Biography
Romanian-American soprano Laura Tatulescu has gained recognition for her beauty of voice and her exciting portrayals on the operatic and concert stage. She has performed under the batons of such eminent conductors as Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Philippe Jordan, Ivan Fischer, Adam Fischer, James Conlon, Marco Armiliato, Emmanuelle Haim, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Robert Spano, James Gaffigan, Sebastian Weigle, Danielle Gatti, Kent Nagano, Andris Nelsons, Peter Schneider, Constantinos Carydis, Ivor Bolton and Harry Bicket.
Season 19-20 begins with the launch of her first CD - the World Premiere recording of Thierry Huillet's opera "Requiem" with the Orchestre de Chambre de Toulouse. It continues with a recital in Timișoara, after which she travels to Salzburg and makes her debut on the opening night of the "Dialoge Festival" as the guest of percussionist Christoph Sietzen at the renowned Mozarteum. The season continues with recitals in Munich, and then Bucharest in the "Remember Enescu" Gala and then continuing on to the stunning hall of the Romanian Atheneum for the "Suflet în Culori - Emocion" charity concert alongside the Violoncelissimo ensemble. She continues with the World Premiere of the oratorio "Venez, Esprits des Marais" at the "Les Musicales de Redon" Festival in France, a piece specifically written for her voice by composer Christophe Guyard. The season ends with the recording of a solo album of songs with pianist Ana Giurgiu-Bondue.
The season 2018-19 sees her debut at Korea National Opera in a new production of Così fan tutte as Despina. She returns to the Bavarian State Opera for performances of Janáček’s Jenůfa as Karolka and to Opéra de Lille for a recital with Romanian composer and pianist Ana Giurgiu-Bondue. She returns to Korea National Opera for her role debut as Jemmy in a new production of Guillaume Tell, under the baton of Sebastian Lang-Lessing and the direction of Vera Nemirova. She also sings Marzelline in Fidelio with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra conducted by Robert Spano. Also this season, she makes a World premiere recording of composer Thierry Huillet's "Requiem" with the Orchestre de Chambre de Toulouse. She ends the season with a recital in Munich, with pianist Sophie Raynaud with works by Debussy, Wolf, Strauss, Enescu, and Jora.
In the 2017-18 season, Ms. Tatulescu makes her house debut at Opéra de Lille as Despina in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm and directed by Christophe Honoré. She then returns to Seattle Opera as Despina in a production conducted by Paul Daniel and directed by Jonathan Miller. She stays in Seattle for her role debut as Héro in a new production of Berlioz’ Beatrice and Benedict conducted by Ludovic Morlot and directed by John Langs. In concert, she appears with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester performing Tout est lumière by André Caplet.
Ms. Tatulescu’s 2016-17 season included her debut with Maggio Musicale Fiorentino as Musetta in Lorenzo Mariani’s production of La Bohème conducted by Daniel Oren and return to the Bavarian State Opera as Karolka in Janáček’s Jenůfa conducted by Tomáš Hanus. She also sang Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Jacksonville Symphony and appeared as soloist in the new multimedia production Catarsi by Benedikt Brachtel and the AGORA Musiktheaterkollektiv during the Münchner Opernfestspiele.
After acclaimed performances at Santa Fe Opera in summer 2015 as Serpetta in Mozart´s La finta giardiniera, conducted by Harry Bicket and directed by Tim Albery, the 2015-16 season included a number of exciting debuts for Ms. Tatulescu. She started the season singing Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under Robert Spano, joined Seattle Opera as Susanna in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro conducted by Gary Wedow and directed by Aidan Lang, took to the stage at Florida Grand Opera as Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, conducted by Ramón Tebar and directed by Renaud Doucet, and lastly portrayed Marzelline in Beethoven’s Fidelio with Cincinnati Opera. She also returned to Stadttheater Klagenfurt for her role debut as Helena in Britten’s A Midsummer Night´s Dream, conducted by Alexander Soddy and directed by Immo Karaman. This followed an acclaimed role debut as Blanche de la Force in Poulenc´s Dialogues des Carmélites in Klagenfurt the previous season, also under the baton of Alexander Soddy and directed by Richard Brunel.
In the 2013-14 season, Ms. Tatulescu returned to the Bavarian State Opera singing her signature Mozart roles such as Zerlina in Don Giovanni under Louis Langrée, Despina in Cosi fan tutte under Mark Wigglesworth, and the First Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte under Ivor Bolton, as well as Musetta in La bohème under Marco Armiliato and the title role in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges. She ended the season by making her debut at Santa Fe Opera as Norina in a new Laurent Pelly production of Don Pasquale under the baton of Corrado Rovaris. She could also be heard in concert with the MDR Rundfunkorchester under the baton of James Gaffigan as soprano soloist in Debussy’s La Damoiselle élue and Le martyre de Saint Sèbastien and in a chamber concert under the auspices of the Bavarian State Opera at the Allerheiligen Hofkirche in Munich, featuring songs by Haydn, Beethoven, Wolf, and Blacher.
Ms. Tatulescu started the 2012-13 season as Despina in concert performances of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under Robin Ticciati, followed by a recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in a program dedicated to the music of Romanian composer Dinu Lipatti. She then returned to the Bavarian State Opera to sing roles such as Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte, and Musetta in La bohème. The character of Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro is one of her signature roles and took a central place in the season: she sang Susanna for her debut with the Glyndebourne Festival in performances conducted by Jérémie Rohrer and in concert performances with Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra in Budapest, followed by additional performances at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York and with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin to open their 2013-14 season.
Ms. Tatulescu’s 2011-12 season included her house debut at English National Opera as Phoebe in a new Barrie Kosky production of Rameau’s Castor and Pollux, conducted by Christian Curnyn. The production won the 2012 Olivier Award for Best New Opera production.
The 2009-10 season saw Ms. Tatulescu join the ensemble of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, where she sang Zerlina in a new production of Don Giovanni. Her roles in Munich have included Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, her role debut as Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore, Creusa in Mayr’s Medea in Corintho, and Marzelline in a new production of Fidelio conducted by Daniele Gatti and directed by Calixto Bieito. During the Munich Opera Festival in 2011, she created the role of Hanna in Miroslav Srnka’s Make No Noise accompanied by Ensemble Modern, and also sang Zerlina and Marzelline, for which she received the prestigious Festival Prize for that summer.
Ms. Tatulescu’s 2008-09 season was marked with a series of celebrated debuts. She made her US and role debut as Lauretta in Woody Allen’s celebrated new production of Gianni Schicchi to open the season at Los Angeles Opera. Her performance as Lauretta was praised for being “alluringly sung” (New York Times) and “uncommonly sexy” (LA Times). The production was conducted by James Conlon and was also presented at the Spoleto Festival in Italy in the summer of 2009. She also made her debut with the Bavarian State Opera as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro. Ms. Tatulescu’s performances with the Vienna State Opera have included Musetta in La bohème, Marzelline in Fidelio, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Sophie in Werther under Marco Armilliato, her role debut as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro under Philippe Jordan, Despina in Cosi fan Tutte in performances in Vienna under Riccardo Muti and at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw under Peter Schneider, and opera gala concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic in Tokyo and Nagoya in Japan.
Her orchestral repertoire covers a wide range of Oratorio and concert repertoire, including works by Bach and Mozart, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Gorecki’s Third Symphony, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Poulenc’s Gloria, Faure’s Requiem, and Vivaldi’s Gloria. In the 2010-11 season, she gave a celebrated concert at the Dvorak Hall of the Rudolfinum in Prague with the Prague Philharmonia under Jakub Hrusa and could be heard in recital at Teatro Mayor in Bogota, Columbia, with pianist Vlad Iftinca in 2015.
Born in the USA, she started her musical education as a violinist. She later graduated with a Masters Degree in Opera from the National Music University in Bucharest, Romania. She made her professional opera debut in 2004 at the Romanian National Opera in Bucharest. She lives in Munich.