CARMINA BURANA
July 17, 2026, 8:00 PM
HERASTRAU SUMMER GARDEN
The most famous vocal symphonic work ever written
CARMINA BURANA - with tenor Ştefan von Korch in the solo line - premiered outdoors in Bucharest, on July 17, 2026 at the Herăstrău Summer Garden
Carmina Burana – the most famous vocal symphonic creation ever written – also known as the work that traditionally closes and opens the seasons of philharmonics around the world, will be staged for the first time outdoors in Bucharest at the Herăstrău Summer Garden on July 17, 2026. The event brings to the forefront an elite interpretive formula that will include as soloists: tenor ŞTEFAN VON KORCH, soprano OANA MARIA ŞERBAN and baritone FANG SHUANG. They are joined by the PITEŞTI PHILHARMONIC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, the most avant-garde orchestra in the country, also present at the George Enescu International Festival 2025.
For lovers of the genre, the concert means the joy of hearing the most famous cantata in the world, long awaited and acclaimed everywhere, but also an opportunity to meet the soloist whose voice is often considered unmistakable for this work: the show brings to the fore tenor Ştefan von Korch, who will perform the specific score for his voice from "Carmina Burana" for the audience in the Herăstrău Garden after over 40 appearances in this role on the stages of national philharmonics and a brilliant debut in Palermo, praised in the press in Italy and Romania alike.
Currently, Ştefan von Korch is one of the most sought-after soloists for the tenor line in Carmina Burana, and about the sequence which is often considered "his signature score" he says: "the musical line that falls to me in Carmina Burana is particularly high and intense, at the limit of the human voice's capacity, in fact written for a countertenor voice, but which I choose to sing in full voice. The work in its entirety is particularly challenging, both vocally and instrumentally, and I invite you to experience it and discover its tumult together."
Alongside Ştefan von Korch will be soprano Oana Maria Şerban, the soloist who had the honor of singing in the Gardens of Versailles at the opening of the 2024 Olympic Games and who in 2025 was "Elle" – the only character in "The Beautiful Indifferent" and "The Human Voice," on the stage of the "Ion Dacian" National Operetta and Musical Theatre, interpreted 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 Bucharest National Opera. About her presence on the premiere stage in the open air of the Carmina Burana show she says: "it is a position that greatly pleases me, I have long wanted to debut in this emblematic work for the symbolic vocal repertoire and I hope you will be close to me in this moment full of emotion, on July 17, 2026 at the Herăstrău Summer Garden."
The soloistic formula will be completed by Fang Shuang, the baritone of the Comic Opera for Children, who elevates to the level of art landmark creations from the local repertoire, from romances to immortal hits, and who now puts his artistic versatility in the service of the superb "Carmina Burana," a work in which Carl Orff offers the baritone numerous moments of interpretative vocal mastery.
Tenor Ştefan von Korch, the coordinator of the Musical Extravaganza season of which the concert is a part, concludes: "on July 17, 2026, we invite you to a special concert: 'Carmina Burana,' a significant work in my artistic journey, and the first work presented in its entirety within the Musical Extravaganza concerts; the soloistic formula is unprecedented, and the open-air staging crowns the novelties that define this concert."
The famous Carmina Burana by Carl Orff will take the audience on its uplifting chords, along an intense journey of 25 musical numbers, which begin and end circularly with the famous prologue "O, Fortuna," one of the most recognizable themes of the classical repertoire.
https://youtu.be/Ia6ZBd4ehmU?feature=shared
In a presentation of excellence, the show will be a feast of classical music, premiered outdoors. In addition to the high-caliber soloists, the production will be completed by the choir and the Pitești Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, also present on the stage of the George Enescu International Festival. The musical direction will be entrusted to a master conductor who will consolidate the event's standard. The entire musical celebration will culminate in a dazzling production of the most well-known vocal-symphonic work of all time.
The vocal-symphonic concert "Carmina Burana" is part of the Musical Extravaganza season, which brings landmarks of lyrical art closer to the public, under the artistic guidance of tenor Ştefan von Korch and is the first complete work presented under this aegis.
Tickets are available at launch prices, starting from 89 lei on Ticketstore.ro, Biletlateatru.ro, Startickets.ro, DynamicTicket.ro and at Sala Dalles.
About the protagonists
** Ştefan von Korch – Tenor **
Tenor Ştefan von Korch is monthly appreciated by the public as a guest soloist and artistic coordinator of the Musical Extravaganza season, a cultural pioneering project carried out in the capital, with extensions on the stages of Braşov, Piteşti, Sibiu and Craiova.
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 the Philharmonic Orchestras and Cultural Institutions in the country, but also abroad.
In 2023, he was the only Romanian soloist in the China Tour 2023, alongside the Reino de Aragon Orchestra from Spain.
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."
With an exponential, national and international evolution, Ştefan von Korch started the year 2025 on the stage of the Transylvania State Philharmonic, in Carmina Burana, his "signature" work, passed through the National Opera in Iași in "The Merry Widow 2.0" directed by Andrei Şerban and continues the series of concerts Musical Extravaganza, for which he is the host-soloist and artistic coordinator.
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.
Performer of 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, but also a constant presence on the stages of national philharmonics.
**Oana-Maria Șerban – soprano **
With a charming presence and special interpretative versatility, in the current year soprano Oana Maria Șerban was "Elle" - the only character from "The Beautiful Indifferent" and "The Human Voice," on the stage of the Ion Dacian National Operetta and Musical Theatre, she performed the character Miss Honey in "Matilda," the musical of the Comic Opera for Children awarded at the UNITER Gala and will debut in the role of Rosina from "The Barber of Seville" by Rossini, a production of the Bucharest National Opera.
The talented coloratura soprano sang in the Gardens of the Palace of Versailles, on the occasion of the opening of the 2024 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 most recently Susanna, from the opera The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. She is the favorite heroine of the little ones in memorable roles on the stage of the Comic Opera for children, where she was, among others, 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.
**Fang Shung – (Baritone)**
Fang Shuang became a true "darling of the public" after being a finalist in the Românii au talent competition in 2017, where he obtained a Golden Buzz with the song "Copacul," and delighted with "De-ai fi tu salcie la mal" and "Of, inimioară!," revealing his passion for old Romanian music.
His career on the lyrical stage, however, began much earlier, since 2013, when he became a soloist of the Opera Comică pentru Copii (Comic Opera for Children), where he performed: Malatesta from "Don Pasquale," Peter (Father) from "Hansel & Gretel," the Director from "Mam'zelle Nitouche" (Hapciu in Re Major), Pappacoda from "O noapte la Veneția," Papageno from "Die Zauberflote" (The Magic Flute), Hook from "Peter Pan" and Pimpinone from "Pimpinone"
He is a graduate of the National University of Music in Bucharest, in the class of Mr. Ionel Voineag and Mrs. Andreiana Geamănă-Roșca for vocal accompaniment and a master's degree in classical singing, but his great passion remains romances.
Orchestra Simfonică a Filarmonicii Piteşti (Filarmonica Piteşti)
The Pitești Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra is one of the most elite and avant-garde in the country and the "first violin of Argeș culture." The Orchestra's achievements include its presence at the George Enescu International Festival 2025, the event concert alongside the world-renowned tenor Jonathan Tetelman in January 2025, participation in the China Tour 2024, a grand tour of over 20 cities and numerous premiere events at the national and county level.
About the season Musical Extravaganza
Concerts are meant 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 they delighted the audience, 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 formula.
