Laura Bretan (born April 7, 2002) is a Romanian-American soprano. She was the winner of season six of the Pro TV series '' Romania's Got Talent'', and later placed sixth in season eleven of '' America's Got Talent'', both in 2016.

Early life

Bretan was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to parents from Romania. She first began singing when she was six years old. Bretan was taught how to sing by her mother. At age eight, she began singing at Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church. Both she and her parents are active members of the Romanian Pentecostal Church of Chicago.

Career

In 2016, Bretan was the winner of '' Romania's Got Talent''. Following that win, Bretan auditioned for season eleven of '' America's Got Talent'' when she sang "

Nessun dorma "" (; English: "Let no one sleep") is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera ''Turandot'' (text by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni) and one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera. It is sung by Calaf, (the unknown prince), ...

" from

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini ( Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long ...

's opera ''

Turandot ''Turandot'' (; see below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, posthumously completed by Franco Alfano in 1926, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. ''Turandot'' best-known aria is " Nessun dorma", ...

''. The act received a standing ovation from

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of '' The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on ...

, Heidi Klum, Mel B, and Howie Mandel; afterwards Mel B pressed her golden buzzer, sending Bretan directly to the quarterfinals. Bretan performed in the first live show on July 26, 2016, and advanced to the semifinals with the audience vote. She gave another well-received performance in the semifinals, but missed out on the audience vote later and lost the "Dunkin Save" vote. However, Bretan won the judges' vote and passed onto the finals. Bretan performed "

O mio babbino caro "" ("Oh my dear Papa”) is a soprano aria from the opera ''Gianni Schicchi'' (1918) by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. It is sung by Lauretta after tensions between her father Schicchi and the family of Rinuccio, the boy s ...

" in the finals, earning very favorable reviews from the show's judges. "Today you look like a princess, but tonight you rule the stage like a queen," said Klum. She finished in sixth place overall. In 2017, Bretan performed "

I Dreamed a Dream "I Dreamed a Dream" is a song from the 1980 musical ''Les Misérables''. It is a solo that is sung by the character Fantine during the first act. The music is by Claude-Michel Schönberg, with orchestrations by John Cameron. The English lyric ...

" in the finale of season one of '' The Voice Kids Romania''. In December 2018, Bretan was announced as one of the semi-finalists for the 2019 edition of ''

Selecția Națională Romania has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 22 times since its debut in , and has placed in the top ten six times. Its best results were achieved by Luminița Anghel and Sistem in , and by Paula Seling and Ovi in , who both finish ...

'', Romania's national selection for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2019 The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, following the country's victory at the 2018 contest with the song " Toy" by Netta. Organised by the European Broad ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

, Israel. She performed her song "Dear Father", winning in the televote but finishing 3rd in the jury, being the runner up in the overall results.

Personal life

Bretan holds

dual citizenship Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on ...

from Romania and the United States. In October 2018, Bretan appeared in an advertisement calling on Romanians to support the 2018 Romanian constitutional referendum which would constitutionally ban

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

References

External links

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Fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bretan, Laura 2002 births Living people Singers from Chicago Romanian sopranos Opera crossover singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century Christians America's Got Talent contestants American child singers American performers of Christian music American people of Romanian descent American Pentecostals Românii au talent contestants Romanian child singers Romanian women singers Romanian performers of Christian music Romanian Pentecostals Christians from Illinois