Aleksandra Szmyd

Ph.: Roberto Ricci

Author:

by Bianca L. Nica
March 20, 2023
Read the entire

No.2/2023

of opera charm magazine

INTERVIEW

Aleksandra Szmyd is a rising star in the world of classical singing and has already received several awards for her vocal achievements. Aleksandra Szmyd, graduate of the Music Academy in Cracow in the class of Prof. Ryszard Karczykowski and the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität der Stadt Wien at the faculty of Opera Master’s Programme in the class of Prof. Lina Watson. She graduated summa cum laude from both higher schools, also realized a post-graduate program at the Universität fur Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, in the class of Prof. Claudia Visca. In February 2022, she won 2nd prize at the bel canto competition: „Competizione dell’Opera”. In August 2021, she became laureate and prize winner of the special award of the XII Elena Obraztsova International Opera Competition in St. Petersburg, than in December 2021, laureate and prize winner of the International Competition „City of Pisa”-Tribute to Titta Ruffo. In 2022, Aleksandra made her debut at the Klosterneuburg Festival and played the role of Musetta from the opera La Boheme. Then, in August of that year, she performed the part of Gilda from the opera Rigoletto at Kurpark Bad Schwalbach and part of Clorinda from the opera La Cenerentola in cooperation with the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. As the laureate of competitive auditions in Bologne and New York, she participated in the iSING festival in the People’s Republic of China, under the honorary patronage of Placido Domingo, giving concerts among other things, as a soloist at the Suzhou Culture Art Centre with the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, in Suzhou, Shanghai Symphony Hall with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Yu Long, broadcast to most countries in the world by Medici TV, and also at Grand Hangzhou Theatre. Her debut was the title part in Haendel’s Alcina at Vienna’s MuTh Theatre, directed by Dmitry Bertman and conducted by Maestro Niels Muus. Then she played the part of Susana in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro in co-production with the Wiener Philharmoniker in Vienna, Graz, Salzburg, and St. Polten. She performed the title part of Illia in Mozart’s Idomeneo at Vienna’s Akzent Theatre. In 2019 she had a debut in the Candide production at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna and played the part of Pamina in The Magic Flute at the Warsaw Chamber Opera. In December 2019, Aleksandra took part in the „Bolshaya Opera” television show, where she performed opera and crossover music. She was soloist at the Festival der Jungen Stimmen, Die Internationale Opernerkstatt präsentiert diverse Opernszenen. Aleksandra took part at the Amadeus Opera Laboratory, where she performed the role of Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro at the „Kolobov Novaya Opera Theatre of Moscow” conducted by Maestro Dmitry Korchak. Many times she participated in the Jan Kiepura Opera Festival in Krynica, and also she was the winner of many prizes, both as a pianist and vocalist for example the semi-final of the International Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition, Gold Medal of Musicale de France, Grand Prix at the “Kiepura Fest” All-Poland Festival in Sosnowiec, III place at the Gulio Perotti International Vocal Competition in Germany. She was also granted the award of the Krosno Mayor for individuals with artistic merits. She is the holder of a grant from the Minister of Science and Higher Education for outstanding achievements in classical singing and the winner of the Kaszt Gutenberg Prize in the category of classical music.

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Alice Lechner comes from a music-loving family. Her first encounter with the opera universe was at the tender age of six. The grandeur of the stage productions and costumes, the backstage chatter, and last, but definitely not least, the music left her in awe, beginning with Mozart’s Don Giovanni. The overall feeling that opera awakens in anyone who gets a glimpse into this part of artistic eternity, that each and every day passes the test of time, was what drew her to stay and be a part of this world. The Opera House of Brașov became her second home, and the people who worked there were her second family.

Since then, Alice has devoted her spare time to maximising her musical knowledge through instrumental studies, studying both piano and violin for a short time. In the following years, her number one passion stepped out of the limelight and graciously gave way to Law Studies.
Since 2018 she has been studying Law at “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University in Iași.

Her passion for opera, even if it is no longer her top professional priority in terms of career, it has most definitely become her priority during her free time. Wanting to experience the best of both worlds and extend her musical horizons, she regularly attends opera performances throughout Romania and abroad.
With OPERA Charm Magazine, Alice aims to nurture her creative side to help it flourish and bloom and to discover, alongside the magazine’s readers, the fascinatingly complex world of opera.

Currently, she is an LL.M. in Business Law at “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University in Iași.

Oana Zamfir

Oana Zamfir is a second year MA student at the “George Enescu” National University of Arts, at the Department of Musicology.

She studied violin for 12 years at the “Stefan Luchian” High School of Art in Botosani, later focusing on the theoretical aspects of music. In 2019 she completed her bachelor studies in Musicology as a student of the National Academy of Music “Gheorghe Dima” in Cluj-Napoca. Her research during 2018-2019 brought to the forefront elements of the archaic ritual within works of composers who activated during the communist period, giving her the opportunity to start a research internship at the “Carl von Ossietzky” University in Germany. In this context, she recorded conversations with members of the Sophie Drinker Institute in Bremen, and had access to documents directly from the Myriam Marbé archive.

Since 2019 she has been a teacher of Music Education and Theoretical Music Studies, making full use of interactive methods in the musical training of students and working, at the same time, with the children’s choir founded in the first year of her activity.

Her interests include pursuing a degree in interior design in 2020.

Alexandru Suciu

Alexandru Suciu inherited his passion for art growing up in a family of several generations of musicians. He began his musical studies at the “Augustin Bena” School of Music in Cluj, where he studied piano and guitar. Even though his main study direction was philological, his passion for music prevailed. He began his academical journey at the Faculty of Letters of the “Babeș-Bolyai” University, studying Comparative literature and English. He continued by studying Opera Singing at the “Gheorghe Dima” National Music Academy. He also graduated the Musical Education section, followed by Artistic Directing at the Musical Performing Arts department.

His multidisciplinary education opened the doors towards research, which is seen both through his participation in national and international conferences and symposia, such as the Salzburg Easter School PhD-forum, organized by the Salzburg Universität or the Silesian Meeting of Young Scholars, organized by the Institute of English at the University of Silesia, as well as the collaboration with Opera Charm Magazine.

During his student years, he won several prizes, including the Grand Prize at the “Paul Constantinescu” National Musical Interpretation Competition, the Romanian Composers and Musicologists’ Union Prize at the same competition, the First Prize and the Schubert Prize at the “Ada Ulubeanu” Competition.

He further developed his artistic skills by specializing in courses and masterclasses held by personalities such as Vittorio Terranova, Giuseppe Sabbatini, Marian Pop, Ines Salazar, Riccardo Zanellato, Paolo Bosisio, Valentina Farcaș and Manuel Lange in contexts such as the Internationale Sommerakademie für Operngesang Deutschlandsberg, Corso Internazionale di Canto Lirico I.M.C. Licata or the Europäische Akademie für Musik und darstellende Kunst Montepulciano. Besides his activity on-stage, he currently teaches Opera Singing Didactics, and Pedagogical Practice within the Department for Teacher Education and Training at the “Gheorghe Dima” National Music Academy.

Cristina Fieraru

Cristina is a 24 year-old Romanian soprano & a student at the National University of Music Bucharest, where she pursues the MA program in Vocal Performance.

She made her debut in Pamina from “Die Zauberflöte” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at only 19 years old at the Bucharest National Opera House, as a member of the Ludovic Spiess Experimental Opera Studio. Over the years she made her debut in roles such as Contessa d’Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Mimì & Musetta (La Bohème), Alice Ford (Falstaff), Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte) in her university’s opera productions.
Her passion and experience extends in the field of choral music, too.

She has been part of our dream team since the fall of 2021. For a good period of time she took care of OPERA Charm’s social media and took you on the monthly journey through the history of opera through our Legends rubric – and a few times through the Theaters around the World rubric.

Her little soul rubric – from 2021 to present – is definitely the Conductors of the Future, where, every month, she gives you the chance to meet a young star of the world of conducting and, of course, to find out what’s the most charming feature of opera in these artists’ views.

BIANCA L. NICA

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