Born in Brussels, Portuguese-Belgian soprano Maria Portela Larisch moves between different genres and eras with exceptional versatility, with a particular focus on early and contemporary music.
After her first piano and violin lessons, she was admitted to the children's choir of the Théâtre de La Monnaie at the age of eight. She later received her first singing lessons with Eunice Arias, after which she began her studies at the Institut supérieur de Musique et de Pédagogie (IMEP) in Namur in 2015. In 2016, she joined the choral academy of La Monnaie (MM Academy), where she performed her first small roles, including the fox in Foxie! The Cunning Little Vixen By Janáček.
These engagements gave her the opportunity to work with leading conductors and directors such as Michel Plasson, Antonello Manacorda, Alain Altinoglu, Paolo Carignani, Hervé Niquet, Ben Glassberg, Andrea Breth, Romeo Castellucci and Christophe Coppens.
She has been studying at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln (HfMT) since 2018 - initially in the class of Professor Christoph Prégardien, where she obtained her master's degree in song interpretation in 2022, and then with Professor Kai Wessel, with whom she completed her master's degree in musical theatre in 2024. She also completed her studies in vocal pedagogy, with a focus on performance practice and music education.
She recently performed as a soloist at the Berlin Art Week, at the Kölner Philharmonie, at the UFO of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and at the Anneliese Brost Musikforum in Bochum. In season 2024/25, she performed the role of Minerva in Orphée aux Enfers of Offenbach as a scholarship student at the Theater Aachen. She also sings regularly with renowned ensembles such as the Chœur de Chambre de Namur and ChorwerkRuhr.
Co-founder of the trio Gilu (soprano, violin, harp), she released her first solo CD in 2022. Together with pianist Jou-an Chen in 2023, they won first prize in the internal Song Competition of the HfMT Cologne. In 2024, the duo was selected by Friends of Song, for which they enjoy performing.
Maria Portela Larisch, soprano
Jou-an Chen, piano
Playing and singing songs is a great way to learn about beautiful poetry and delve deeper into it. Through music, we discovered the work of outstanding female poets and decided to dedicate a programme to these women. For despite major setbacks in their lives, they continued to write poetry and we can now learn about the world as they saw it. In German, French or English, they expressed their views on love, nature, life and death. Let's listen to what they have to say.
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Maria Portela Larisch, soprano
Jou-an Chen, piano
Wanderlust, l'appel du large, fernweh ... these are different words and languages to express the same deep longing for travel. Spanish amor, sol and saudade refer to passion, warmth and a melancholic longing. This hot-blooded programme will take you on a journey between two worlds, past Iberian and Brazilian melodies.
Enrique Granados and Fernando Obradors show us different facets of Spanish song, romantic or folk, deeply influenced by the guitar. António Fragoso's rarely performed songs are gems of tenderness, with the characteristic Portuguese intimacy. Finally, the vibrant colours of Brazil, which shine in the songs of Ernani Braga and Heitor Villa-Lobos, complete this ‘invitation au voyage’ by Maria Portela Larisch and Jou-an Chen.
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