Bel canto – from folklore to classical
The Open Air Opera Gala, traditionally organised by Arad Philharmonic on the first Sunday of September, is set to take place in a new location – “Neptune” Waterpark. In the evening of 6th September 2015, starting with 8 PM, the much expected lyrical event, conducted by Roberto Salvalaio, will present one of its most original and spectacular programmes to date.
This year’s edition of the gala, named “Bel Canto – from folklore to classical”, allows a flexible musical “recipe”, with traditional crops from the Italian opera of the XIXth century – Giuseppe Verdi, Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Pietro Mascagni sau Giacomo Puccini – and also with relevant musical pieces originating in the traditional Eastern repertory.
The second part of the evening will include mongolian waltzes, with peninsular popular choruses, and also brilliant Verdian numbers, highlighted through the extraordinary qualities of the stage ensembles of the Philharmonic: the symphonic orchestra and academic choir, the latter conducted by Robert Daniel Rădoiaş, and nevertheless through the exquisite performance of our main guests, soprano Erdenetuya Balgansuren from Mongolia and Italian baritone Paride Pandolfo, and their stage partners. Erdenetuya Balgansuren and Paride Pandolfo will come back as the lead of opera Tosca, set to open the season on October 1st.
Without further ado, we are expecting you to join us for an extraordinary evening, where the lyrical numbers sustained by our special guests, next to the choir and orchestra of Arad Philharmonic, will bring you on a journey of musical excellence.
Portrait – Erdenetuya Balgansuren
Erdenetuya Balgansuren studied at the Conservatory of Ulaan Baatar during 1992-1997, after graduation becoming a member of the Opera and Ballet Theatre from the capital of Mongolia. In her work, she assimilated soprano roles in operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Don Giovanni), Gioacchino Rossini (The Barber of Sevilla), Giuseppe Verdi (The Troubadour, Traviata, Aida), Giacomo Puccini (Turandot, La Bohème, Madame Butterfly, Tosca), Georges Bizet (Carmen), Piotr Ilici Ceaikovski (Evgheni Oneghin, The Queen of Spades), Serghei Rahmaninov (Aleko), George Gershwin (Porgy and Bess) and has approached numerous parts by Mongolian composers in parallel.
Over the years, she has won national and international singing contests, referential for her career being the period between 2001 and 2007, when she followed advanced musical studies at Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice. Her career took her on the stages of Russia, China, South Koreea, North Koreea, Japan, Germany and Romania.
Erdenetuya Balgansuren is at the present time artistic director at the Opera and Ballet Theatre from Ulaan Baatar.
Portrait – Paride Pandolfo
Paride Pandolfo studied singing at Maria Malibran Academy, under the lead of Rosetta Pizzo and Francesco Signor. He performed in a great number of concerts in Italy and abroad, while he was also engaged in studying, recovering and bringing to light a vast repertory of unknown music, publishing it in a number of discographical editions.
He has won national and international voice contests, among which the special jury’s prize at G.B. Velutti International Voice Contest, whereas in December 2004, in Miami, he achieved the “Giacomo Lauri Volpi” lyrical prize at M.S.C. International Opera Voice Contest.
In opera, he has debuted in the roles of: Figaro from “Barbiere di Siviglia” by Gioacchino Rossini, Belcore from “Elisir d’amore”, Germont from “La Traviata” by Giuseppe Verdi and Marcello from “La bohème” by Giacomo Puccini. More operas from his repertory are Lucia di Lammermoor, Don Pasquale (Gaetano Donizetti), The Trubadour (Giuseppe Verdi), Pagliacci (Ruggiero Leoncavallo), The Puritans (Vincenzo Bellini), Faust (Charles Gounod).
In collaboration with the Philharmonic of Verona he performed the lead part of “Resurrezione di Cristo” by Lorenzo Perosi and that of Figaro from “Barbiere di Siviglia” by Rossini in a production of the Theatre of Castel Brando. Another noteworthy achievement is the role of Marcello from La Boheme, alongside the orchestra of “Filarmonia Veneta”, conducted by Stefano Romani.
He interpeted the role of Jack in “L’importanza di essere Onesto”, a lyrical transposal of Oscar Wilde’s ominous work, written and conducted by Nicola Giusti and staged at Teatro Ventidio Basso in Ascoli Piceno. He debuts in “The Troubadour” at the Opera Festival in Avenches, then resumed the role of Giorgio Germont from “La Traviata”, with results appraised by the musical critique of the time.
Under the lead of conductor Roberto Salvalaio, he interpreted Scarpia in opera Tosca, on the stage of the Opera Theatre of Ulaan Baatar. He collaborated with famed directors, such as Italo Nunziata, Francesco Esposito, Francesco Torrigiani, Pier Francesco Maestrini.
