Paulo Bitencourt
Paulo Bittencourt (Freethinker, Humanist and Atheist) | |
|---|---|
 “I don’t want to believe, I want to know.” — Paulo Bittencourt | |
| Born | Paulo Roberto de Paula Bitencourt |
| Occupation | Author, musician, actor, photographer |
| Nationality |  Brazil |
| Citizenship |  Austria |
| Website | |
| Freethought, Humanism and Atheism | |
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Paulo Bittencourt (known also as Paulo Bitencourt) is a Brazil-born Austrian author, musician, actor and photographer.
Vocational training[edit]
As a boy, Paulo Bittencourt dreamed of becoming a comic book artist. At the age of just thirteen, he worked as an illustrator for a newspaper and for a large graphic arts company in his hometown.
In 1989, after completing the fifth semester at the Faculty of Theology in São Paulo, he abandoned his studies and moved to Europe, living temporarily in Portugal, France, England and Germany, the following year going to study German in Austria, where he settled.
In 1992, without any prior musical training and competing with experienced young people from all over the world, he passed the rigorous admission test of the Faculty of Solo Singing at the Konservatorium der Stadt Wien, the same one where, for example, Joe Zawinul, one of the greatest jazz figures, studied. Five years later, he passed the even more rigorous admission test for the Faculty of Opera, at the same conservatory, graduating in 2000. In his final exam, he played the Count of Almaviva, in the opera “The Marriage of Figaro”, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Professional activity[edit]
While studying at the Conservatory of the City of Vienna, Paulo Bittencourt sang in professional choirs, with numerous performances in Austria, Israel, Italy, Japan and the United States, like the Concentus Vocalis Choir, with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Theodor Guschlbauer, in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, the Arnold Schoenberg Choir, with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Seiji Ozawa, at the Vienna Konzerthaus and the Carnegie Hall in New York, and an independent production of “Orpheus in the Underworld” by Jacques Offenbach, with a one-month tour throughout Japan.
As a soloist, Paulo Bittencourt gave recitals at the Schubert Hall of the Vienna Konzerthaus, singing works of Heitor Villa-Lobos, and at the Bösendorfer Hall, in Vienna, interpreting Villa-Lobos and Oscar Lorenzo Fernández. He has performed in various theaters, including the Stadttheater Baden, Austria, and the Theater Akzent, in Vienna, playing The King, from the opera “The Wise Woman” by Carl Orff, The Father, from “Hansel and Gretel” by Engelbert Humperdinck, Figaro, from “The Barber of Seville” by Gioachino Rossini, and Guglielmo, from “Così Fan Tutte” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
In 1995, Paulo Bittencourt became part of the ensemble of the largest German-language theater, the Burgtheater,[1] in Vienna, both as a singer and actor, such as in “Die Dreigroschenoper” by Bertolt Brecht, “Orpheus in the Underworld” by Jacques Offenbach, “Ein Sportstück” by Elfriede Jelinek, and “Troilus and Cressida” by William Shakespeare, this one under the direction of Declan Donnellan.[2]
Self-taught on the guitar, in recent years Bittencourt has been interpreting the classics of bossa nova,[3] such as the compositions of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, and the works of Chico Buarque.[4]
Paulo Bittencourt is also a narrator (voice-over artist) of corporate videos of international companies, such as Plasser & Theurer, the TGW Logistics Group, Doka Group and Lyoness.[5]
As a photographer, Paulo Bittencourt’s main subjects are landscapes, street photography[6] and portraits, having been hired to photograph, for example, the opera singer Elisabeth Kulman, during one of her performances at the Vienna Volksoper.
Books[edit]
Paulo Bittencourt is the author of the books “Liberated from Religion: The Inestimable Pleasure of Being a Freethinker” and “Wasting Time on God: Why I Am an Atheist”.[7]
In Austrian media[edit]
Initially, Paulo Bittencourt did not want to become an Austrian citizen, since Austria allows only a single citizenship and he, therefore, would have to forgo his Brazilian nationality. However, in 2012, after having decided to remain in Austria, he was the subject of a story by the largest quality Austrian newspaper, Der Standard, for being a prominent example of the contradictions in Austria’s immigration laws, which at that time prevented him from receiving the Austrian citizenship, although he had lived for twenty-two years in Austria and was in possession of a permanent residence for that country.[8]
In July 2013, in view of the inconsistencies of the Austrian immigration laws, Austria’s biggest TV channel, ORF, aired a story about Paulo Bittencourt, this time focusing on the case of his son, who, despite having been born in Vienna, in 2012, and the permanent residence of his father, could be naturalized Austrian only after turning six years old.
In June 2015, Paulo Bittencourt was the subject of the radio program “Von Tag zu Tag” by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation,[9] in which he, along with political scientist and migration researcher Bernhard Perchining, spoke about the cynical posture of the Austrian state to well-integrated immigrants for practicing a policy of exclusion and violating the principle of equality by naturalizing only foreigners with a high income.
In October 2015, two Austrian TV programs by the ORF, “Heimat Fremde Heimat” and “ZIB Magazin”, thematized the contradictions of the Austrian naturalization laws in relation to Paulo Bittencourt, who, despite his residence of 25 years in Austria, could not be naturalized.
Fighting discrimination[edit]
Paulo Bittencourt is known in Austria for his political commitment to fight discrimination against immigrants, who, even though legalized, are excluded from the democratic process for not being entitled to vote.[10][11]
In October 2015, Austrian News magazine focused on Paulo Bittencourt's political activity, fighting the negative consequences for democracy of the Austrian naturalization laws.[12]
Citizen of Austria[edit]
In May 2016, the state governor of Lower Austria granted Austrian citizenship to Paulo Bittencourt.
References[edit]
- ↑ Paulo Bitencourt with the Burgtheater at the Mülheim Theater Festival (1999)
- ↑ Paulo Bitencourt with the Burgtheater at the Berliner Festspiele (1998)
- ↑ Paulo Bitencourt performing bossa nova in Vienna (2010)
- ↑ Paulo Bitencourt’s bossa nova interpretations
- ↑ Paulo Bitencourt as a voice-over artist
- ↑ Some photographic works by Paulo Bitencourt
- ↑ Paulo Bitencourt's Author Page on Amazon
- ↑ Paulo Bitencourt in the Austrian newspaper Der Standard (6 January 2012)
- ↑ Radio program “Von Tag zu Tag” about Paulo Bitencourt (June 2015)
- ↑ Campaign against discrimination by the organization SOS Mitmensch, with posters scattered throughout the city of Vienna showing Paulo Bitencourt (2015)
- ↑ Musical participation of Paulo Bitencourt in a campaign against discrimination by the organization SOS Mitmensch (2015)
- ↑ News magazine interviews Paulo Bitencourt in view of his political activities (October 2015)
External links[edit]
- Official website
- Paulo Bitencourt, because of his political activity against discrimination, quoted in the Austrian Parliament, in a speech by Member of Parliament Alev Korun (July 2013)
- Paulo Bitencourt quoted in a book on Philosophy by the Swiss author Stefano Csaszar
- Paulo Bitencourt quoted in a master's thesis on Philosophy by Sigrid Blauensteiner for the University of Vienna
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