In the Puccini Centennial Year, on November 8, 2024, the Bucharest National Opera – represented by seven vocal soloists under the direction of Daniel Jinga – will perform the Puccini Gala on the Daegu Opera House stage in South Korea. This concert will mark the closing of the 21st Daegu International Opera Festival, held from October 4 to November 8, 2024. Led by conductor Daniel Jinga, invited to lead the Daegu Opera Orchestra, the gala will feature tenor Virgil Profeanu, sopranos Iulia Isaev, Marta Sandu Ofrim, Veronica Anușca, and Andreea Bucur, along with baritones Alexandru Constantin and Lucian Petrean.
The program prepared by the Romanian artists includes some of Puccini’s most famous operatic pieces, such as Ch’ella mi creda from La fanciulla del West, Signore, ascolta! and Nessun dorma from Turandot, Sola, perduta, abbandonata and Ah, Manon, mi tradisce il tuo folle pensiero from Manon Lescaut, Era uguale la voce from Gianni Schicchi, Te Deum, Tradirmi egli non può, and Mario! Mario! Mario! from Tosca, La canzone di Doretta from La rondine, Addio, addio mio dolce amor from Edgar, and Sono andati and Quando m’en vo from La bohème.
Through this exceptional Puccini repertoire, Romania and South Korea unite musically in celebration of the Puccini Centennial. The Romanian public may recall that this past summer, the legendary composer Giacomo Puccini was honored at the Bucharest National Opera during the third edition of the Bucharest Opera Festival – All Puccini Edition, held from June 7 to 16, 2024. This edition was dedicated entirely to Puccini, honoring his musical legacy. On June 8, 2024, the Daegu Opera also performed on the Bucharest National Opera stage in a Puccini Gala 100 show as part of the Bucharest Opera Festival – All Puccini Edition. This exchange is part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed on May 2, 2023, by both cultural institutions from Romania and South Korea.
Do both cultural institutions from Romania and South Korea fund fully these events or do the Operas have to beg for sponsors???