Teodor Ilinc?i, the Royal Opera Star, in Recital at 1 Belgrave Square

21/04/2017 @ Romanian Cultural Institute, 1 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PH

Our ground-breaking partnership with The Royal Opera House continues with an event dedicated to Romanian tenor Teodor Ilinc?i who stars as Pinkerton in the Covent Garden’s delightful 'Madama Butterfly'.

The evening, chaired by The Royal Opera’s Head Staff Director Amy Lane, features a conversation with the famed tenor and conductor Paul Wynne Griffiths about his beginnings, his career so far and how to make Pinkerton a memorable role.

Teodor Ilinc?i will perform extracts from 'Madama Butterfly' with baritone Gyula Nagy, a member of the Jette Parker Young Artists programme.

When: Friday, 21 April 2017 from 19:00 to 21:00

Where: Romanian Cultural Institute - 1 Belgrave Square London SW1X 8PH

Entrance is free but it is required to book your ticket on Eventbrite.

Please note that the seating is unreserved.

Romanian tenor Teodor Ilinc?i made his Royal Opera debut in 2009 as Rodolfo ('La bohème') and reprised the role in 2013. In summer 2015 he sang Macduff ('Macbeth') on The Royal Opera’s tour to Japan. Ilinc?i studied at the Conservatory in Bucharest with Corneliu Fânâteanu. He began his operatic career as a soloist of Bucharest National Opera, singing roles including Macduff, Ismaele ('Nabucco'), Rodolfo and Lensky ('Eugene Onegin'). He also performed widely in concert, in repertory including 'Carmina Burana', Rossini’s 'Stabat Mater' and Dvorák’s 'Requiem'. He made his international debut in 2009 as Macduff for Hamburg State Opera, followed by performances as Ismaele for Vienna State Opera. Engagements since include Rodolfo for Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bavarian State Opera, Deutsche Oper am Rhein and in Hamburg, Bucharest and Budapest, Pinkerton ('Madama Butterfly') for Paris Opéra and in Toulouse, Hamburg and Budapest, Fritz ('L’amico Fritz') for Opéra National du Rhin, Roméo ('Roméo et Juliette') in Santiago, the title role of Faust for Deutsche Oper Berlin, Alfredo Germont ('La traviata') for Teatro Real, Madrid, and Macduff for Liceu, Barcelona. Ilinc?i’s awards include Soloist of the Year at the 2009 Bucharest VIP Gala Awards, the 2009 Ludovic Spiess Prize (Romanian Music Forum), the 2010 'In Memoriam Iosif Sava' prize (Radio România Cultural) and the 2013 Award of Excellence from the Romanian Elite Art Club UNESCO.

British conductor and accompanist Paul Wynne Griffiths is on the music staff of The Royal Opera. For the Company he has conducted operas including 'Rigoletto', 'Norma', 'Don Giovanni', 'La bohème', 'Turandot', 'Madama Butterfly', 'Tosca', 'Il barbiere di Siviglia', 'L’Heure espagnole/Gianni Schicchi' and 'Così fan tutte', in addition to playing continuo for numerous productions and working as a répétiteur for the Company. Griffiths studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music and the London Opera Centre before joining the music staff of The Royal Opera. Conducting engagements away from The Royal Opera include 'Il trovatore' for Scottish Opera, 'L’elisir d’amore' for Gothenburg Opera and 'Rigoletto', 'Cavalleria rusticana', 'Pagliacci', 'Tosca', 'Salome' and 'Fidelio' for the Spier Festival, South Africa. In concert he has worked with leading international orchestras, such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia, London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Opera, London Concert Orchestra, Athens State Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and Iceland Symphony Orchestra. He conducted the London premiere of Ramirez’s Misa criolla with the Royal Choral Society at the Royal Festival Hall. Griffiths was artistic director of the BBC’s 'Pavarotti Masterclass'. He is a visiting tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music and the National Opera Studio.

Hungarian baritone Gyula Nagy joined the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the start of the 2016/17 Season. His roles in his first season include Fiorello ('Il barbiere di Siviglia'), Filotete ('Oreste'), Konrad Nachtigal ('Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'), Imperial Commissioner ('Madama Butterfly'), Flemish Deputy ('Don Carlo') and Baron Douphol ('La traviata') for The Royal Opera and in 'Les Enfants Terribles' for The Royal Ballet. Nagy studied with Károly Ötvös and Mária Fekete in Hungary and with Philip O’Reilly at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He also trained at the National Opera Studio, supported by the Royal Opera House and the International Opera Awards Foundation, and was a member of the Opera Theatre Company’s Young Associate Artists Programme in Dublin. He currently learns with Robert Dean and Nicholas Powell. He previously studied English language and literature and theatre studies at the University of Pannonia in Veszprém, Hungary. He has received support from the Tudás a Jövönkért Foundation, the John McCormack Society and the Gaiety Bursary.Operatic engagements include Don Giovanni for the National Opera Studio and Tarquinius ('The Rape of Lucretia') for Irish Youth Opera. Positions before joining the Programme included singing as an Associate Artist with Welsh National Opera, where his roles include Silvio ('Pagliacci') and covering Count Almaviva ('Le nozze di Figaro') and the Count (Elena Langer’s 'Figaro Gets a Divorce').

Amy Lane is Head Staff Director at The Royal Opera, Covent Garden. Born in London, Amy began her career in stage management, where she worked for three years in London's West End on 'An Inspector Calls', for four seasons with Diva Opera, finally joining The Royal Opera in 2005, where she was involved with over twenty-five productions. As a young singer, she performed with The Royal Opera, English National Opera, British Youth Opera, Opera Holland Park and was a backing singer for Barry Manilow at Wembley Arena. As stage and video director, Amy created 'Bryn Terfel at 50' (Royal Albert Hall), 'Tosca' (Welsh Millennium Centre: Welsh National Opera and the RLPO), 'The Spirit of Christmas' and 'Rudolph on Hope Street' (Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra). Her credits as Associate Director are 'The Great Gatsby' (Semperoper, Dresden), 'The Merchant of Venice' (The Bregenz Festival, Polish National Opera, Welsh National Opera) and as Revival Director, 'Tosca' and 'Don Giovanni' (The Royal Opera). In 2015 she created a new production of 'Noye's Fludde' for the ACT partnership, with performances in Amiens, Compiegne and Cambridge.