The Romanian tenor Daniel Magdal will be guest-performer as Samson in Hugo de Ana’s production of “Samson et Dalila” on 28 January at 19.00 h. This is the performer’s debut in Bulgaria and he expects it with great emotion. Otello and Samson are his two favourite characters, and Saint-Saëns’s work is the preferred title in his repertoire. He prepared it for the production at the Bucharest National Opera some years ago. “The role of Samson gives everything, which a tenor wants to achieve in singing. To me personally it brings a very big satisfaction”, says Magdal, who is a lyric spinto tenor. He knows the work of the director Hugo de Ana and appreciates it very much. “He is a very big name in the world of opera and for me it is an honour to take part in a spectacle of his”, emphasized Daniel Magdal.
He graduated from the George Enescu Academy of Music in his hometown Iași, Romania. Since a child, he was attracted by classical music, and especially by the opera, although in his family there are no persons, dedicated to this art. At the Music School he played on percussions in the classical orchestra, but singing was what attracted him really and it predetermined his way. “Opera is my big love since I was a child”, notes the performer, who already has participations on prestigious stages behind his back. After several seasons as soloist of the Iași Opera Theatre in the beginning of the 90-s, he found himself at the theatre of the German town Flensburg, near to the border with Denmark. Three years later, he decided to become a freelancer.
Except for two titles, his repertoire includes the whole tenor repertoire of Puccini’s operas. He sings also works by Verdi, Boito, Meyerbeer, Berlioz, Wagner in theatres all over Germany. At the Prague State Opera he was invited for “Aida”, “La traviata” by Verdi and for “Mefistofele” by Boito. He was guest-performer at Deutche Oper Berlin, as well as at theatres in Tokyo and Osaka in Japan and in Canada. He was on one stage with performers from the rank of Daniela Barcellona and Roberto Alagna. He admits that the operas from the last century are not his liking, although sometimes he has participations also in such titles. “Today it is much more difficult to make a career as an opera singer. The artist doesn’t have especially big choice and he is forced to accept also roles, which are maybe not his favourite. Preferred are quite young performers, without experience and without enough well developed style of singing. I am trying to adhere strictly to the requirements of the directors, with who I work, although I believe that each thing must reflect the concept of the author of the work. Of course, the set design and the costumes can be modern, but what’s happening should not contradict the composer’s intentions. It is necessary to understand the action in order to begin loving it”, says he.
Daniel Magdal believes that the opera is an art with future, which must remain true to its roots. “I think that it will forever remain a very important part of the life of everyone, because it models our souls. It is very important to transfer this feeling to the young generations.”