They met for the first time in 2010, on the stage of the Bavarian State Opera, before they were supposed to perform in Carmen. She had performed the famous leading female role in Bizet's opera one year earlier, on the stage of the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, and at the beginning of the year, on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, alongside another great tenor: Roberto Alagna; he had opened the season of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, as Don Jose, alongside another Carmen: Anita Rachvelishvili, on the same year. And, both of them had his / her own portion of success: she was successful in a largely commented way, whereas he was successful in a rather discreet way.

Ever since they had meet during rehearsals for the old and conventional Lina Wertmüller's production from the Bavarian State Opera, their artistic dialogue had worked without any issues. Everything seemed perfect! Elina Garanca - is she a distant and cold Carmen? Not at all! Jonas Kaufmann - is he a pale Don Jose? Under no circumstances!

"Both stars have found new nuances and vocal colours, whom no one has underlined before them, for their roles. - concluded a journalist; and another one wrote the following: Garanca impresses by a powerful acuti and a still very consistent low register, and Kaufmann conquers not necessarily through the timbre or volume of his voice, but mostly, with the palette of nuances, and with his wonderful pianissimi."

And yet, from June 2010 until the end of February 2015, Elina Garanca and Jonas Kaufmann continued evolving in Bizet's famous opera separately, as if something was systematically hindering their reunion.

Everyone at the MET wanted to Richard Eyre's production. Including Gelb! But the production had been initially designed for the Angela Gheorghiu - Roberto Alagna couple in 2009, but after Angela's departure, Garanca and … Alagna ended up together; and, even after a triumphal debut at the MET in the role of Don Jose, in May, 2010, Kaufmann was to perform alongside every interpreter of the role of Carmen, except with the beautiful Latvian soprano. The upset and desperation which occurred among the fans of the two interpreters can be easily understood ...

Do you want me to perform in Carmen? Stage Werther first!

I don't know if these were his exact words, but the order in which the events occurred might indicate the presence of a kind a condition: if you want us to sing together in Carmen, you must stage Werther first! - the two performers, Garanca and Kaufmann made their debut as stage partners at the MET, firstly in Werther, during the previous season, and only after that they performed together in Carmen, which was three weeks ago.

And to what artistic level did the two of them situate in Carmen? It is simple for us to find out: all we have to do is listen to the performance which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, 7^th March, during the An Evening at the Opera programme, as part of a live broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, starting at 20:00 and we will know for sure if all the waiting was worth.

Also, we will have the chance to listen to two young voices, about whom people have been talking a lot: the Hungarian bass Gabor Bretz (Escamillo) and the American soprano Ailyn Perez (Micaela), both of whom are making their debut at the MET. And also to the opinions of publicist Mihai Canciovici, which he promises to share with us, with the greatest joy, when we return to the studio of the Radio Romania Music radio station.