THE TENORS' DUEL 2026 – the lyrical event of the summer with ŞTEFAN von KORCH and guests: George Vîrban, Andrei Mihalcea, Mihai Urzicana

August 6, 2026, 8:00 PM

HERASTRAU SUMMER GARDEN

Gala Guest: tenor FLORIN GEORGESCU

After the Tenor Duel 2025 filled the Herăstrău Summer Garden and after performing as a guest in the "Los Tres Tenores" concerts in Central America, tenor Ştefan von Korch – host soloist of the Musical Extravaganza season announces the 2026 edition of the much-awaited concert: the show that annually brings the elegance of opera and the effervescence of canzonettas, close to the public, outdoors, will take place at the Herăstrău Summer Garden, on August 6th. Relevant lyrical male voices for the national and international scene will delight the audience in an evening in which the star voice of the lyrical register – that of the tenor, will shine in interpretations full of passion and virtuosity.

Host tenor Ştefan von Korch elaborates: "The "Tenor Duel" goes beyond the pattern of the world's great male vocal trio formulas, with caliber guests and moments that will remain in the hearts of those present. We are delighted to reveal that the first artist who will honor us with his presence on August 6th is maestro Florin Georgescu, a colossal tenor that Romania has given to the great opera stages, blessed with a voice and career like few others."

The gala guest of the Tenor Duel, FLORIN GEORGESCU has made history in Romania and abroad: as Manrico in "Il Trovatore" by Giuseppe Verdi he gathered stormy applause on the great stages of the lyrical world, in Bucharest he made the National Opera too small for those who wanted to listen to him and whom countless generations of music lovers identify with the aria "Te voi răpi la noapte" from the operetta "Marco Polo" by Francis Lopez.

The Tenor Duel 2026 will be a special musical experience that will delight the soul of music lovers with the most well-known pieces suitable for the star voice of the lyrical register - that of the tenor, as pointed out by soloist Ştefan von Korch: «We will enjoy together a veritable "best of", from which landmarks such as "Nessun dorma," "La Donna e mobile," or "O Sole Mio," but also lyrical rarities, meant to delight and move the audience, cannot be missing.»

And until then the show also reaches the country:

Sibiu – Ion Besoiu Cultural Center – November 17, 2025

Craiova – Marin Sorescu National Theatre – April 27, 2026

And in the preamble to these two shows, tenor Ştefan von Korch will conquer the audience in Central America in the concerts of great tradition "Los Tres Tenores," held in the largest cities in Honduras in the first half of November.

Tickets can be found on Tickestore.ro, Biletlateatru.ro, Startickets.ro, DynamicTickets.ro and at the Dalles hall.

** Ştefan von Korch – Tenor, host soloist  **

Tenor Ştefan von Korch is monthly appreciated by the public as a guest soloist and artistic coordinator of the Musical Extravaganza season, a pioneering cultural project carried out in the capital, with extensions on the stages of Braşov, Piteşti, Sibiu and Craiova. 

With a dynamic presence in national and international cultural life, Ştefan von Korch has performed in Central America, in the traditional "Los Tres Tenores" concerts, debuted in 2025 at the Romanian Athenaeum in "Concert at the Imperial Court," opened the 2025/2026 season of the Arad Philharmonic with "Carmina Burana", his "signature" work, in which he also began the year on the stage of the Transylvania State Philharmonic and was applauded at the National Opera in Iaşi in "The Merry Widow 2.0," directed by Andrei Şerban.

It is the unmistakable voice  for the tenor line in Carmina  Burana – a passage at the limit of the male voice's capabilities, through whose interpretation he navigates with overflowing ease. Thanks to the manner of interpreting  this work, he was invited to over 40 performances of Carmina Burana, in  Philharmonic Orchestras and Cultural Institutions in the country, but also abroad, in 2024 he was honored to open the Palermo Classica Festival  in this work, with an appearance acclaimed  in the press in the peninsula and in Romania alike.

His name is also linked to over 15 performances at the National Opera in Bucharest where he was invited over time in "The Barber of Seville," "The Elixir of Love" and "Falstaff," but also to the national premiere of the opera "I Puritani," by Vicenzo Belinni, one of the highest scores written for a male voice.

The year 2024 ended with notable appearances at the Ion Dacian National Operetta and Musical Theatre,  at the  Sala Palatului and at the Philharmonic Orchestras in Târgu-Mureș and Timișoara. 

In 2023 he was the only Romanian soloist in the China Tour 2023, alongside the Reino de Aragon Orchestra from Spain.

He delighted the audience with his voice in 3 national premieres: "I Puritani" and "La Sonnambula," both by Vicenzo Bellini, the vocal-symphonic work "Messa di Gloria" by Rossini, but also in the European premiere "Traiano in Dacia."

Over time, he has performed the roles specific to his voice from the very well-known operas: "Rigoletto", "The Barber of Seville", "The Elixir of Love", "Don Pasquale", on the stages of the Operas in Bucharest, Cluj and Iași and is a constant presence on the stages of the national philharmonics, "Requiem" by Mozart, "Christmas Oratorio" by Bach and "Longesangt" by Mendelssohn.

Internationally, he has performed at the Metropolitan Concert Hall Tokyo, Zhuhai Opera House, Nanjing Poly Grand Theatre and Chongqing Grand Theatre, Opera Kaiserslautern Germany, Teatro Verdi Padua Italy, Zurich Academy of Music Concert Hall, National Theatre Bratislava.

George Vîrban - Tenor

A tenor appreciated on both national and international stages, George Vîrban can be applauded on the stage of the Ion Dacian National Operetta and Musical Theatre in "The Circus Princess," (directed by Beatrice Rancea), "Die Fledermaus" or "The Land of Smiles."

He enjoys frequent invitations to lyrical institutions abroad: he will conclude the 24/25 season in the opera Eugene Onegin in Haifa, and the 25/26 season brings new collaborations in his portfolio as a soloist with opera houses such as the Tel Aviv Opera, the Shanghai Opera or the Bavarian State Opera in Munich.

Also in 2025 he was present at the Metropolitan Opera in New York for the role of Tamino (cover) in the production "The Magic Flute," held a series of concerts in South Korea and debuted at the Aalto Theatre in Essen in the role of Don Ottavio from the opera Don Giovanni.

In the 2023/24 season he was a member of the Aalto Theater ensemble in Essen, and from 2019 to 2021, he was a member of the Opera Studio of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich.

Andrei Mihalcea – Tenor

With a diverse repertoire, Andrei Mihalcea has appearances in musicals - his most recent success being the role of Romeo in the musical "Romeo & Juliet" a production of great notoriety from the season of the only operetta and musical theater in Bucharest, as well as well-known titles from the opera genre or famous works from the vocal-symphonic and chamber genres.

On the stage of the Opera Comica pentru Copii (Children's Comic Opera) he delights both young and old alike in "The Barber of Seville," "Cinderella," both by Gioachino Rossini, "The Elixir of Love," "The Abduction from the Seraglio," or "The Magic Flute", by W.A. Mozart but also in the musical "The Sound of Music," directed by Răzvan Mazilu.)

In 2024, he made his international debut in the role of Don Ottavio in the opera Don Giovanni - Clyde Opera Group Glasgow, Scotland, and in 2023 he made his international debut in the role of Count Almaviva in the opera The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini Clyde Opera Group, in the same institution.

Mihai Urzicana - Tenor

As an opera soloist, tenor Mihai Urzicana has won numerous national and international awards: First Prize at the National Music Interpretation Competition Mihail Jora, First Prize at the National Competition Opera Start, Second Prize and Audience Award at L'Assoluta Virginia Zeani – The International Grand Prix of Romania – Tg. Mureș, Second Prize – International Competition Vox Artis – Sibiu and is a constant presence on concert stages and on the stages of musical theaters in the country and abroad.

Tenor Mihai Urzicana benefits from the guidance of personalities of the world lyrical art, such as:  Liora Maurer and Lucy Arner – Metropolitan Opera New York, baritone George Petean and director Sharon Mohar – Les Maîtres Sonneurs – France.

Soloist of the National Operetta and Musical Theater "Ion Dacian" from Bucharest, tenor Mihai Urzicana is a graduate of the master's degree at the National University of Music Bucharest, of the Orthodox Theological Seminary Constanța and of the Faculty of Theology, Sacred Art and Pastoral Sections.

Mihai Urzicana is also a soloist of the Armonia Choir from Constanța, an ensemble with which he has given concerts all over the world (England, Ireland, France, Italy, Bulgaria, Spain, Ukraine, Serbia, Bosnia, Poland, Switzerland, Israel etc.) and has won Gold Medals at world choral competitions from the USA, Latvia, Austria, Germany, Russia.

Florin Georgescu – Gala Guest

  The gala guest of the Tenors' Duel, FLORIN GEORGESCU has made history in Romania and abroad: as Manrico in "Il Trovatore" by Giuseppe Verdi he gathered tumultuous applause on the great stages of the lyrical world, in Bucharest he made the National Opera too small for those who wanted to listen to him and whom countless generations of music lovers identify with the aria "Te voi răpi la noapte" (I will kidnap you tonight) from the operetta "Marco Polo" by Francis Lopez.