INTERVIEWS

Florian Sempey
I think the most important skills when you already have a big career are patience, curiosity, open-mindedness and kindness.

Florian Sempey is one of the most sought-after lyric artists on the international scene. His thunderous career has already led him to perform in the title role of Il Barbiere di Siviglia on important stages such as Opéra de Paris, the Royal Opera House, Opera di Roma and the New National Theatre in Tokyo. In a conversation with Alice Lechner, Florian talks about his debut as Don Giovanni at Soirées Lyriques de Sanxay, his first impression about opera, his relationship with Rossini’s music and moreover about his Turco in Italia at Teatro Real & Lucia di Lammermoor at Festival d’Aix-en-Provance alongside the soprano, Lisette Oropesa.  

August 2023
Alice Lechner
Ken Yanagisawa
I think there is a different approach to conducting that needs to be taken depending on the ensemble that one is working with, but inherently the leadership required is the same.

This issue just couldn’t be better than this!
So many incredible & different people from one another and yet united by this charming part of the world that we call Opera. Given the fact that Conductors of the future rubric is one of your favorites, we would like to introduce you Ken Yanagisawa. In a conversation with Cristina Fieraru, Ken talks about his experience as an Kapellmeister with the Berlin Opernfest, his beliefs regarding masterclasses, his preference between competitions and auditions, about challenging engagements & many others.
You will also be able to find out how he approaches a new score and what is his piece of advice for young aspiring conductors. It is a very challenging and beautiful path at the same time. Am I right? Is it the same to be a choir conductor or an orchestra conductor?
No need to ask twice, because he will give you the answer right away in this interview! Just keep reading!

August 2023
Cristina Fieraru
Jochen Schönleber
It is not enough to be a good singer; you must make almost daily reminders about yourself and your qualities.

If you are intrigued about the thought process that stands behind organizing and running an opera festival, read on and you will find out in the following pages. Jochen Schönleber has been the manager of Rossini in Wildbad for 34 years now, also taking on the role of the director of all the major productions. We talked with him about artistic quality, the impact social media has on artists today, choosing unconventional venues for shows within Rossini in Wildbad, as well as the festival’s young artists programme, the Akademie.

August 2023
Alex Suciu
Anton Beliaev
As singers, we are required not only to show our voice at the audition, but also to experience the emotions and feelings of those whom we sing and convince the listeners of this.

Third prize winner of Concorso Lirico Internazionale di Portofino, Anton Belyaef began his studies at the Sergei Rachmaninoff Music School in Russia and he has recently been accepted at Young Artista Studio at the Semperoper in Dresden. In a conversation with Alice Lechner, Anton talks about his experience at Concorso Lirico Internazionale di Portofino, how he prepared for this competition, about Young Artist Studio at the Semperoper in Dresden and about his dreams in terms of the repertoire.

August 2023
Alice Lechner
Francesco Demuro
Going towards a repertoire where high notes do not exist is just a way to escape from problems that will then be irreparable.
August 2023
Bianca L. Nica
Liana Aleksanyan
With time you learn how to calculate your emotions and the voice, like where to give more and where to save yourself.
August 2023
Alice Lechner
Maria Kataeva
It has always been important for me to find my own style and individuality, not only in art, but also in my appearance.
August 2023
Bianca L. Nica
Nina van Essen
I think it’s important to realize that nobody else can tell you what step is your next one and why it’s good for you.
August 2023
Cristina Fieraru
Antonino Fogliani
My approach to interpretation lies not in the search for an absolute truth but in the constant search for myself through the scores I perform.
August 2023
Alex Suciu
Florian Sempey
I think the most important skills when you already have a big career are patience, curiosity, open-mindedness and kindness.
August 2023
Alice Lechner
Ken Yanagisawa
I think there is a different approach to conducting that needs to be taken depending on the ensemble that one is working with, but inherently the leadership required is the same.
August 2023
Cristina Fieraru
Jochen Schönleber
It is not enough to be a good singer; you must make almost daily reminders about yourself and your qualities.
August 2023
Alex Suciu
Alejandro Navarrete
To me, an Artist is someone who follows a set of practices to achieve a result that’s both effective in its purpose and execution, as well as fulfilling to themselves.
August 2023
Alex Suciu
Gianluca Marciano
Since I left my Lerici to pursue my music career, I have always wished to create something special for my hometown.
August 2023
Bianca L. Nica
Sascha Goetzel
The most important aspect is developing a unique artistic voice and a genuine passion for music.
August 2023
Alex Suciu

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Alice Lechner

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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BIANCA L. NICA

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