Published by The Madrigal Choir
„Pe drumul Crăciunului” – online premiere
The Christmas performance of the Corul Național de Cameră „Madrigal – Marin Constantin”, presented to sold-out audiences on 16 and 17 December 2021 at the Opera Națională, will be available online from 24 December.
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The Christmas performance of the Corul Național de Cameră „Madrigal – Marin Constantin”, presented to sold-out audiences on 16 and 17 December 2021 at the Opera Națională, will be available from 24 December on streamerse.net. „Pe drumul Crăciunului” features guest actors Ofelia Popii and Marius Turdeanu and moved Bucharest audiences, receiving glowing reviews and comments.
„I have been to many of your concerts and am very fond of you. Last night was the only concert at which I did not applaud. What you achieved was incredible for me: the combination of music, scriptural passages and poetry created a small sacred space that brought me closer to God, and applause seemed to me to intrude on the atmosphere you had created. I cried during the performance. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!” is just one of dozens of messages received after the concerts on 16 and 17 December at the Opera Națională.
„The audience’s reactions moved and honoured us. We created this performance with the hope of finding the road not only to Christmas but, above all, to our audiences’ hearts, and these messages show us that we succeeded. The artistic synergy between the Madrigal Choir, conducted by Anna Ungureanu, and the two fabulous guest actors, Ofelia Popii and Marius Turdeanu, together with the effects of the sets and lighting, brought the artistic message to its greatest intensity. That is why we are delighted to offer this performance to audiences across the country through streamerse.net, with exceptional technical quality” – Emil Pantelimon, Manager of the Corul Național de Cameră „Madrigal – Marin Constantin” and the performance’s director and scriptwriter.
This year’s Madrigal Choir Christmas performance was built around an emblematic metaphor that has been part of the collective imagination for over 2000 years – Christmas as the miracle of a new beginning, of rediscovered hope and faith, of confidence in the future. Entitled „Pe drumul Crăciunului”, the project is a parable of human resilience in the face of the trials of fate, in which the Madrigal Choir and guest actors lead audiences towards the profound symbols of Christmas through music, poetry, literature, set design, stage movement and lighting design.
For over half a century, Romanians have associated the sound of the celebration of the Nativity with the Madrigal Choir, whose Christmas concerts are one of Romania’s longest-standing and most enduring cultural traditions. The celebrated ensemble, conducted by Anna Ungureanu, now offers you this unprecedented performance, bringing together the Madrigal Choir’s unique sound, theatre, impressive set design and an exceptional blend of the choir’s voices with those of over 100 children from the Programul Național Cantus Mundi. The actors Ofelia Popii and Marius Turdeanu complete this project with literary elements that heighten the performance’s emotional narrative.
The performance will be available on streamerse.net from 24 December, with an access ticket for you and your family costing 50 lei for 10 days.
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A theatre and film actress, Ofelia Popii graduated from the Facultatea de Teatru of the Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai in Cluj-Napoca in 2001, the year she joined the Teatrul Național „Radu Stanca” in Sibiu. Over the last 20 years, she has become one of the most highly regarded figures on the national stage, acclaimed by audiences and specialist critics alike, with dozens of outstanding roles that have earned her numerous national and international awards. One of her most charismatic and intense performances is as Mefisto, in the production of „Faust” (directed by Silviu Purcărete), for which she received the UNITER award for Best Actress (2008), as well as the „Herald Angel” award at the Edinburgh International Festival (2010). In 2021, she made her directorial debut with Sławomir Mrożek’s play „O zi de vară” at the Teatrul Național „Radu Stanca”. She has also appeared in eight Romanian feature films, the most recent being „Om, câine” (directed by Ștefan Constantinescu), released in 2021.
Marius Turdeanu is a theatre and film actor and a prominent, prolific figure on the national stage. He graduated from the Facultatea de Arta Actorului – Universitatea de Arte in Târgu Mureş in 2002, is a member of the Teatrul Național „Radu Stanca” in Sibiu and also works with the Teatrul Național in Târgu Mureș. In Sibiu, he appears not only in the latest premieres („Autobahn”, directed by Andrei and Andreea Grosu) but also in productions that have been in the theatre’s repertoire for many seasons („Cui i-e frică de Virginia Woolf?”, directed by Andreea and Andrei Grosu, „D’ale Carnavalului” and „Călătoriile lui Gulliver”, directed by Silviu Purcarete, or „Platonov”, directed by Alexandru Dabija). He has twice been nominated for the UNITER award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his roles in „Maestrul şi Margareta” (directed by Zoltán Balázs) and „Ispita Cioran” (directed by Gavriil Pinte). His most recent film is „Tom și Jerry 2.0”, an adaptation of Rick Cleveland’s play „Jerry and Tom”, directed by Florin Piersic Jr.
Corul Național de Cameră „Madrigal – Marin Constantin” is an emblem of Romanian and international musical life. Since its foundation in 1963 by the conductor Marin Constantin (1925–2011), the Madrigal Choir has given over 4.600 concerts acclaimed around the world, establishing itself as a true „national brand”. It is one of the world’s benchmarks for chamber choral music, with a repertoire focused on the European Renaissance, Byzantine music and contemporary Romanian and international works.
In November 2016, the Corul Naţional de Cameră „Madrigal – Marin Constantin” was officially recognised as an Ambassador of Freedom, Hope and Peace, receiving the „Jean Nussbaum and Eleanor Roosevelt” award at the United Nations Palace in Geneva during the Global Summit on Religion, Peace and Security.
After 58 years of uninterrupted activity, the Corul Național de Cameră „Madrigal – Marin Constantin”, a public concert institution of national importance under Romania’s Ministerul Culturii, continues its work in cultural diplomacy as one of Europe’s longest-established and most highly regarded choral ensembles.
Since 2011, the Madrigal Choir has run the Programul Național Cantus Mundi, Romania’s largest programme for children’s social integration through music, initiated by maestro Ion Marin, which currently brings together over 1.680 choirs and over 60.000 children from Romania and the diaspora.
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