After last year's success, in 2025, the Romanian Cultural Institute is happy to dedicate the April recital of the Enescu Concerts Series to celebrating Romanian vocal art in an unmissable event organised in partnership with theRomanian National Opera in Bucharest. The concert features two of its most renowned and internationally acclaimed musicians, soprano Iulia Isaev, who impressed audiences at the MET Opera in New York and tenor Alin Stoica, one of the most sought-after voices in Romania's musical landscape. Pianist Liana Mareș will accompany the singers.
The recital's carefully curated programme includes evergreen arias and lieder by Romanian and international composers such as Enescu, Dendrino, Puccini, Mascagni, Bizet, and Poulenc.
The event also features the screening of a short documentary on the 2024 edition of the Bucharest International Opera Festival and introductions by the General Manager of the Romanian National Opera, Daniel Jinga and British journalist Peter Quantrill. The Bucharest International Opera Festivalsignificantly contributes to positioning Bucharest among the major cities hosting international festivals, becoming an excellent promoter of cultural tourism. The Festival aims to strengthen a platform for showcasing the most valuable opera and ballet companies from Romania and beyond.
BIOGRAPHIES
A distinguished representative of the Romanian school of singing, with a prestigious international artistic career that reached its peak in 2019 with her debut on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York in the leading role of Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Tosca”, sopranoIulia Isaev stands among the musical personalities who have elevated interpretive art to a level of utmost excellence. A graduate of the University of Music in Bucharest under the guidance of the esteemed teacher Arta Florescu, she distinguished herself during her student years, winning awards at international competitions such as Loire Atlantique in Nantes, France, George Enescu in Bucharest, and Madama Butterfly in Barcelona, Spain. Her artistic debut took place on the stage of the National Opera in Bucharest in the role of Micaela in Georges Bizet’s opera “Carmen”, followed by an intense activity during which she was invited by the most prestigious opera houses in Europe, Asia, and the United States of America. She has performed roles in landmark productions such as Mimi in “La Boheme”, Cio-Cio-San in “Madama Butterfly”, Floria Tosca in “Tosca”, Manon Lescaut in “Manon Lescaut”, Liu in Puccini’s “Turandot”, Desdemona in “Otello”, Alice Ford in Verdi’s “Falstaff”, Marguerite in Gounod’s “Faust”, Giulietta in Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffmann”, Donna Anna in “Don Giovanni”, Countess in “The Marriage of Figaro”, Pamina in “The Magic Flute”, Fiordiligi in Mozart’s “Cosi Fan Tutte”, Tatiana in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin”, Nedda in Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci”, Adriana Lecouvreur in Cilea’s “Adriana Lecouvreur”, Elsa of Brabant in Wagner’s “Lohengrin” and Elisabeth in “Tannhauser”. She has also given a series of vocal symphonic concerts both in her home country and abroad in prestigious venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. Currently, Iulia Isaev is an Associate Professor at the University of Music in Bucharest and a soloist at the National Opera in Bucharest.
Alin Stoica is described by critics as “a tenor with a colossal voice as has not been heard for some time on Romanian stages and beyond.” Having good technique but also theatrical qualities, he always manages to complete every role he plays, leaving his mark on each area. Alin’s current season marks his debut as Pinkerton (Butterfly) at National Opera Bucharest and a guest performance of Tosca at the Jerusalem Festival. In the 2019/20 season, Alin debuted as Cavaradossi (Tosca) at the Gärtnerplatztheater München, a role he took on the season before at National Opera Bucharest. He got invited by the Gärtnerplatztheater to reprise the role in 2020/21. In the past seasons, Alin Stoica debuted as Don José (Carmen) at the Festival Bad Immling and was engaged for Amleto at the well-known Bregenz Lake Festival. He was invited to sing Turriddu (Cavalleria Rusticana) at the Teatro Jesi (Fondazione Pergolesi Spontini), as well as for concerts at Theater Görlitz and Indonesia. The young tenor regularly performs at National Opera Bucharest, f.e. as Alfredo (Traviata), Don José or Cavaradossi. He is also a concert singer in great demand and appears regularly on Romanian television. Alin Stoica was born in Bucharest in 1987, where he studied singing at the National University of Music. Amongst others, he attended masterclasses of Rockwell Blake and Mariana Nicolescu. He participated in several competitions and won the Grand Prix of the Paul-Constantinescu-Competition as well as the Special Award of the Romanian Broadcast Corporation at the International Competition Grand Prix de l’Opéra. At the Sarzana Competition he won the 2nd prize, the Audience prize and the Luciano Pavarotti Prize, which made Nicoletta Mantovani invite him to sing at the Pavarotti Memorial Concert in the Arena di Verona alongside stars like Placido Domingo, José Carreras and Angela Gheorghiu in the fall of 2017.
A graduate of the Faculty of Musical Interpretation at the National University of Music Bucharest, in the class of Professor Veronica Gaspar in 1998, pianist Liana Mareș also completed the Harpsichord section of the same prestigious institution, under the guidance of Professor Ogneanca Lefterescu. Immediately after graduating, she was employed by the National Opera in Bucharest while also collaborating with other institutions such as the "George Enescu" Philharmonic in Bucharest, the "Ion Dacian" National Operetta Theatre, and the Romanian Broadcasting Corporation. She has performed recitals at the Romanian Athenaeum, Sala Dalles, Cotroceni Museum, Peleș Museum, and in concert halls in Craiova, Oradea, and Brăila. Her opera accompaniment repertoire includes works by composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, and Gaetano Donizetti, as well as Georges Bizet, Engelbert Humperdinck, Richard Wagner, Henry Purcell, and Peter Ruzicka. Alongside the troupe of the National Opera of Bucharest, Liana Mareș has toured in France, Greece, and Israel. Since June 2011, she has been a trainer of lyrical performers, a title awarded by the Accademia Teatro alla Scala.
When: 10 Apr 2025, 19:00 – 21:00
Where: Romanian Cultural Institute, 1 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PH, UK
