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The Portuguese baritone singer and violinist, Francisco Tomás Henriques, obtained his Bachelor of Music degree in Modern Violin and Classical Singing and his Master's in Music Education at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa. He then moved the Germany and completed his Master of Music degree in Baroque Violin with Mechthild Karkow at the Hochschule für Künste Bremen. He is currently a master's student of voice there with Krisztina Láki and Thomas Mohr. He has also worked with renowned musicians such as Chiara Banchini, Amandine Beyer, Shunske Sato, Petra Müllejans, David Lefèvre, Mariana Sirbu, Francesca Vicari, Benjamin Chénier; Ulrich Messthaler, Deborah Saffery, Benno Schachtner and Gabriele Fontana.
As a violinist and singer, Francisco Henriques regularly performs as a soloist and in various ensembles, including with the Dresden Festival Orchestra, Elbipolis Barockorchester Hamburg and La Festa Musicale. Concerts have taken him to various cities in Portugal, Germany as well as to France, Poland and Denmark. In June 2024, he won the Hochschule für Künste Bremen 1st Prize with his Duo du Depart and was also a scholarship holder of the Richard Wagner Scholarship Foundation. Previously, he was awarded 1st Prize at the Young Musician's Competition in Portugal in 2017 with his trio Adamastor and was able to record a CD with works ranging from Joseph Haydn to Ernest Chausson.
As a bass soloist in concert setting, Francisco Henriques has performed several core roles for his voice. Among others, J.S. Bach's Johannes-Passion BWV 245 (Jesus, Petrus and Pilatus), Matthäus-Passion BWV 244 (Jesus), Mass in B minor BWV 232, Weihnachts-Oratorium BWV 248; George Frideric Handel's Messiah HWV 56 and Ralph Vaughan Williams' Five Mystical Songs for baritone, chorus and orchestra. In Opera, he participated in productions of W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni K.527 (Masetto, Leporello and Comendatore), Così Fan Tutte K.588 (Don Alfonso); Gioachino Antonio Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Don Bartolo) and Giacomo Puccini's Gianni Schicchi (Gianni Schicchi). He also worked very intimately with living composers having premiered two contemporary Operas, among them, a monologue for small orchestra and Baritone Solo. In chamber music as a singer, he has focused a great deal on the preparation of recitals in the lied duo setting. He has prepared a diverse programme in several languages. Among others, he has prepared and performed cycles such as Schubert's Schwanengesang D 957, Ravel's Don Quichotte à Dulcinée and R.V. Williams' Songs of Travel.
As a solo violinist, before branching out to the Baroque Violin, Francisco Henriques prepared several solo parts of some of the most challenging Violin Concertos. Among others, he played with different orchestras L.v. Beethoven's Triple Concerto Op.56, Sibelius' Violin Concerto Op.47 and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto Op.35. As a chamber musician, he worked mainly in the piano trio and the piano/violin duo settings. Among others, he performed and recorded the Piano Trio Op.3 by Ernest Chausson and César Franck's Violin Sonata. Both with the modern and the Baroque violin, he has also been invited to lead several ensembles as Concertmaster. |
