Christian Badea (né Cristian Badea) is a Romanian-American opera and symphonic conductor. A native of

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, Badea's early training was as a classical violinist in Bucharest and Brussels. He later studied conducting at the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

in New York. After winning the Rupert Conducting Competition in London (1976) he is invited by

Gian Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian composer, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept h ...

to conduct at the Festival Of The Two Worlds at Spoleto and right after he is appointed musical director of the Italian edition of the festival, and later on in a similar position for the American edition. In the next decade he conducts at Spoleto and at Charleston a series of operas which will establish him a reputation: Menotti's ''Maria Golovin'', ''The Last Savage'' and ''The Saint of Bleecker Street,'' and also Shostakovich's ''Lady Macbeth from Mtsensk'' and Samuel Barber's ''Antony and Cleopatra'' to great acclaim. His recording of

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...

's opera

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in around ...

received a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

in 1985. In 1983 he is appointed artistic director of the

Columbus Symphony Orchestra The Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Columbus, Ohio. The oldest performing arts organization in the city, its home is the Ohio Theatre. The orchestra's current Executive Director is Denise Rehg. Ross ...

, in Columbus, Ohio. During his nine-year tenure here he records two discs with the music of

Roger Sessions Roger Huntington Sessions (December 28, 1896March 16, 1985) was an American composer, teacher and musicologist. He had initially started his career writing in a neoclassical style, but gradually moved further towards more complex harmonies and ...

and

Peter Mennin Peter Mennin (born Mennini) (May 17, 1923 in Erie, Pennsylvania – June 17, 1983 in New York City) was a prominent American composer, teacher and administrator. In 1958, he was named Director of the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, and i ...

praised by the musical critics. He debuts with The Metropolitan Opera in New York on tour at Boston in 1986 conducting ''Tosca'' with Grace Bumbry. During the next decade, until 1995, Christian Badea performed as conductor for 167 times, in a repertoire including: ''Tosca'', ''Aida'', ''La traviata'', ''Cavalleria rusticana'', ''Pagliacci'', ''Boris Godunov'', ''La bohème'', ''Don Giovanni'', ''La fanciulla del West'', ''Madama Butterfly'', ''Rigoletto.'' In 1990 he conducted the Metropolitan Gala opening the season with ''La bohème'', the cast including Plácido Domingo and Mirella Freni. At

Wiener Staatsoper The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...

he performed as a conductor for 19 times between 1992 and 1995 in operas like ''Tosca'', ''Aida'', ''Le contes d'Hoffmann'', ''Otello'' and ''La bohème''. The most notable of these was the premiere of ''Les contes d'Hoffmann'' in 1993, staged by

Andrei Șerban Andrei Șerban (born June 21, 1943) is a Romanian- American theater director. A major name in twentieth-century theater, he is renowned for his innovative and iconoclastic interpretations and stagings. In 1992 he became Professor of Theater at th ...

and with a cast including Plácido Domingo, Natalie Dessay, Barbara Frittoli and Bryn Terfel. He is regularly invited to the Royal Opera House of Covent Garden with 32 appearances as conductor in ''La bohème'', ''Tosca'' and ''Turandot''. His opera career includes performances at Opéra de Lyon, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam, English National Opera, Royal Opera Copenhagen, Royal Opera Stockholm, Opera Australia, Arena di Verona, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Budapest State Opera. In 2006 he starts to conduct in Romania, notably with the ''George Enescu'' Philharmonic Orchestra at the

Romanian Athaeneum The Romanian Athenaeum ( ro, Ateneul Român) is a concert hall in the center of Bucharest, Romania, and a landmark of the Romanian capital city. Opened in 1888, the ornate, domed, circular building is the city's most prestigious concert hall and ...

, one of the most notable moments being a semi staged concert of ''Parsifal'', in the double role of conductor and stage director. In 2009 he opened the

George Enescu Festival The George Enescu Festival (also known as George Enescu International Festival and Competition), held in honor of the celebrated Romanian composer George Enescu, is the biggest classical music festival and classical international competition hel ...

in Bucharest with Haga Philharmonic Orchestra. As an orchestral conductor, Badea has performed in concert halls throughout Europe, North America, and Asia: Carnegie Hall (New York), Suntory Hall (Tokyo), Salle Pleyel (Paris), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), conducting ensembles like Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Gothenburg Symphony, Czech Philharmonic, Sankt Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Residentie Orchestra, Amsterdam Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre Nationale de Lyon, Accademia di Santa Cecilia Orchestra (Roma), RAI Orchestra (Torino), Maggio Musicale Orchestra (Florence), Gulbenkian Orchestra (Lisabona) or

Orquesta Nacional de España The Orquesta Nacional de España (Spanish National Orchestra) is a symphonic orchestra that is based in Madrid, Spain. History Although the orchestra originated as of 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, it was legally founded in 1940, by the mergin ...

, among others.

Notes

References

Biography at TransArt Artists web site
* ttps://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/sessions-orchestral-works Gramophone: Review of ''Sessions: Orchestral Works''br>Gramophone: Barber's ''Antony and Cleopatra'' ReviewMetropolitan Opera of New York Archive Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Badea, Christian Romanian conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Romanian expatriates in the United States Musicians from Bucharest Living people 1947 births 21st-century conductors (music) Juilliard School alumni 21st-century male musicians