Ioan Holender (born Johann Hollaender, he, יואן הולנדר, born 18 July 1935) is a Romanian born

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

and administrator. Holender was born in

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

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 ...

. His family is of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

ancestry, and growing up, he spoke three languages. His father owned a factory in Timișoara, which was expropriated in 1948. Holender studied mechanical engineering at the

Polytechnic University of Timișoara Polytechnic is most commonly used to refer to schools, colleges, or universities that qualify as an institute of technology or vocational university also sometimes called universities of applied sciences. Polytechnic may also refer to: Educatio ...

. He worked as a

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

coach and a director's assistant until he and his family emigrated to

, where his mother was residing. He intended to continue his engineering studies, but became interested in singing. After completing his music studies, he was an operatic baritone and concert singer with the

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

Stadttheater. In 1966, he began to work at the Starka Concert Agency, which he eventually took over and whose prestige he increased. In 1988,

Eberhard Waechter Eberhard Freiherr von Waechter (9 July 1929 – 29 March 1992) was an Austrian baritone celebrated for his performances in the operas of Mozart, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. After retiring from singing, he became intendant of the Vienna V ...

named Holender as Secretary-General of the

Vienna State Opera 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 ...

, effective as of 1991. Eventually, Holender dissociated himself from the Starka business. After Waechter's death in February 1992, Holender became Director of the Vienna State Opera on 1 April 1992. He also led the

Vienna Volksoper The Vienna Volksoper (''Volksoper'' or ''Vienna People's Opera'') is an opera house in Vienna, Austria. It produces three hundred performances of twenty-five German language productions of opera, operetta, musicals, and ballet, during an annual s ...

for 4 years simultaneously. Holender's contract was extended three times and concluded on 31 August 2010. He is the longest-serving general director in the history of the Vienna State Opera. Ioan Holender is advisor of the Metropolitan Opera New York and the Spring Festival Tokyo and artistic director of the George Enescu Festival Bucharest. He is a lecturer at the University of Vienna and at the Danube University Krems. Further he is a jury member for several international singing-competitions. He also has his own cultural-magazine on the Austrian TV-channel

ServusTV ServusTV is a TV station based in Wals-Siezenheim in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Its name is derived from the popular greeting servus common in many parts of Central and Eastern Europe. Together with the magazine "Servus in Stadt und Land", ...

. Holender and his wife have two sons and a daughter.

Decorations and awards

* Honorary Doctorates from the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...

West University of Timișoara The West University of Timișoara ( ro, Universitatea de Vest din Timișoara; abbreviated UVT) is a public higher education institution located in Timișoara. Classified by the Ministry of National Education as a university of education and sci ...

, the Music Academy of Sofia and

Gheorghe Dima Music Academy Gheorghe Dima National Music Academy is an educational institution located in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The institution was founded in 1919, and currently comprises various departments including composition, conducting, musicology, musical pedagogy, c ...

(

Cluj-Napoca ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...

) *

Decoration of Honour in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (german: Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the A ...

(1980) *

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian D ...

(1985) *

Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (german: Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the A ...

* Golden Medal of Honour for Services to the City of Vienna *

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian D ...

(1995) * Officer of the

Order of Arts and Letters The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

(France, 1999) * Collars of the

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the defunct Order of Michael the Brave. It is awarded by the President of Romania. It has five r ...

(2001) * Jacob Prandtauer Prize for Art and Science of

St. Pölten ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

(2001) *

Grand Gold Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (german: Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the A ...

(2002) * Commander of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

(2004) * Honorary Medal of the Austrian capital Vienna in Gold (2010) * Clemens Krauss Medal of the

Vienna State Opera Chorus en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Franz Schalk Gold Medal The Franz Schalk Gold Medal is a distinction of the Vienna Philharmonic awarded since 1963. It is named after the conductor, first director of the Vienna State Opera and co-founder of the Salzburg Festival Franz Schalk, whose 100. birthday was cel ...

of the

Vienna Philharmonic The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...

* European Cultural Initiative Award of the European Cultural Foundation Pro Europe (2005) *

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

, 3rd Class (Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon) (Japan, 2011) *

Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

(2011) * Honorary Citizenship of

Bibliography

References

* *

External links

*
European Academy of Music Theatre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holender, Ioan 1935 births Living people Austrian operatic baritones 20th-century Austrian male opera singers Austrian people of Romanian-Jewish descent Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic General Directors of the Vienna State Opera Jewish singers Music directors of the Vienna State Opera Musicians from Vienna Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Opera managers Musicians from Timișoara Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class Recipients of the Grand Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class First Class of the Order of the Star of Romania Romanian operatic baritones Romanian expatriates in Austria Romanian expatriates in Germany Jewish Romanian musicians 20th-century Romanian male opera singers