The 5^th edition of the 'Life is Beautiful' Festival has just started; it is an anniversary edition, which illustrates the festival's receptivity towards new premises, innovative events and new audience categories. What is it about, more exactly?

It is about the way in which a concept has managed to survive for five years and about the fact that we have tried to keep the inital concept of this festival and develop it year after year, even though this year we do not have a premises of our own, the fact that our audience comes for what we have to offer, lent us wings. We will have performances in various locations in Bucharest, so that we may not lose this important year as far as the numbers are concerned, and we have all sorts of events that are dedicated to music - concerts, operetta performances, musicals, galas, workshops, events for children, events for theatre professionals, for music professionals, the 'Ion Dacian' Trophy which celebrates its 5^th edition as well, and which has 50 competitors this year.

The festival opens with an international music and operetta gala directed by yourself. What is the programme of this event?

It will take place at the Odeon Theatre, which is a very beautiful elegant historical building, and everything will look like an Oscar night, with a red carpet and in the limelight, so that the artists would be considered real stars, taking into account that we also have invited people from very important operetta and musical theatres in Europe, such as The Vienna Volksoper, the Budapest Operetta Theatre, or the Sankt Petersburg Operetta Theatre. Everything will take place under the auspices of a concert-show, which will promote two genres, the operetta and the musical. At the same time, the first legal audition in Romania will present musical moments from the next performances we will stage at the National Operetta Theatre, after the hall is reopened, and I'm referring to musical shows, such as Les Misérables, Notre Dame de Paris or a musical written by Romanian Ernest Fazekas, The Apocalypse of Love.

Another premiere is the 'Ion Dacian junior' gala, dedicated to children. Where did the idea come from?

It came from the creator of the Ion Dacian Trophy project, PhD professor and musicologist Mihai Cosma, because we have perceived that many young people have the desire to assert themselves in the field of elite art.