The successes and fame acquired by the Opera FANtastica project, created by the musicologist Dr. Luminița Arvunescu, president of the Union of Music Critics, Editors and Producers from Romania, through the 10 editions started in 2016, made the event go beyond the borders of Bucharest.
After galas dedicated to great artists (Nelly Miricioiu, Leontina Văduva, Marina Krilovici etc.), young singers, orchestral ensembles with original programs (“Musica ricercata”), after the attractive series held in the pandemic year 2020 in the format of online video calls under the generic name “A virus called OPERA” with 20 important Romanian lyrical performers, resident abroad, Opera FANtastica added to its functions a social mission and last year she was invited to Cluj-Napoca for a charity concert organized by the Association for Music, Art and Culture from Bucharest (founder Mihai Stan) and the Transilvania Autism Association (AAT) from Cluj-Napoca (director Nicoleta Niste). The success of the evening determined the scheduling of a new gala on the first day of November, under the same auspices under the motto “Arta make bine”, in the historic Auditorium Maximum hall of the Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj.
N. Niste, Luminița Arvunescu, Royal Youth Orchestra, Cristian Mandeal. Photo by Bogdan Meseșan
The attendance of the public demonstrated the interest in such events intended to support AAT initiatives that emphasize the development of independent life skills, professional skills of children and young people between 7 and 20 years old with autism and other special educational needs, through professional and adapted vocational workshops. A concern that next year will complete two decades of activity with the chosen goal that the subjects “get out of the prison of their selves”, as Luminița Arvunescu said plastically in the presentation of the gala.
Photo by Bogdan Meseșan
This year's edition had the motto “I want to be independent! I can, I do, I succeed!” and Nicoleta Niste briefly described the concerns of the team she leads. In his speech, the Prefect of Cluj County, Maria Forna, emphasized the importance of the activities of the Transilvania Autism Association and awarded it the highest county distinction “Honor for Cluj”.
An evening where the organizers saw their efforts supported by six institutional partnerships, eleven partners, seven promoters, 19 national media partners, 37 media partners from Cluj-Napoca and Bucharest, a huge dimension of which Luminița Arvunescu, Mihai Stan and Nicoleta Niste can be proud, as exceptional managers.
The artists of the evening sang pro bono and ticket proceeds went to the AAT.
The main artistic objective of the event was the presentation on stage of the explosively talented youth, on the podium was the very young Royal Youth Orchestra of the Transilvania State Philharmonic from Cluj-Napoca, founded, mentored and trained by Cristian Mandeal, the renowned principal conductor of the Cluj Philharmonic. Under the baton of their master, the instrumentalists were in their third appearance together in concert. The soloists were the young George Vîrban, tenor, Mihaela Vîrban, soprano, Denisa Iamandi, mezzo-soprano and Darius Gruiță, baritone.
Photo by Bogdan Meseșan
The newly established ensemble bears the stamp of his own carefully selected skills, teaching and serious work with the master Mandeal. The attributes are felt from the first sounds. Quite randomly, I admired the quality, elegance and fluidity of the “strings” in the orchestral fragment of “Faust” by Gounod, through which the chermeza floated on the wings of the waltz, then the beautiful tone of the cellos warmed by the baguette in the Polonaise of “Evgeny Onegin” by Tchaikovsky, as well as the flute, oboe, clarinet or bassoon with their alternations of pure sonorities, inspired by the gaze, by the punctual gesture of the conductor, a chance to coherently display the qualities of romantic expression in Interlude no. 3 from the stage music “Rosamunda” by Schubert. Over these instrumental pages was added the precise tracking of the soloists, guiding them in stylistically appropriate tempos. Small inaccuracies of the brasses, inherent in the june, can also be found in experienced houses.
George Vîrban. Photo by Bogdan Meseșan
The lyricism and thrill instilled by George Vîrban in the aria “Kuda, kuda?” (Lenski from “Evgheni Onegin”) were the emotional landmarks of a beautiful timbrality, exposed in his first stage role about six years ago. Being on the podium for the first time with his wife, Mihaela, he formed a stirring duo in “Parigi o cara” from Verdi's “Traviata”. The extension of the ambitus directed the tenor to Calaf's iconic aria “Nessun dorma” from Puccini's “Turandot”, of course with the idea that the performer of the role at the absolute premiere was also a lyric tenor, the famous Miguel Fleta, chosen by the great Arturo Toscanini. Here it was Cristian Mandeal's turn to support George Vîrban's approach.
Mihaela Vîrban. Photo by Bogdan Meseșan
Mihaela Vîrban sang Margaret's aria from “Faust” and the Moon's aria from Dvořak's “Rusalka” with intense emotionality.
Denisa Iamandi. Photo by Bogdan Meseșan
Denisa Iamandi presented a surprising voice with a generous, preciously resonant vocal color and complete, homogeneous coverage of the voice registers. And when the Thracian leaves her, the seduction of Carmencita (“Chanson bohème”, Bizet) will increase not only thanks to timbrality, but also through nuanced potentiations. As he proved in Delilah's aria “Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix” (“Samson and Delilah”, Saint-Saëns), in which only the management of the breaths somewhat altered the fluency of the melodic design. For the Rossinian duet with Figaro (“The Barber of Seville”) he preferred his own variations in some places, while agility will gain in flexibility.
Darius Gruita. Photo by Bogdan Meseșan
Darius Gruiță demonstrated that he is a baritone with a pleasant, round voice, with safe acutes whose projection will be uniform in the vowels, a brilliant voice in the cavatina of Figaro and the duet with Rosina from “The Barber of Seville”, but also with tendencies of Verdean accents, especially in the recitative “Tutto è deserto” associated with the very difficult aria of line and atmosphere “Il balen dell'suo sorriso” from “The Troubadour”, which takes synthesized the spirit through a gifted piano-crescendo finale.
George Vărban, Mihaela Vîrban, Cristian Mandeal, Denisa Iamandi, Darius Gruita. Photo by Bogdan Meseșan
And if George and Mihaela Vîrban already have a carefully built stage career, Denisa Iamandi and Darius Gruiță announce a bright future with the improvements that their ages await. The names of the four are requested to be withheld and we must keep our fingers crossed, having important chances for brand careers.
At the request of the assistance, in a festive atmosphere, all the artists performed the famous song “Funiculi, Funiculà!” by Luigi Denza.
At the end, applause, hugs, flowers, gifts, joy. For a noble purpose.
Darius Gruita, Denisa Iamandi, Mihaela Vîrban, George Vîrban, Cristian Mandeal. Photo by Bogdan Meseșan
