On Sunday, the 4th of February, 2024, at The Villa (Casa Bolintineanu), there will be a performance entitled "Bach, the co-worker", organized by the "Nirmal Art" Association in partnership with the Goethe Institute and Radio România Muzical. Soprano Cleopatra David, a founding member of the association, gives us information aboutthe event in a dialogue with Sarah Natsis:

Mrs. Cleopatra David, you are performing in Bach, the co-worker, a musical theatre premiere. To begin with, what can you tell us about its title? How did you choose it?

The title is somewhere between teaser and spoiler and reflects the ideas and inspiration that were awakened in us by the subjects of Bach's two cantatas, in particular the Peasant Cantata, which was written as a birthday commission for Carl Heinrich von Dieskau, who was a tax collector in the district of Leipzig. The theme, of course, is taxes and all that goes on around them, in their name, how they affect the community, or Bach's characters are farmers, and one can easily imagine such discussions in business in Europe or elsewhere.

The Sunday matineeprogramme includes secular cantatas by the German composer,namely the Peasant Cantata and the Coffee Cantata. How would you describe the two compositions and the direction by Alexandru Pătrașcubased on them?

The compositions are themselves. We sing these two Bach cantatasin German and wewill have subtitles for the audience. Alexandru Pătrașcu had the idea of merging the two works into one story, and the female characters will become one, played by me. I'll have a lot of work to do on the 4th of February. How the plot unfolds and what the relationships between the characters are - this will be a surprise at the premiere!

Tell us about the soloistswho will bring to life the characters in Picander's libretti and the musicians who will accompany them.

I'm delighted to collaborate with two superb bass voices, baritone Dan Macavei and bass Stefan Lamatic. Both are philharmonic singers, members of the opera studio of the ONB, and Ștefanalso sings at the Comic Opera for Children. Nicolae Simonov is a tenor from Radio. He is the Bach tenor par excellence. He is the evangelist in Bach's oratorios and has already shone in this role. As for the instrumentalists who will collaborate with us, most of them are members of the "George Enescu" Philharmonic Orchestra. But in Bach we cannot talk about accompaniment, or at least not in the case of these two cantatas. We have chamber music, and often the flute or violin are the de facto soloists, and the voice is the obligatory instrument. To be able to at least read Bach's music correctly you have to know forms, you have to know counterpoint, and I'm glad that our team is very well trained in this respect.

Wouldyou like to send an invitation to the event to our listeners?

Whether or not you like opera, whether or not you are familiar with classical music - in thiscase, early music - the Bach performance, the co-worker has something for everyone and youwill recognize yourself among the characters on the stage of the Bolintineanu House!