It is not the first time that the Opera Eveningoffers its listeners the opportunity to listen to a compact disc in advance of its release. But, it is for the first time, when one of the protagonists is a Romanian artist! So, yes, I now invite you not to miss this Saturday's edition of the Opera Evening with a huge insistence. The artist I'm talking about is the tenor - born in Bistrita, Ștefan Pop, and the full album I'm going to broadcast is Tosca, from Pentatone Records.

Cavaradossi! - what a role, what a score...

A role that can crush you and in which you can feel oppressed by the glory of at least 10 legendary tenors, a score that Ștefan Pop approaches with great casualness and with an affinity for artistic means noted, since his debut in the role from February 2022, from the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London:

Truly exciting was the young Romanian tenor Ștefan Pop - winner of the Operalia Competition. Have we ever heard a better acting debut in this production? I would almost say NO - if it wasn't for the debut of the young British star, Freddie De Tommaso, a few months earlier. Pop sang the romance "Reconditaarmonia" from Act I, coloring it with Nemorino inflections - soft and juvenile, to then strike with "E lucevanle stele" and erase any doubt about the drama of his voice. We are in Belcanto. A performance that we will remember a long time from now on, maybe even in a few decades...(The Telegraph)

And about the disc version of the work - recorded by Pentatone, there will probably be a lot of talk/writing. But, the first opinion will forever remain the one you will listen to this Saturday at the Opera Evening: the opinion - especially approved by music critic Costin Popa...