On Wednesday, October 25th, tenor Ioan Hotea and mezzo-soprano Martiniana Antonie will take the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum with the Romanian Youth Orchestra, led by conductor Gabriel Bebeșelea, in a Royal Charity Concert, organized by the "Margaret of Romania" Royal Foundation.

How do you feel about returning to Romania, on the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum?

We chose a varied repertoire, from bel canto composers, Rossini, French repertoire, Gounod, and Martiniana chose Bizet. And for the second part of the program, I chose the repertoire from the composition of Richard Strauss and... the surprise at the end: there will also be Romanian repertoire. The important thing is that Martiniana being a mezzo-soprano, there are not many variants of duets between a tenor and mezzo-soprano, so I chose something from the Rossinian repertoire, which will be very interesting for both of them. She because, of course, she is a mezzo-soprano who specialized in the Rossini repertoire, she sang it at the "Rossini" Festival in Pesaro and is an expert of the repertoire. And I think it suits me very well too, or at least I have memories of the Rossini repertoire I did at the beginning of my career.

Variety is a challenge...

Yes indeed. As I said, we start with lighthearted, bravura repertoire, but towards the end of the evening we will have to sing more mature, more consistent repertoire. And the orchestra is more consistent, and the message is deeper...

How do you see the initiative behind the "Young Talents" program?

Because I haven't had many projects in Romania for 10 years, I wasn't aware of this initiative, but I consider it exceptional because it helps generations of singers and especially those who come from families with low incomes and the impossibility of -supports their careers, to participate in masterclasses, to purchase very good quality instruments, to appear at auditions, and so on. So, it's an exceptional initiative and will definitely bring a boost to the younger generations of singers.

Every time I step on a stage in Romania, and especially in Bucharest, where I studied, and I am bound by memories from my first steps on stage and from the first projects from my base, from my training as a young artist, it's a great emotion, but it's also the joy of meeting the audience with whom I made connections for the first time, with the teachers who helped me train andmake the first step as a young artist, and I feel the desire to be in shape as much as possible. If it's rare, at least let it be intense, do your best.