Anniversary edition of the "Hariclea Darclée" International Festival and Voice Competition

In the period July 28 - August 9, 184 artists from around the world will be present in Braila, meeting under the auspices of one of the greatest sopranos of Romania, a  name with resonance on the world stage, Hariclea Darclée. The competition, now in its 20th edition, will be judged by an international jury, chaired by Mariana Nicolesco, the organizer of the event.

 "Is the Darclée legend, the Darclée myth which bring us together here. On behalf of her tutelary figure we live humbly in the cult of sacred art of singing, understood as a prayer, like a supreme fulfillment of our calling. And we are proud of the recognition enjoyed by our missionary vocation, as evidenced from the letters that we publish in this volume. That of an young artist who has made the first arms with us. And that of the General Director of UNESCO, which has attributed to our event The High Patronage of United Nations for Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization", said Mariana Nicolesco.  

The opening ceremony and the inaugural concert will be held Tuesday, July 28, with participation of soprano Adela Zaharia and bass Bogdan Talos, winners of Darclée Festival , accompanied on piano by Alexander Petrov.

Hariclea Darclée - a Romanian music legend on the world stage

Born in 1860 in Braila, in a family with Greek roots. Her mother, Maria Haricli, borned Aslan, was the granddaughter of Princess Mavrocordat and her father, Ion Haricli, was a very wealthy of Teleorman. She made her stage debut in 1881 in Braila and in 1888 was discovered by Pierre Gaillard, one of the directors of the Grand Opera from Paris, who recommended her to the composer Charles Gounod.  

An extraordinary voice, with a three-octave ambitus , she has fascinated the whole world, becoming one of the biggest lyric artists in the world. She has become the prima donna in the great opera houses of Paris, Berlin, Florence, Milan, Rome, Buenos Aires, Lisbon, Barcelona, Madrid, Monte Carlo, Moscow and St. Petersburg. She died in 1939, was buried in the Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest.

Beginning with the celebration of 135 years of her birth, from 1995, in the hometown of the great artist, it organizes The "Hariclea Darclée" International Voice Competition as homage to the great soprano.  

Information and photo: www.darclee-voice-contest