A variety of opera performances at the capital’s leading lyrical stage, during January 20-26

During the week of January 20-26, 2025, the National Opera of Bucharest will host a charming array of opera performances, including Callas – Oana Pellea by Terrence McNally (January 21), The Elixir of Love by Gaetano Donizetti (January 22), Turandot by Giacomo Puccini (January 23), Eugene Onegin by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (January 25), The Impresario and The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 26).

Callas – Oana Pellea (by Terrence McNally) – Tuesday, January 21, 6:30 PM Callas – Oana Pellea is a remarkable production at the crossroads of theater and opera, exploring the multiple facets of soprano Maria Callas’s personality. Terrence McNally’s play depicts a masterclass held by the diva at the Juilliard School of Music in New York during the final years of her life. While giving technical guidance to young aspiring bel canto singers, Maria Callas opens up and reflects on her life. She does so with painful sincerity, exploring her complex relationship with fame, the endless expectations of the public, and the compromises she made throughout her dazzling career. Oana Pellea’s performance, with its charming dramatic and psychological complexity, captures all the nuances of Maria Callas’s character: rigorous and demanding in her artistic expression, yet also romantic, vulnerable, and deeply human. The Romanian actress manages to portray the Greek diva without imitating her, bringing her legendary aura back to the stage through an original creation.

The Elixir of Love (by Gaetano Donizetti) – Wednesday, January 22, 6:30 PM The Elixir of Love embodies, if not directly through Felice Romani’s libretto, at least through the dynamics of Gaetano Donizetti’s music (from the end of Act I), the generous and romantic idea of a potential perfect pair associated with the couple Nemorino-Adina. This timeless search for fulfillment in love is crucial, as, according to the Italian director of this production, Marco Gandini, “today, to stage an opera, as in the case of a play, when dealing with works of the past, it brings with it the question of whether the subject has, or to what extent it can have, significance for a contemporary audience.” Fortunately, the Italian director continues, “the story and music of The Elixir of Love are in a certain sense contemporary, because they do not contain archaic elements or references to a specific period.”

Turandot (by Giacomo Puccini) – Thursday, January 23, 6:30 PM The exotic theme of Turandot provides Italian director Mario de Carlo with an artistic opportunity to project a contemporary vision of legendary Beijing (where Puccini sets the action of the opera, in which every suitor for the beautiful princess Turandot must solve three riddles or die) centered on abstract clarity and modern sensitivity, firmly anchored and accommodated within a fluid Italian simplicity. As can be imagined and expected, the angular stage geometries and abstractions must be complemented by the fantastic narrative of the story and the musical dramaturgy. While the set does not suggest the fairy-tale realm of the original play by Count Carlo Gozzi, and the light changes are too delicate to emphasize conflicts or spiritual states, the costumes are colorful and striking. We invite you to step into a fairy-tale world, presented in a contemporary key, on the stage of the National Opera of Bucharest, where at the end, together with Turandot, we will reveal the identity of the chosen one: “His name is Love.”

Eugene Onegin (by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky) – Saturday, January 25, 6:30 PM Tchaikovsky conceived Eugene Onegin as a “lyric drama, intimate but powerful,” as he himself described it. And even though the great Russian composer is known for his famous operas and ballets, Eugene Onegin has naturally become one of the most beloved works worldwide, thanks to its superb scenery, moving music, dazzling instrumentation, and the overwhelming intensity of its internal drama. With unparalleled talent, Tchaikovsky musically describes the deeply human love story between Onegin and Tatiana, sublimated in a richly layered and endlessly expressive composition, but imagined as hopelessly and devastatingly romantic by the great Russian writer Aleksandr Pushkin (whose eponymous work served as the inspiration for Tchaikovsky). The production is directed by Ion Caramitru, as a tribute from the National Opera of Bucharest to his memory.

The Impresario (by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) – Sunday, January 26, 12:00 PM and 2:30 PM This comic opera, as described by the genius Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart himself, was written at the command of Emperor Joseph II of Austria to be staged before 80 guests at a private luncheon in the Orangerie of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna on February 7, 1786. The work is considered a parody of opera singers’ vanity, who argue over obtaining the highest status and, of course, a deserved payment.

The Marriage of Figaro (by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) – Sunday, January 26, 6:30 PM The Marriage of Figaro is a charming and ingenious comic masterpiece by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, highlighting the love intrigues and comic or awkward situations generated by the interaction of the main characters. In the captivating artistic vision of the renowned contemporary opera director Sir David Pountney, this performance brings an innovative approach to this timeless classic, blending contemporary elements with Mozart’s authenticity. The Marriage of Figaro was inspired by Beaumarchais’s 1778 comedy, which—although it caused a public scandal in France—was personally approved by Emperor Joseph II to be staged in Austria, specifically at the Burghtheater in Vienna in 1786.

Tickets available at http://tickets.operanb.ro/ and from the National Opera of Bucharest’s Ticket Office.

CallasNational Opera of Bucharestoperathe marriage of figaroTurandot
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