with the belgian baroque orchestra B'Rock, featuring exclusively music by Henry Purcell. Fellow soloists Céline Scheen, Terry Wey and Benoît Arnould will join B'Rock, the Choeur de Chambre de Namur and Leonardo García Alarcón, aiming to repeat the success of the program's première at Brussels on December 16th. 

Concerts on thursday at De Bijloke (Ghent) and on friday at De Singel (Antwerp). Full program and info here.

These two videos serve as a souvenir of a wonderful week in Spain with Orquesta Barroca de Sevilla, the Ensemble Jacques-Moderne and Handel's Messiah (alongside fellow soloists Sonia de Munck, Carlos Mena and José Antonio López). Three amazing concerts at the Auditorio Nacional de Música (Madrid) and the Forum Evolución (Burgos), in which we were joined by hundreds of enthusiastic amateur choral singers in selected numbers. What a thrill, to hear such an "Hallelujah"!

The recent recording of Michelangelo Falvetti's Nabucco, in which Fernando sing the title role, was nominated for the International Classical Music Awards! This happens only days after ResMusica distinguished the same recording with its Clef d'Or and the Pizzicato magazine awarded it its "Supersonic" label. Let's hope for even further success to this beautiful work!

(click here to order Nabucco online)

Cavalli's Elena - one of the jewels of this year's Festival d'Aix - finally premiered at the beautiful Opéra Royal de Versailles, to the unanimous applause of both audience and critic. Here's the article on Forum Opera by Laurent Bury and the one at Classique News by Monique Parmentier, chronicling a very exciting evening at Versailles.




(a full video of the opera can watched here)

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.

This week, Fernando will join the Gulbenkian Orchestra and Choir and fellow portuguese soloists Joana Seara and Hugo Oliveira in a new Bach program under the helm of the legendary Ton Koopman. The setting will be the beautiful baroque church of St. Roch (S. Roque), in downtown Lisbon. More details here.

Get your tickets online now!

Fernando is back in beautiful Antwerp and its superb De Singel concert hall for the second time this year, this time to sing the Monteverdi Vespers with Cappella Mediterranea, in a re-edition of the concert given last September at the Ambronay Festival. More info here. 

Below, you can watch the full Ambronay concert on YouTube.

Press reception of Fernando's recent portrayal of the title role in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo (in a production of the Festival d'Ambronay) has been nothing less than enthusiastic! Here's some of what's being said:

Fernando Guimarães officiates as Orfeo. A mature and complete singer, he performs his role with perfect mastery. His acting is equally controlled. The different melismas and runs of his role are correct and expressive. The text is clear, very good italian pronunciation. | Ayrton Desimpelaere – Crescendo (BE)

...Fernando Guimarães, a very experienced tenor, showed once again his vocal and dramatic qualities... | Jaime Estapá i Argemí – Webthea (FR)

…the young Portuguese tenor Fernando Guimarães sang Orfeo, an overwhelming part which he assured with style, mastery and musicality… | Martine Mergeay – La Libre (BE)

Welcome to Fernando's brand new website!