To our delight, mezzo-soprano Ruxandra Donose has been invited once again to perform at the Opera in her hometown Bucharest. This time the internationally famous singer, who has been based in Vienna for decades, gave life to the role of Carmen in Bizet's opera. And her partner in Don Jose was the internationally renowned tenor Ramon Vargas, whom we also had the opportunity to hear in Bucharest. Two big names, then, on the bill for the performances on the 1st and 3rd of March 2024, one of the reasons why the Opera House was packed with musicians and music lovers. Another was the celebration of the centenary of the birth of the remarkable mezzo-soprano Elena Cenei, on the 1st of March itself.

We were therefore greeted in the foyer by a small exhibition of photographs of the artist, and from the stage we were greeted by the late musician's husband, the doctor and musicologist Stephan Poen:

Elena Cernei - the first Romanian mezzo-soprano to be established in the world's greatest theatres, culminating in Milan's Teatro alla Scala and New York's Metropolitan. Elena Cernei is a conqueror of the times and over the roads of life and even this evening in her memory, for which I am grateful to the Romanian opera management and the artists taking part, (is a proof of that).

Before the performance of Bizet's opera, we all listened to the sumptuous voice of Elena Cernei, in a print of the aria Mon Coeur s'ouvre a ta voix from Saint-Saens' Samson et Dalila.

Then the fabulous voice of Elenei Cerna's past made way for the new generation, conductor Tiberiu Soare appeared in the pit and the curtain rose. The production is an old one, directed by Marina Emandi Tiron and set design by Cătălin Ionescu Arbore. It's a classic staging that doesn't challenge, providing a conventional setting for the unfolding of the famous story.

Ruxandra Donose was a very fresh presence, both vocally and scenically, lending some of her many qualities to the character she played: intelligence, balance, attention to the details and decency. Yes, Carmen had a rather sober attitude in this version of the Romanian artist, born in 1964.

Throughout her career, mezzo-soprano Ruxandra Donose has appeared in many productions of Carmen - some more restrained, others very exciting, making her debut in this role in the early 1990s at the Constanta Opera. It's a score she knows, therefore, very well.

In the role of Don Jose, tenor Ramon Vargas also impressed with his power of projection and very good vocal form. I would, however, have liked the aria La fleur que tu m'avais jetee to have been sung with a little more subtlety. The Mexican singer turns 64 in September 2024 and has also been heard in Bucharest in a performance of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, he is most appreciated in the bel cantist repertoire.

Also invited was the interpreter of Escamillo, the baritone Mihai Damian, a pleasant voice. Very good was soprano Marta Sandu Ofrim in Micaela, a score sung and played very neatly and appropriately, with great sensitivity, despite the fact that the musician is not natively endowed with a strong voice. The cast also included "in-house" artists - soprano Cristina Eremia as Fraquita, mezzo-soprano Negrea as Mercedes, tenors Liviu Indricău as Le Dancaire, Valentin Racoveanu as Le remendado and baritone Daniel Filipescu as Morales. In Zuniga in Bucharest, bass Filip Panait can be heard lately, but this time a guest, Alin Anca, whom we have admired on other occasions on the stage here - for example in performances of Rigoletto.

There was a lot of applause, not only at the end, but also after various important moments of the production, a sign that Bizet's opera remains one of the audience's favourites, who also enjoyed the reunion with great artists.