Soprano Iulia Isaev and pianist Liana Mareș, artists of the Romanian National Opera in Bucharest, will perform at the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York on Friday, April 25, in an exceptional event highlighting the excellence of Romanian operatic art.
Celebrating the official opening of the Bucharest Opera Festival 2025, the recital by Iulia Isaev and Liana Mareș promises an evening of refined music and genuine emotion.
During the evening, the audience will learn more about the fourth edition of the festival, which has become an essential platform for showcasing top opera and ballet companies from Romania and abroad.
The event will also feature a screening of the film “Bucharest Opera Festival 2024 – All Puccini Edition,” directed by Virgil Oprina, a video testimony of the previous edition’s remarkable success. Additionally, musicologist Oltea Șerban-Pârâu will offer a retrospective of the 2024 edition.
The recital will be honored by the presence of Daniel Jinga, General Manager of the Romanian National Opera in Bucharest, and will open with introductory remarks by Dorian Branea, Director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York.
Peter Quantrill, British music critic and journalist, commented:
“This year, instead of focusing on a single figure like Puccini in 2024, the June festival offers a representative picture of Romanian opera. There are four fully staged operas, three ballets, one operetta, one musical, and one concert opera. Companies from two neighboring countries – Bulgaria and Moldova – will join, with the rest of the program being entirely Romanian. So, even though you’ll see productions like Nabucco, Cinderella, Gounod’s Faust, and Jesus Christ Superstar, the central theme of the 2025 Festival is Romanian lyrical art.
Musical Program
Iulia Isaev – soprano
Liana Mareș – piano
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A. Catalani – “Ebben? Ne andrò lontana” from La Wally
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A. Boito – “L’altra notte in fondo al mare” from Mefistofele
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G. Puccini – “O mio babbino caro” from Gianni Schicchi
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F. Poulenc – Les chemins de l’amour
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P.A. Tirindelli – O Primavera!
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G. Enescu – Eu mă duc, codrul rămâne
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G. Enescu – Estrenne a Anne
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G. Enescu – Languir me fais…
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G. Enescu – Aux damoiselles paresseuses d’écrire à leur amys
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G. Enescu – Du confict en douleur
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N. Bretan – Stelele-n cer
Iulia Isaev, a prominent figure in the Romanian school of vocal performance, has enjoyed an illustrious international career, culminating in her 2019 debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in the title role of Puccini’s Tosca. A graduate of the National University of Music Bucharest, where she studied under the esteemed soprano Arta Florescu, she was distinguished early on with awards from international competitions in France, Romania, and Spain.
She debuted at the Romanian National Opera Bucharest as Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen and has since performed in prestigious opera houses across Europe, Asia, and the U.S., including the Vienna State Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opéra Garnier Paris, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, La Fenice Venice, Greek National Opera, New National Theatre Tokyo, Seoul Opera House, and the Metropolitan Opera New York.
Her repertoire includes iconic roles such as Mimì (La Bohème), Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly), Tosca, Manon Lescaut, Liu (Turandot), Desdemona (Otello), Marguerite (Faust), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), and Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), among others.
She has worked with renowned conductors like James Levine, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Fabio Luisi, and Michel Plasson, and directors such as Franco Zeffirelli, Peter Brook, and Robert Wilson. Isaev is currently a soloist at the Romanian National Opera Bucharest and Associate Professor at the National University of Music Bucharest.
Liana Mareș, a graduate of the National University of Music Bucharest, studied piano under Professor Veronica Gaspar and harpsichord under Professor Ogneanca Lefterescu. Upon graduation in 1998, she joined the Romanian National Opera Bucharest and has since collaborated with major Romanian institutions such as the George Enescu Philharmonic and the Romanian National Operetta Theater.
Her operatic repertoire includes works by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti, Bizet, Wagner, and Purcell. She has toured with the Bucharest Opera in France, Greece, and Israel, and has performed in venues such as the Romanian Athenaeum and Cotroceni Museum. Since June 2011, she holds the title of Opera Coach granted by Accademia Teatro alla Scala.
Bucharest Opera Festival
Now in its fourth edition, the Bucharest Opera Festival features ten evenings of opera, ballet, operetta, and concert opera productions, performed by ten different companies, including two international guests: Maria Bieșu National Opera and Ballet Theatre from Chișinău and the Opera of Ruse, Bulgaria.
Joining the Romanian National Opera Bucharest are the Romanian National Operas from Iași and Timișoara, the Hungarian Opera of Cluj-Napoca, the Brașov Opera, the Nae Leonard Opera and Ballet Theatre of Galați, and the Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra.
As in previous years, all Romanian opera directors have enthusiastically mobilized their teams to participate in this festival, contributing to transforming Bucharest into a prime destination for cultural tourism.
For event details and additional information, please visit the website of the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York.
More updates on current projects of ICR New York can be found on social media and the Institute’s website:
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