Cortes de Cima

Vineyard Concert

The echo of Danish opera can be heard in the vineyards of Alentejo every summer. Every year since 2001, we have staged our Annual Summer Vineyard Concerts,  with acclaimed international artists, who perform well known arias and duets against a backdrop of the verdant summer vineyard.

During the intermission, there is a wine-tasting featuring the full range of the Cortes de Cima single vineyard varietals, followed by a sumptuous post-concert Gala Buffet Dinner prepared by Chef Bjarne Otto.

(Note: we have uploaded our own video recordings of the most popular songs from earlier concerts to YouTube here!)

9th Annual Summer Vineyard Concert -  Friday 17 June 2011

From the Royal Opera Copenhagen mezzo soprano Ulla Kudsk Jensen will be returning once again, this year with the tenor Hans Lawaetz and Jacob Beck at the piano, to perform a marvelous array of your favorite melodies including Mozart, Schubert, Richard Rodgers, Andrew L. Weber!

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Reservations are now being accepted! Don’t miss it! Places are limited! THIS YEAR’S CONCERT IS NOW SOLD OUT!

Program - Friday 17 June 2011

17.00 – Welcoming reception

17:30 – Winery Tour

18:00 – Concert

20:30 – Buffet

Ulla Kudsk Jensen, Mezzo-soprano

Ulla Kudsk Jensen, Mezzo-soprano, is educated at the Opera Academy in Gothenburg, Sweden and continued her studies in New York and Bayreuth, Germany.

She works at the Royal Opera in Copenhagen where she sings the roles of Mrs. Quickly in “Falstaff”, the third Lady in “the Magic Flute”, Annina in “La Traviata”, Orfred’s Mother in “Handmaids Tale”, Magdalone in “Maskarade” and several other parts as well as numerous concerts, Masses and Requiems.

On the Prize winning DVD “The Copenhagen Ring”, a release of the performance of the Wagner Ring she sings the parts as Schwertleite in “Die Walküre” and Flosshilde in “Götterdämmerung”.

This season she sang the role of Senhora Flavia in a new opera based on “Onze Minutos” (Eleven Minutes) by the Brazilian author Paulo Coelho on Opera Fyn and 1st Servant in “Elektra” by Richard Strauss on The Royal Opera. In the coming season she sings Brenda in the new opera “Dancer in the Dark” based on the famous movie by Lars von Trier as well as a part in “Boris Godunov”.

Hans Lawaetz, Baritone

Hans Lawaetz, Baritone, graduated from the Academy of Music in Jutland, Denmark and further studied in Rome, Amsterdam and New York. He works at The Royal Opera, Copenhagen where he sings parts in “The Barber of Seville”, “Tosca”, Die Meistersinger aus Nürnberg”, “Rigoletto”, “Rusalka”, “La Traviata”, “Love of the Three Oranges”, “The Journey to Reims” and “Kafka” by Poul Ruders. He also sang the parts as Donner in “Der Rheingold” in The Copenhagen Ring, which recently was released on DVD. He has also sung in operas at Den Jyske Opera (Madama Butterfly, Fidelio, Tristan und Isolde), Den Ny Opera (L’elisir d’amore, Die Fledermaus and Die RHeingold) and Den Anden Opera (Four Note Opera and Carl von Linné in Systema Nature) as well as numerous concerts, Requiems and Masses.

Jacob Beck, Piano

Jacob Beck was born on Fynen in 1972. He is a trained pianist at music academies in Odense (Rosalind Bevan), Hanover (Karl-Heinz Kämmerling), New York (Alan Feinberg) and finally to Aarhus (John Damgaard), where in 2002 he made his soloist debut. Jacob Beck has performed as soloist, chamber musician and accompanist at home and abroad. In recent years he has particularly focused on working with singers in both opera and lieder. Jacob Beck is freelance but with occasional connection to the Opera Academy and the Royal Danish Music Conservatory. He is also an active lecturer on music and cultural history topics. He also has experience as a theater director and last year premiered at Menottis Telefonen at Aalborg Opera Festival and will this autumn direct The Barber of Seville at the Opera i Provinsen. Finally Jacob Beck, is chairman of the Student Circle, a Grundtvigian discussion club.

Concert Program

Chef Bjarne Otto’s Gala Menu

Appetizers: (Served during the Concert interval)

Liver mousse

Tapenade

Fresh local goat cheese

Small meatballs w/Tarragon

Iberian black pig Presunto with melon

Crudités with dip

Brioches of olives and ham and herbs

Cortes de Cima olive oil

Vidigueira bread, baked in wood-fired oven

Dinner Buffet:

Starters:
Gazpacho w/ Cortes de Cima Virgin Olive oil and Chaminé Branco

Warm smoked Salmon, w/ sauce Verte,

Fish Terrine made w/ herbs, prawns, orange and lemon peel. Avocado crème

Country pate made w/ garlic, pork meat, liver and walnuts.

Cold Pork fillet stuffed with basil, curry and ginger, w/ curry dressing

Main courses:

Carvery:
Roast Mertolengo Beef

Roast leg of Lamb

Roast Pork

Garniture:
Dijon  sauce

Cream potatoes Gratin

Seasonal vegetables stir-fried in Cortes de Cima Olive Oil

Baked Onions stuffed with mushrooms and olives

Broccoli and spinach Quiche

Fresh garden salad

Tomato and  basil salad

Desserts:

Local ‘Serpa’ Cheese

Home-made “Mozart” chocolate cake

Olive Oil cake “Royale”, with lemon and almonds

Danish layer cake w/fruit, crème and jam

Coffee and Tea

Wines:

Courela 2009, Chaminé Branco e Tinto 2010, Cortes de Cima 2009, Syrah 2009, Aragonez 2008, Hans Christian Andersen 2008 and Touriga Nacional 2007

Price: 100,00 € (children: <6 years old free: between 6 and 15 years old 50% )