A city, a Ball, an Opera house and the Seniors of the Citadel. These are the elements which made the programme of an ideal weekend at the Romanian Opera in Cluj. It is about a Gala, on 19^th and 20^th February, 2011, during which the personalities of the city of Cluj, were prize-awarded. Among them: the first-ballerina of the Romanian Opera in Cluj, the directors Tompa Gabor şi Tudor, the academician Augustine Buzura, the doctor Raed Arafat, who is the founder of SMURD (The Mobile Emergency Service for Resuscitation and Extrication).

I invite you to find out more about the event from the following interview, given by Matei Miko, the producer of the event.

Which is the purpose of the Opera Ball, which you organized at the Romanian National Opera Ball in Cluj-Napoca?

The Opera Ball is an event dedicated to values, starting with this important lyrical scene in Transylvania and, of course, continuing with those personalities that made the reputation of the city of Cluj known beyond the boundaries of the City, both nationally and internationally. It is a gala dedicated to these values.

Can you develop the discussion about these prizes, dedicated to the Seniors of the Citadel and about the concept of "Seniors of the Citadel"; what does it mean and to whom are these prizes awarded?

When we talk about seniors, we do not refer to age, but to greatness. The titles are given to those notable persons who contributed through their work, activity and creation to the development and perpetuation of education, science, culture and to the ones who worked in sports. There are personalities from different fields who have made these areas to take a step forward. The Citadel Seniors are those people and those personalities that Cluj is proud of. Next year, the Opera Ball will be called "Hi Vienna" ("Servus Vienna").