Header
homeresumephotosschedulereviewsrepertoireBrioContact

José Lemos

Brio Romance
Buy "Romance" CD
Countertenor José Lemos is the First Prize winner and the Audience Prize winner of the 2003 International Baroque Singing Competition of Chimay, Belgium. Having recently completed his Masters Degree at the New England Conservatory in Boston, he has appeared in opera roles and in concert with companies such as Boston Baroque, Boston Cecilia, Harvard Early Music Society, Les Parlement de Musique, Piccolo Spoleto Festival Early Music Series, and the Aldeburgh Snape Proms in England.

In the summer of 2003 he made his USA opera debut at The Tanglewood Music Festival in Robert Zuidam's Rage D'Amours, and returned for their 2004 production of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream as Oberon. He has also joined the Tanglewood Music Center in the Los Angeles premiere of the opera Ainadamar by composer Osvaldo Golijov at the new Disney Center with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

José Lemos is the main guest artist with the renowned Baltimore Consort with whom he tours the United States in concert and educational outreach. A versatile performer, he has charmed audiences in recitals with his exuberant renditions of native Brazilian songs. He has also delved deeply into the medieval and renaissance repertory in his performances with the Charleston Pro Musica and Quartetto Brio.

In April 2005 he made his European opera debut in a production of the Zürich Opera House of Handel's Giulio Cesare under the batton of Marc Minkowski. In June of the same year he performed at the famous Aldeburgh Festival in a production of Purcell's Faery Queen under the batton of Harry Bicket, receiving raving reviews by the London Times. He has made frequent appearances in places such as Jordan Hall, Chimay Theater, Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood Theater, The Cloisters Museum in New York, and the National Gallery in Washington, DC.

Some of the highlights for the 2007 and 2008 seasons include the release of his first recording with the Quartetto Brio, entitled "Romance", featuring the incredibly beautiful songs of the Sephardic Jews. He has made his debut as Ottone in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea with the Seattle Early Music Guild directed by Stephen Stubbs, sang the role of Tolomeo in Handel's Giulio Cesare at the Göttingen Handel Festival directed by Nicholas McGegan, and the role of Silène in a new production of Lully's Psyche with the Boston Early Music Festival. And for the second part of the season, he will be touring with William Christie's Les Arts Florissants in their new production of Stefano Landi's Il Sant'Alessio which will also be released on DVD by Virgin/EMI this coming spring.

Music
Hear José perform three arias and two Brazilian folk songs:
Empio, Diro, Tu Sei (mp3)
I Know a Bank (mp3)
E Pur Io Torno (mp3)
Tamba Taja (mp3)
Maria Macambira (mp3)

Reviews
"As Oberon, José Lemos showed promise as a new addition to the countertenor ranks." - The Wall Street Journal

"Lemos, whose voice is light and clear and quite agile found just the right combination of ardor and restraint for these South American songs, and communicated the texts with compelling intimacy." - The Washington Post

"José Lemos sings with rich resonance, beautiful top notes and an equally controlled low register. Lemos' tones float around as if they would go on forever." - The Post and Courier

See more reviews



Valid HTML 4.01!