On Saturday, March 16^th, the traditional ball of the Romanian National Opera, Cluj Napoca takes place. On March 28^th, from 7:00 PM you will be able to listen the recording of the event at Radio România Muzical. More details about it from Florin Estefan, the general director of Romanian National Opera, Cluj Napoca, in an interview with conducted by Ioana Țintea.

Mr. Estefan, the Opera Ball is an embletamic event in the cultural calendar of Cluj Napoca, and a long awaited moment of the music lovers, eager to experience this unique moment. How did you design this year's edition, including from a musical standpoint?

As I always said in the five years, since we have taken over the ball's organization, since the brand became the property of the National Opera, the Opera's Ball doesn't bring anything new from year to year because the format remains the same.We designed it exactly as it is done in Vienna, to have the same format. What changes is the musical program and the guests we have each year. Somethng new this year brings is the collaboration with conductor Constantine Orbelian, who is the musical director of the New York City Opera. For the first time, we have the tenor Stephen Costello and soprano Ekaterina Siurina with us.As always, we will have an instrumentalist as our guest, and this year it will be a saxophonist, Federico Mondelci. Every year at the Opera Ball we have a debutant whom we reward and highlight, this year we have invited a young soprano from Iași who is only 18, Noemi Onucu.

She is also the winner of the Verum Solitus competition, the first edition held last year. She will receive the 'Alexandru Fărcaș' award and will perform an aria in the artistic program of the ball. Then our ballet soloists, Doina Florea, Adelina Gribincea, Andreea Jura, Augustin Gribincea, Dan Haja, Liviu Har, the Orchestra, and the Ballet Ensemble of the Romanian National Opera, Cluj Napoca will perform.

Participating for the second time and our partners in organizing the Ball is the Ministry of National Defense under the direction of inspector of Military Music, Colonel Aurel Georghiță, who came from Bucharest. The ball is supported and co-organized by the Transylvania Leaders Foundation, to whom we sincerely thank for their involvement year after year. This foundation brings together the Club of Rectors of Cluj Universities and former rectors, as well as the Transylvania Business Club.

Since you've mentioned the Representative Music of the Army led by Aurel Georghiță, how was the presence of the ensemble received last year? I imagine that the formal attire of the musicians added an extra charm to the entire event.

Every year, the audience is required to respect a dress code. At the ball we organize, the audience plays a significant role, as it should in any ball. The ball consists of three parts. The first part is the artistic segment, where performers are invited to sing, and so on. The second part is a dinner, and in the third part, the entire ballroom floor is cleared, as we remove all the chairs from the room, and the theater transforms into a large ballroom. Last year, for the first time, the music for the dancing segment in the third part, where the audience is invited to dance, was performed live by the representative Music of the Army. Of course, it had a special charm due to their formal attire, but the fact that participants could dance to live music was extraordinarily beautiful. This is why we wanted the same this year, and every year if we manage to maintain this partnership and, as I mentioned, turn it into a tradition. We want it to remain the same because everything that happens is like a scene from a fairytale.

As always, a highlight of the evening is the ceremony of excellence awards. What are the distinctions that will be awarded this year?

The distinctions remain the same. There is the Transylvania Leaders Trophy, which they decide whom to award. Then there are the trophies we offer, the "Dimitrie Popovici Bayreuth" Award and the "Lya Hubic" Award. We have a trophy for ballet, and we have the "Alexandru Fărcaș" Award for a debutant, which will be received by Noemi Onucu. These remain unchanged over the years because we don't want to turn the program into a trophy and award ceremony, nor do we want many people to receive these awards. We want to offer them only to the deserving individuals, with just one person receiving each type of trophy once a year.

Now looking back, how did the Opera's Ball evolve over the years and what were the biggest challenges you have encountered in organizing this event?

There are all types of challenges: from logistical issues such as transforming the hall into a ballroom, installing mirrors behind the orchestra, laying linoleum, to organizing the guests, artists, transportation, and accommodations. Each year, the problems remain the same, with only the unknowns and surprises continuing to rise. Therefore, the biggest challenge is securing the funding we need because the ball is entirely supported by the private sector's participation. It's a significant challenge for us every year to attract business people who financially support the ball alongside the Transylvania Leaders Foundation, which makes a considerable contribution but not sufficient. Another major issue is the high demand for tickets and seats at the ball. By removing chairs from the room, the number of participants is halved compared to a typical show. We have approximately 500 participants, and the demand is very high. People don't understand that tickets were put on sale months ago, and they were sold out then. Now, when the phone ringe, it's quite difficult to refuse and say that the door is closed. I'm glad there's interest in the ball, I'm glad it's successful year after year, I'm pleased with the partnerships, both financial ones and media ones we have with radios, national television, and countless other entities present in social media that promote us and create a buzz, as I like to say, around the Opera and the event we create.

Mr. Estefan, what makes such a ball prestigious?

The quality of the product. I don't think it strikes a discordant note compared to organizing a show or a new production within the opera institution or another performing arts institution. I think the value comes from what you offer artistically. Here it's more complex because there's also the dinner, and we can showcase the quality of the food and what will be there. Then in the third part, the setting we create and the stage design, projections, lights, and then the representative Music of the Army, but everything depends on the level of the product we offer to the participating audience and then, last but not least, because it's very important, to the viewers watching from home.