Valer Barna-Săbăduş was born in Arad and has lived in Germany since he was five. He is currently one of the most acclaimed countertenors in the world, recognized with prestigious awards and praised by critics. Although rarely featured on Romanian concert programs, the Romanian-German musician takes center stage in the "Il gusto italiano" concert, which we will broadcast live tonight from Frankfurt.

On the occasion of this concert, we conducted Valer Barna-Săbăduş's first interview in Romanian.

Mr. Valer Barna-Săbăduș, over the years, our listeners have learned about the main highlights of your career.Now, the Frankfurt concert offers us the opportunity to hear you live. I'm delighted we can have this conversation in Romanian, considering you left the country as a child. First of all, how do you feel knowing that this concert will be broadcast in your homeland?

I'm incredibly proud to have the chance to perform this concert and for it to reach audiences everywhere, especially in Romania, where I was born. I emigrated to Germany as a small child, so I didn't speak Romanian well-I picked it up by listening. Now, 34 years later, I'm doing these two concerts in Frankfurt, and my music is enjoyed by people worldwide. I also have listeners in Romania, and I feel very proud to have the opportunity to be heard far and wide.

I know that you come from a family of musicians and studied violin and piano. Could you share with us how you discovered your countertenor voice?

It was quite a special moment. My parents were musicians: my father was a cellist, and my mother was a pianist. When we moved to Germany, I was 5 years old, and my mother soon got a job teaching piano in Bavaria, in a small town called Landau an der Isar. That's where I grew up, went to high school, took piano and violin lessons, and sang in various choirs.When I was 17, I saw a TV program featuring the renowned countertenor Andreas Scholl.I was very intrigued and immediately tried to imitate his voice. My mother was surprised to hear me sing so high, with a countertenor voice I didn't even know I had. She sat down at the piano right away, started playing, and had me sing as a countertenor.That was the spark that ignited my career. That's how it all started.

Can you give us a brief overview of your journey to becoming a professional interpreter?

As I mentioned earlier, I went to high school in Bavaria, Germany, where I also earned my Abitur. Afterward, I studied in Munich.Even during high school, before completing my Abitur, I was already taking lessons in Munich with an excellent teacher, Gabriele Fuchs. I started in 2003 and continued as a student in Munich from 2005 to 2011.

You made your international debut in 2009 at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival, conducted by Riccardo Muti. Since then, you've performed on many prestigious stages such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Aix-en-Provence Festival, the Ravenna Festival, the Paris National Opera, and various theaters across Germany. Your repertoire has expanded significantly, including both operatic roles and vocal-symphonic pieces. Do you have any favorite roles?

I've always tried to do both opera and concerts. For a countertenor, starting opera too early isn't exactly dangerous, but it's unusual because your voice needs more time to develop. On international stages, where there's no amplification, the voice must be powerful enough to reach the audience and balance well with the orchestra-otherwise, it becomes quite risky. Concerts in churches, on the other hand, often offer acoustics that are more suited to the countertenor voice. It's crucial to take breaks between operas and concerts and to maintain a mix of both. I've never been the kind of singer with just 5-6 opera roles, traveling the world performing only those. That's rare for countertenors, unlike for tenors or sopranos. We mostly focus on Baroque opera, and there are still many works that are waiting to be discovered. In that sense, we're a bit like archaeologists of early music, constantly uncovering and performing forgotten works.

Your international success is reflected in the major awards you've received, such as the ECHO Klassik in 2012 and 2015, the Young Artist of the Year title in 2013 at the International Classical Music Awards, and the Handel Prize of the City of Halle in 2020. What do these awards mean for you?

I value them greatly-they're a way of showing that I've done things right and am recognized for it. It's a sign of respect not just from the audience but also from the critics.

I was never a singer who built their career solely through competitions. I've never been a competition singer, to be honest. Whenever I see a jury, I can't help but ask myself, who am I really singing for? The jury or the audience? In reality, if I'm successful in operas and concerts, and especially if I receive strong applause from the audience, I consider myself an accomplished singer who's built their career primarily through stage experience. I do enjoywinning an award,but it's not a necessity for me.

But do these awards open doors for you? This kind of recognition must give you confidence in your abilities.

Yes, certainly. They always open important opportunities, helping you meet other conductors, as was the case for me. For example, in Frankfurt, I sang Handel and Vivaldi arias with Andrea Marcon, but I first met him in 2018 during a production of"Alcina." I sang my first role, Ruggiero, under his baton. That's how we became acquainted.

You already have an impressive discography. I counted 33 albums with your name, covering operas, vocal-symphonic music, or chamber works-ranging from Monteverdi's operas to sacred music and contemporary pieces. What role do recording sessions play in your career?

A very significant one. I began my career in 2009, and by 2011, I had my first album. Since then, I've been recording consistently.Quality is always more important than quantity. Have I already done 33 albums? I didn't even realize I had made so many! When an interesting project arises, especially with someone who believes in me, we create something together, and that often generates interestin other concerts and operas.Someday, when my career slows down, then I can look back and see what I've recorded. The albums remain-they're a lasting echo of my career. That makes me very happy.

...and it helps you gain recognition among a broader audience, including those who haven't had the chance to attend your opera performances.

Yes, that's true. Especially with my friends... and even my family. It's very difficult-I haven't had many concerts in Romania, only in Timișoara. And now, my first concert in Bucharest will be next year, in 2025, with Gabriel Bebeșelea.

In April, with the "George Enescu" Philharmonic Orchestra.

That's right. We're playing at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest. It will be a Baroque program. We'll perform Bach's St. Matthew Passion.

Speaking of concerts, I've noticed those where you not only explored a broad stylistic range but also a variety of musical genres. One example isthe concert with the classical ensemble Spark, where you interpretedpieces by pre-classical, Romantic, and modern composers, even including music from Depeche Mode. What inspired the creation of such a project?

My wife plays viola and violin; she's from Moldova. She actually played with Spark, and after attending her concerts,I was immediately struck by the quality and wanted to collaborate with them. We spent a lot of time considering the program and the repertoire I could sing, and eventually came up with the title "Closer to Paradise."My countertenor voice is often associated with angels, heaven, and something otherworldly in general. The repertoire spans from Baroque to contemporary music, including Rammstein, Depeche Mode, and pieces specially composed for me. The overall theme is more important to me than the repertoire. In this case, it waslonging-a deep yearning that can be for love, for something lost, or for someone… Longing can take many forms, and that was our central idea. Then we tailored the repertoire to my voice. As a countertenor, there's also a historical context: where did countertenors originate? Everything started with Baroque music. In the Romantic era, countertenors were less common because the trend had changed.

Regarding the Frankfurt concert, titled "Il gusto italiano," where you will perform arias from Handel and Vivaldi operas, how did you plan this program together with conductor Andrea Marcon?

I've had a long and very successful collaboration with Andrea Marcon since 2018, when I performed my first role, Ruggiero, in the opera Alcina under his direction. In this concert, I will sing one of Ruggiero's arias, "Mi lusinga," along with other Handel arias such as "Scherza infida" from Ariodante and "Venti, turbini" from Rinaldo. I will also perform two Vivaldi arias: "Vedro con mio diletto" from Il Giustino and "Sol da te mio dolce amore" from Orlando furioso. These are five exceptional arias by Antonio Vivaldi and Georg Friedrich Handel. I've tried to capture the baroque essence, incorporating obbligato instruments like the transverse flute, a baroque flute. For example, in "Scherza infida," there's a sarabande theme in G minor with an obbligato bassoon. Both arias draw their literary inspiration from Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando furioso.Handel and Vivaldi choseto convey strong emotions of pain and longing using wind instruments, such as the bassoon and the flute. The orchestra performs with mutes, making it a truly unique experience. These arias seem to transcend time…

…they are eternal!

Yes, exactly. I knew that the Frankfurt Symphony Orchestra is one of the best in Germany and the world, but they don't use baroque instruments or baroque tuning. For this performance, we played at 442 hertz, whereas baroque tuning is 415 hertz, a semitone lower. I'm speaking specifically about today's rehearsal and the general tuning. This slightly changes the sound, but Andrea Marcon is a specialist and can recreate the authentic baroque sound through articulation. That's a very challenging task. Many orchestras without experience in this repertoire tend to play in a more modern style, with a lot of vibrato, which doesn't suit the baroque approach.

Could you share some details about what's next on your schedule? You already mentioned that you'll be in Bucharest next April, but what are some other highlights of this season?

I have many more concerts plannedwith Spark, including the program "Closer to Paradise," among other things.

I'll be part of two opera productions. The first is Handel's Giulio Cesare, which will be staged in Ostrava, Czech Republic. There will also be three performances in Znojmo, near Vienna, a little further north. I've mentioned Andreas Scholl, my favorite countertenor-he'll play the title role, and I'll perform as Sesto. I'm very excited to share the stage with him for the second time.

The second major opera will be Cavalli's Pompeo Magno, a piece that has never been presented until now. It's scheduled for the Bayreuth Baroque Festival in September 2025.

I'll also have a concert with the Bachakademie Stuttgart, followed by a series of additional performances.

Photo credit: Henning Ross