The Ginásio Ópera Association was founded in 2001, in Lisbon, on the initiative of João Maria de Freitas Branco and other figures linked to the country’s artistic life, in the form of a non-profit cultural association.¹ Directed by him, the institution’s aim was to «stop the process of gradual emptying of Portuguese artistic life, particularly in the field of musical theater, which was noticed and accentuated throughout the last decade of the 1990s», namely by promoting «the study, teaching and dissemination of opera understood as a broad space for the confluence of different aspects of artistic creativity».² In this sense, it sought to encourage the professionalization and internationalization of young Portuguese opera singers, but also to nurture the careers of those already established, as well as other professionals involved in the production of music-theatrical shows. Furthermore, the institution also had as a priority the training of new audiences for opera, holding promotion sessions, colloquiums and other events, particularly among young people.³ Within it, the Orquestra Clássica Ginásio Ópera also emerged in 2007, composed of young Portuguese musicians under the direction of maestro Nuno Dário Sá, which aimed to cover repertoire from the Baroque to the present.⁴Given its unique nature in the Portuguese cultural scene, in 2007, it was recognized by the Ministry of Culture as an institution of cultural relevance.⁵
