This summer, I headed to Lisbon, Portugal to participate in 'Verão Clássico' 2022. I had a wonderful time working with incredible artists and absorbing the rich cultural history of Belém and Lisboa.
Masterclasses
It was an honour and a pleasure to participate in the masterclasses of internationally renowned soprano, Anna Samuil and acclaimed pianist, Matthias Samuil. I first met Anna at the 'Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin' back in 2019 and was amazed by her exquisite artistry and impressive teaching methods. Anna is among the most-sought after Russian sopranos of her generation and has been steadily engaged as a soloist at the 'Staatsoper unter den Linden' in Berlin since 2004. When I discovered 'Verão Clássico' and it's incredible professional faculty, I simply had to apply to participate.
With Anna and Matthias, I worked on various arias from my current repertoire, including 'Ten lasky sen' by Smetana, 'Elle a fui, la tourterelle' by Offenbach and 'Deh vieni, non tardar' by Mozart. I was amazed to see an improvement in my pieces with each session that passed. Masterclasses took place in 'Escola Secundária Marquês de Pombal' - the national conservatoire based in Belém. Here, we were very fortunate to have access to many practice rooms to put the invaluable advice into action.
The Festival
Being an active participant of Verão Clássico enabled me to have free access to every event taking place during the festival in the breathtakingly beautiful 'Museu Nacional Dos Coches'. I was particularly blown away by the 'Master Concert' on August 6th, where I was able to witness the festival professors doing what they do best. Performers included; Miguel da Silva, Gary Hoffman, Filipe Pinto-Ribeiro, Anna Samuil, Svetlana Makarova, Gunars Upatnieks and Konstantin Lifschitz. I cannot put to words just how inspiring this concert was - bravi to all involved!
Verão Clássico Awards 2022
I am very pleased to have been awarded an 'Honourable Mention' for my participation in Verão Clássico 2022! Thank you to the academy faculty and congratulations to fellow award recipients!
The Sopranos of Verão Clássico
I am so very lucky to have met an incredible group of sopranos from all over the world (Belgium, Lithuania, Portugal, Hungary, Georgia, Spain, Germany and South Korea) and I am sure we will be life-long friends! Courses like this are made by the people you meet and I am very grateful to have met such lovely and supportive singers to share this unforgettable experience with!
Below is a photo from some down-time on our Lisbon boat trip!
^Left to right: Laura Guenters (Belgium), Ana Chuntishvili (Georgia), Ketevan Chuntishvili (Georgia), Réka Szabó (Hungary), Lucy Farrimond (United Kingdom), Karolina Parmas (Lithuania), Soo Yeon Lim (South Korea).
Photos of Lisbon adventures:
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Once again, I would like to thank you for supporting me on my musical journey!
Watch this space!
Lucy
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