José Lourenço was born in Lisbon (Portugal). He enjoys a diverse career as a singer (opera, song recitals), actor and opera stage director. He began his voice studies in Switzerland, at the Geneva Conservatoire. Further music and drama studies were conducted as a scholar of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the Macau Cultural Institute and the Royal College of Music, where he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Opera.
The early stages of his professional activity include various opera productions presented in Asia: Pong in Turandot and Normano in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Remendado in Carmen, Gastone in La Traviata, Wintergreen in Gershwin's Of thee I Sing for the Macao International Music Festival. In Europe, he has sung Matelot in Le Pauvre Matelot for the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation/São Carlos National Theatre, title role of Candide with the Madeira Island Orchestra, Rigobert in Offenbach’s Le Fifre Enchanté at Ordino Cultural Centre (Andorra), Danilo (The Merry Widow) for the Queluz Royal Chamber Opera, Baltasar in António Arroyo’s Amor de Perdição for “Opera North” (Portugal), Cléon in Gluck’s L'Ivrogne Corrigé, Mathan in Benedetto Marcello’s Joaz and Schoolmaster (The Cunning Little Vixen) for Oporto’s "Casa da Música". He has sung in the world première of various operatic works, creating the roles of Ferlucci (Eduardo Rocha’s Os Fugitivos at "Teatro da Trindade"), Lester (Luís Tinoco’s Evil Machines at “Teatro S. Luiz”, directed by Monty Python’s Terry Jones), Ismael (Eduardo Rocha’s Moby Dick at Belém Cultural Centre), Lawyer (Nuno Côrte-Real's Banksters at the Portuguese National Opera) and Satan in Dominik Scherrer's Route 666 presented at the Glastonbury Festival and its film version Hell for Leather produced by Channel 4, prize winner at Sundance, Cork, Nevers and Locarno film festivals.
Apart from his operatic engagements and oratorio concerts (Haydn's Creation in Hong Kong, Gounod's Messe Solennelle de Sainte Cécile in Macau, Mozart's Requiem in Verona, Janácek's Otcenas and Orff's Carmina Burana in London), José performs regularly at productions bringing together music and theatre, such as staged song recitals and musical tales. Highlights include Fauna and Flora (Lisbon’s Culturgest; “La Péniche opéra”, Paris), Ida e Volta (Belém Cultural Centre; “Gedung Kesenian Jakarta”), Le Couple Schumann (“Théâtre de Saint Malô”), Pascal Dusapin’s Momo and Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night's Dream (Espinho International Music Festival), Michael Gandolfi's Pinocchio's Adventures in Funland (european première; São João National Theatre) and Pedro Faria Gomes’ Como se faz-cor-de-laranja (world première; Oporto’s “Casa da Música”).
Opera stage direction is also an important field for José Lourenço. After postgraduate studies at the Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon), he has directed Offenbach’s La Leçon de Chant Eléctromagnétique for “Casa da Música”, Weill's Marie Galante at Vila Real Cultural Centre, Falla’s El Retablo de Maese Pedro for the “Festival Luísa Todi”, Poulenc’s La Voix humaine at Gulbenkian Foundation, Alfredo Keil's Serrana at "Teatro Sá de Miranda" (Viana do Castelo), Ethel Smyth’s The Boatswain’s Mate presented at “Teatro Lethes” (Algarve) and the world première of "The Gnomes of Gnu" composed by Sérgio Azevedo, with words by Umberto Eco.
José Lourenço is the artistic director of "Volteface/Um&1:Três", a company focusing its activity on chamber opera and staged song recitals.
check http://www.volteface1e1tres.blogspot.com
