On April 20th, the host tenor of the Musical Extravaganza season, Ştefan von Korch, invites the audience to the concert, "Olé Torrero" - a musical frenzy full of color, passion and rhythms inspired by the sunny land of the bullfighters. The brilliant voice of the soloist, and the luminous timbre of the soprano Oana Maria Şerban will enter into an artistic dialogue of magnetic intensity and will take the audience on an incursion in which each piece becomes a story about love, freedom and destiny.

Tenor Ştefan von Korch details: «The "Ole Torero" concert takes the audience on a sound journey through Spain and beyond: from the pathos of the zarzuela – the traditional Iberian song – to the fiery chords of Bizet's opera Carmen, the spectators will experience and know love, betrayal, jealousy and melancholy, in a concert in which the facets of the Iberian temperament are revealed through music.»

Like all concerts in the "Musical Extravaganza" season, "Ole Torero" is a journey on the staff, in which the soul leaps and the experience becomes art.

ABOUT THE SOLOISTS

** 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 cultural life and beyond, Ştefan von Korch will be present in February on the stage of the National Opera in Iaşi in "The Merry Widow 2.0," directed by Andrei Şerban.

In 2025 he was the only Romanian soloist in the "Los Tres Tenores" concerts, a great tradition, from Central America, alongside soloists from Spain and Honduras, he debuted at the Romanian Athenaeum in "Concert at the Imperial Court," opened the Arad Philharmonic season with "Carmina Burana", his "signature" work, in which he also started the year on the stage of the Transylvania State Philharmonic.

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, în  Philharmonic Orchestras and Cultural Institutions in the country, but also abroad, in 2024, he was honored to open the Palermo Classica Festival în this work, with an appearance acclaimed în 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 în "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-Mureş and Timişoara. 

 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 of "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 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.

Oana Maria Şerban – ** Soprano **

With a warm smile and a voice that combines sensitivity with strength, Oana Șerban conquers stages in the country and abroad. Her unique timbre has the power to transform each piece into a story and each note into an emotion. From the energy of opera roles, to the delicacy of pop-opera and the joy of musicals, Oana experiences each appearance on stage as a meeting with the audience of the soul.

In 2025, soprano Oana Maria Şerban was "Elle" - the only character in "The Beautiful Indifferent" and "The Human Voice," on the stage of the National Operetta and Musical Theater "Ion Dacian," she played the character Miss Honey in "Matilda," the musical of the Comic Opera for Children awarded at the UNITER Gala and debuted in the role of Rosina from "The Barber of Seville" by Rossini, a production of the National Opera of Bucharest.

 A year earlier, the talented coloratura soprano sang in the Gardens of the Palace of Versailles, on the occasion of the opening of the Paris Olympic Games, performed at the Musikverein in Vienna in the role of Dochița from the Operetta "Crai nou" (New Moon), alongside the National Opera of Bucharest and debuted at the National Opera of Bucharest in 2023 in the roles of Olympia from the opera The Tales of Hoffmann, by J. Offenbach, Gilda from the opera Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi, and Susanna, from the opera The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

At the Comic Opera for Children, she is the favorite heroine of the little ones in memorable roles such as Rosina from the opera The Barber of Seville, Clorinda from the opera Cinderella, both by Gioachino Rossini, Norina from the opera Don Pasquale and Adina, from the opera The Elixir of Love, by Gaetano Donizetti.

About the Musical Extravaganza season

The concerts aim to offer the public the joy of meeting representative names of the lyrical scene, in a more intimate setting, which offers a different perspective on the artistic act compared to that of the imposing opera stage, but also to bring the classical genre closer to audiences of all ages.  Spectators are invited to admire their favorite soloists in a select atmosphere, complemented by a chamber accompaniment, which highlights the performers in a warm and personal light.

The first Musical Extravaganza season, conducted under the artistic guidance of tenor Ştefan von Korch, included over 10 successful concerts, in which the public was delighted, together with the host soloist: soprano Cristina Maria Oltean, soprano Daniela Bucşan, tenor Alin Stoica, baritones Adrian Mărcan, Lucian Petrean and Fang Shuang, pianist Alexandru Burcă, accordionist Emy Drăgoi, pianist Bogdana Cocîrlea, and the Orchestra of the Ion Dacian National Operetta and Musical Theatre - in the salon format and the Pitești Philharmonic Orchestra.