Excerpt from “The Virtuosity of Total Artistic Gift”, presentation made by Dr. Stephan Poen for CD Electrecord (EDC 819) “Silvia Voinea – Mozart Operatic Arias”

INTRODUCTION

The voice of a coloratura soprano is very difficult to detect, to be didactically educated and to be maintained in an artistic career; for this reason, the authentic coloratura soprano voices are very precious, and among them, those voices that manage to honorably reach the stages of vocal and artistic personality personality, are very rare.

Prof. Dr. Silvia Voinea is an exceptional artistic personality of this rare and precious vocal category.

MUSICAL STUDIES

She started her musical studies from childhood, first piano and then singing. Dr. Soprano Silvia Voinea participated from an early age in the Children’s Choir of the Romanian Broadcasting with numerous solo interventions and in the Children’s Choir of the Romanian Opera in Bucharest.

At the age of high school, a fundamental role in her development was played by the meeting with Professor Viorica Teișanu, soprano, artistic personality trained at the school of the great artist Elena Teodorini, later perfecting herself in Milan with the great artist Hariclea Darclee.

After the baccalaureate exam at the “Gheorghe Lazăr” High School in Bucharest, Silvia Voinea was admitted to the bel canto section of the “Ciprian Porumbescu” Conservatory in Bucharest where she was guided by prestigious artistic and pedagogical personalities: Magda Ianculescu (bel canto), Nicolae Secăreanu (lied – assistant Ileana Cotrubaș), Aurel Alexandrescu (oratory – assistant Maria Moraru-Hurduc), Eugen Gropșeanu (opera class).

STUDIES IN THE MOZARTIAN REPERTORY IN WEIMAR, GERMANY

After graduating from the Conservatory in 1966, Silvia Voinea took a specialization course in the Mozartian repertoire in Weimar, Germany under the guidance of the great professor Walter Ludwig. It should be mentioned that all the formative and informative assimilations were constantly followed and completed by Professor Viorica Teișanu with whom Silvia Voinea maintained the human and professional relationship in the first two decades of her career.

SOLOIST CAREER

IN ROMANIA

Silvia Voinea was the first soloist of the Romanian Opera in Bucharest for over three decades (1968 – 1999). Her artistic value quickly established itself in Bucharest and in all the other lyrical theaters of the country where she was regularly invited.

• She collaborated with the great artistic personalities of her time:
• – directors Jean Rănzescu, Hero Lupescu, George Teodorescu;
• – conductors Jean Bobescu, Constantin Bobescu, Cornel Trăilescu, Paul Popescu, Constantin Petrovici, Iosif Conta, Carol Litvin, Cristian Mandeal, Horia Andreescu, Cristian Brâncuși;
• – lyrical artists: Elena Cernei, Nicolae Herlea, Zenaida Pally, David Ohanesian, Dan Iordăchescu, Octav Enigărescu, Viorel Chicideanu, Ludovic Spiess, Magdalena Cononovici, Maria Slătinaru-Nistor, Eduard Tumagian, Eugenia Moldoveanu, Magda Ianculescu, Nicolae Florei, Valentin Teodorian, Constantin Gabor, Lella Cincu, Elena Dima-Toroiman, Maria Sindilaru, Vasile Moldoveanu, George Crăsnaru, Florin Diaconescu, Ionel Voineag, Leontina Văduva, Robert Nagy, Ruxandra Donose.

INTERNATIONAL CAREER

Her international career has given her the satisfaction of great successes with repeated appearances in traditional theaters such as: Comic Opera and State Opera in Berlin (for 15 years), Semper Opera in Dresden (for 5 years), Royal Theater in Liege (for 3 years), Klagenfurt Theater (for 2 years).

Soprano Silvia Voinea has also been acclaimed by audiences and critics for her performances in numerous theaters in England, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Switzerland, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Yugoslavia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain .

• She collaborated with great personalities of the lyrical theater:
• – directors Harry Kupfer, Joachim Harz, Cristine Mielitz, H. Wochinz, Spyros Evanghelatos, Giancarlo Del Monaco, Jerome Savary, Raymond Rossius, Pierre Fleta, Jean-Claude Riber, Gunter Lose, Hermann Wedekind;
• – conductors Miltiade Caridis, Roger Rossel, Willy Kas, Rolf Reuter, Kurt Mazur, Herbert Kegel, Peter Paul Fucks, Pierre Colombo, Kenishiro Kobaiashi, Tommaso Benintende-Neglia;
• – lyric artists Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Virginia Zeani, Peter Schreier, Theo Adam, Alain Vanzo, Albert Volly, Gerard Serkoyan, Celestina Casapietra, Riccardo Cassinelli, Bruno Sebastian, Leonard Graus, Peter Branhof, Ana Maria Miranda, E. Schaller, Kurt Moll , E. Buchner, Kari Nurmela, Jose Maria Perez, Siegfried Vogel, W. Beer, Gunther Neumann, A. Francois.

RECITALS IN INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS

Silvia Voinea has given recitals as a guest of important international festivals: Leipzig – Germany (1971, 1974), Besancon – France (1974), Sofia – Bulgaria (1975), Karl Marx Stadt – Germany (1977), Aix les Bains – France (1979), Berlin – Germany (1984, 1989), Copenhagen – Denmark (1984), Pamplona – Spain (1988), Helsinki – Finland (1989, 1992), Bastia – Corsica, Romania – „George Enescu” International Festival and the “Ionel Perlea” Festival.

FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE BUCHAREST COMIC WORK

Silvia Voinea is a founding member of the Bucharest Comic Opera in 1995, on which stage she worked between 1995 and 2003, appearing in numerous productions.

PEDAGOGICAL CAREER

Since 1990, Silvia Voinea is a professor of bel canto at the National University of Music in Bucharest.

In 2002 she obtained the title of Doctor of Music presenting the thesis entitled “Foray into the history of the art of singing and vocal aesthetics. Canto – history, technique, expression. A look at the art methods of singing” and which later became an editorial event at the level of a national premiere treatise through the richness of data and the depth of analysis applied to the history of bel canto pedagogy in the world and in Romania.

AWARDS

For the exceptional merits of her artistic and pedagogical activity, in 2004 Silvia Voinea received the State Order “Cultural Merit” in the rank of Commander conferred by the President of Romania.

• The list of distinctions and honorary titles of Silvia Voinea includes many nominations from which I select the most representative:
• – the nomination in “Bicentennial Donizetti” with the title role in the opera “Lucia di Lammermoor” among the 24 sopranos of the twentieth century in the most valuable discographic integrals from 1928 – until now (Sergio Segalini, “Opera International”, Paris, France, 1997);
• – Award “Performance in Lyric Art” (Music News, Romania, 1997);
• – ”Excellence Award” of the Oedipus Foundation, 1997, 1998, 1999;
• – The “Glory in Lyrical Art” Award granted by the Romanian Music Critic, 1999;
• – “Woman of the Year 2000” nomination A.B.I. – DOOR;
• – “2000 Intellectuals of the Twentieth Century”, England, I.B.C., 2000;
• – nominations in various prestigious lexicons: “Who’s who in Opera” – New York (1972, 1980), “Who’s who in Opera” – Cambridge (1980, 1981, 1982);
• – Diploma of Excellence “As a sign of appreciation for the prodigious university activity put at the service of the Romanian Music School” awarded by the National University of Music of Bucharest (UNMB), March 31, 2019.

THE PERFORMED REPERTORY

Soprano Silvia Voinea has acquired a very wide repertoire approaching lyrical opera, symphonic vocal music, concert area and lied.

In a 34-year artistic career she reached the share of 1850 performances provided in the archive of her personal contracts; to this figure there are added the approximately 800 performances on the stage of the Romanian Opera in Bucharest; and if we take into account the performances on other Romanian stages, the total number can exceed 2000 shows.

Her repertoire included 38 roles from the following works in alphabetical order of authors:

• Bentoiu – ”Hamlet” – Ofelia
• Britten – ”Albert Herring” – Miss Wordsword
• Cimarosa – ”Il Matrimonio Segreto” – Carolina
• Constantinescu – “A stormy night” – Zița
• Debussy – ”Pelleas et Melisande” – Yniold
• Debussy – ”Pelleas et Melisande” – Melisande
• Delibes – ”Lakme” – Lakme
• Donizetti – ”Don Pasquale” – Norina
• Donizetti – ”Lucia di Lammermoor” – Lucia
• Donizetti – ”Viva la Mamma” – Clorinda
• Dumitrescu – “The Rebellion” – Gherghina
• Gluck – ”Orfeo ed Euridice” – Amore
• Gounod – ”Romeo et Juliette” – Juliette
• Leoncavallo – ”I Pagliacci” – Nedda
• Lerescu – “The Star without a Name” – Mona
• Massenet – ”Werther” – Sophie
• Mozart – ”Bastien et Bastienne” – Bastienne
• Mozart – ”Cosi’ Fan Tutte” – Despina
• Mozart – ”Der Schauspiel Direktor” – Frau Herz
• Mozart – ”Die Zauberflote” – Die Konigin der Nacht
• Mozart – ”Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail” – Konstanze
• Mozart – ”Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail” – Die Blonde
• Mozart – ”Le Nozze di Figaro” – Susanna
• Offenbach – ”Les Contes d’Hoffmann” – Olimpia
• Offenbach – ”Voyage dans la Lune” – Princesse Fantasia
• Puccini – ”La Boheme” – Musetta
• Rimski-Korsakov – ”Zalatoy Petushok” – Shcemaka Țarița
• Rossini – ”L’Italiana in Algeri” – Elvira
• Rossini – ”La Cenerentola” – Clotilde
• Sarchizov – “Three Generations” – Mrs. Macri
• Strauss, Johann – ”Die Fledermaus” – Adela
• Strauss, Johann – ”Die Fledermaus” – Rosalinde
• Strauss, Richard – ”Ariadna auf Naxos” – Zerbinetta
• Strawinsky – ”Le Rossignol” – Le Rossignol
• Verdi – ”Don Carlo” – Voce dal Cielo
• Verdi – ”Rigoletto” – Gilda
• Verdi – ”La Traviata” – Violetta Valery

RECORDS

Many of Silvia Voinea’s performances have remained in the Archives of Romanian Radio and Television (“Lucia di Lammermoor” by Donizetti film TV, numerous arias and scenes from works made in the studio or taken from shows and concerts with audiences), French and German Television (”Les Folies d’Offenbach” after Offenbach’s ”Les Contes d’Hoffmann”, the role of Olimpia in a TV film of a Franco-German production), of the “Electrecord” Record House in Bucharest (”Lucia di Lammermoor” by Donizetti, “Silvia Voinea – Mozart Operatic Arias”, ”Soloists of the Romanian Opera in Bucharest”, ”Eternal songs”, ”Famous duets from operas and operettas” with the tenor Ionel Voineag). Numerous Radio and Television recordings in the countries where she worked her career.

CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE ARTISTIC PERSONALITY

A very significant aspect for the artistic value of the personality of soprano Silvia Voinea is the fact that she is the only artist that performed simultaneously and in the original languages for two decades of her career the three fundamental roles: Queen of the Night, Lucia di Lammermoor and Lakme. Silvia Voinea is the protagonist of the latest productions of “Lakme” by Delibes in Europe in the twentieth century.

The talent, the tenacity, the perseverance in the daily work, represent qualities through which Silvia Voinea registered herself in a place of honor in the History of the Romanian Lyric Theater, being admirably distinguished by the VIRTUOSITY OF THE TOTAL ARTISTIC GIFT.

Excerpt from “The Virtuosity of Total Artistic Gift”, presentation made by Dr. Stephan Poen for CD Electrecord (EDC 819) “Silvia Voinea – Mozart Operatic Arias”