Fernando Guimarães
A graduate of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Fernando Guimarães won the tenor category of the Orfeo Singing Competition. He has worked with leading conductors and his festival appearances have included Aix-en-Provence, Potsdam, Innsbruck, Utrecht, Ambronay, Saintes and La Chaise-Dieu. He has appeared in concert with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Os Músicos do Tejo, Les Arts Florissants, Les Talens Lyriques, the Freiburger Barockconsort, Capriccio Stravagante, Collegium Vocale Gent, Al Ayre Español, L’Arpeggiata and B’Rock. 2014 saw his début in the United States in the title rôle of Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria with Boston Baroque.

Catia Moreso
The Portuguese mezzo-soprano Cátia Moreso rst studied Interior Design at IADE (Lisbon), before undertaking vocal studies at the Lisbon Conservatoire. She then trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (GSMD) where she obtained a BMus and Masters Degree (Opera Course), and at the National Opera Studio. A student of Susan Waters, she won rst prize at the second Fundação Rotária Portuguesa Singing Competition, the newcomer prize at the Luisa Todi Singing Competition, and rst prize at the Prémio José Augusto Alegria, in Portugal. She has appeared at Wexford, Grange Park and Tanglewood and sings Dianora in the Naxos recording of De Almeida’s La Spinalba [8.660319-21].

João Fernandes
A leading exponent of baroque and classical repertoire, João Fernandes is a regular soloist with Les Arts Florissants, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Le Concert Spirituel, L’Arpeggiata, and Les Talens Lyriques. His notable opera engagements range from Giove in La Calisto at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, to Polyphemus in Acis and Galatea and Seneca in L’incoronazione di Poppea in Toronto. He has appeared on DVDs and CDs under Christie, Leppard, Niquet, Pluhar, Rousset, Marcón, González and Magalhães for the Glossa, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Alpha and Naxos labels.

Marcos Magalhães
Born in Lisbon, Marcos Magalhães began harpsichord lessons at the age of eleven. After obtaining the diploma of the Higher School of Music of Lisbon, he was admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris, where he studied with Kenneth Gilbert, Christophe Rousset and Kenneth Weiss, graduating in 1999. In 1997 he performed with the European Baroque Orchestra and in Rameau’s opera Platée. He has given many concerts in Lisbon and in other European cities, as a soloist, in chamber groups, and in opera productions, and is currently a member of the Orquestra Metropolitana in Lisbon. His research into Portuguese baroque repertoire and Neapolitan operas found in Portuguese libraries led him to found Os Músicos do Tejo, an ensemble devoted to the performance of this material.

Voces Caelestes
is a vocal ensemble which brings together some of the nest Portuguese singers. Their rst project, in 1997, was Rameau’s Platée, conducted by Harry Christophers. Since then, they have sung an extensive repertoire including Bach’s Christmas Oratorio under Peter Schreier, Scarlatti’s Dixit Dominus under Laurence Cummings, Grieg’s Peer Gynt under Michael Zilm and Destouches’s Le Carnaval et la Folie under Marcos Magalhães. They have performed with instrumental ensembles such as the Salzburg Camerata Academica, Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra, Portuguese Chamber Orchestra and Os Músicos do Tejo. They have also presented numerous a cappella programmes under their artistic director Sérgio Fontão.

Os Músicos do Tejo
Directed by Marcos Magalhães and Marta Araújo, Os Músicos do Tejo was founded with the aim of consolidating the performance of early music on period instruments in Portugal, while highlighting Portuguese Baroque repertoire. Os Músicos do Tejo gave their début performance in Setúbal in December 2005, and are now established as one of the most respected of Portugal’s early music ensembles. The group has appeared in a wide variety of programmes, including a Handel programme in Brest, Baroque vocal music in Goa, India, and Sementes do Fado (Seeds of Fado), an exploration of the baroque origins of Fado. In February 2008 the group produced the opera La Spinalba by Francisco António de Almeida in the Belém Cultural Centre (CCB). Os Músicos do Tejo were subsequently invited by the CCB to collaborate on other opera-related events. This resulted in performances in Portugal of Pergolesi’s opera Lo frate ‘nnamurato (2010), the opera-ballet Le carnaval et la folie by Destouches (2011), and Almeida’s Il Trionfo d’Amore (2013). In 2010 they collaborated with Teatro Praga in A Midsummer’s Night Dream at the Centro Cultural de Belém, with repeat performances in 2011 at the Festival Internacional de las Artes de Castilla y León (FACYL) in Salamanca and the Festival Le Standard Idéal at Bobigny MC93/Paris. In 2013 the ensemble made its début appearance in the Gulbenkian Foundation’s main auditorium with Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. In 2014 Os Músicos do Tejo presented another Portuguese opera, Il mondo della luna by Pedro António Avondano, at the Cistermúsica Alcobaça Festival. Os Músicos do Tejo have released three CDs: Sementes do Fado (with soprano Ana Quintans and guitarist Ricardo Rocha), As Árias de Luísa Todi (with soprano Joana Seara) featuring the repertoire sung by La Todi, a famous Portuguese prima donna from the eighteenth century, and La Spinalba for Naxos.