Laura Nicorescu

The Romanian soprano is among the most promising voices of her generation. She graduated from the Mozarteum Salzburg in 2008, where she studied voice with Horiana Branisteanu. From 2001-2005, she studied at the Bucharest Music University under Maria Slatinaru Nistor. In 2006, she sang Pamina in Mozart’s Zauberflöte in a production by "Amadeus & c.o. Opera" in Salzburg. Other early performances include Der Graf von Luxemburg , as well as leading roles in world premieres Das Gespensterhaus by Reinhard Febel and Fausto Tuscano`s, L`ultimo Tango di Madame Ivonne. 2007 she sang Taumännchen in Humperdinck`s Hänsel und Gretel, directed by Philipp Harnoncourt in Rosenheim. Among her performances in 2008 were Teacher in Feurrote Friederique (Elisabeth Naske) in May/June and Pamina in Zauberflöte directed by Eike Gramss. She could be heard as Adina (L`elisir d`amore) at the Murten Summer Festival and as Konstanze (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) in Ruhpolding. In 2008, Ms. Nicorescu was accepted to the Opera Studio of the Bavarian State Opera, where she worked with Rudolf Piernay, Margreet Honig and John Norris. At the Bavarian State Opera, she performed on the National Theater and Cuvillies Theater,Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte, Clorinda in Cenerentola,in Palestrina (1st Angel), Hänsel und Gretel (Taumännchen), Elektra (Schleppträgerin), Jano (Jenufa), Modistin (Der Rosenkavalier), Medea in Corinto (Ismene), and understudied leading roles in new productions of L`elisir d`amore (Adina) and Die Tragödie des Teufels (Eva). "The Rumanian soprano has all it takes to convince as Fiordiligi: a dark timbre, a great tessitura and a cultivated voice. She sings stylistically right in extreme highs and lows of her part. None of the unsual timbre but a very distinctive soprano," wrote critic Markus Thiel after her debut as Fiordiligi in the Cuvilliès Theater as a part of the Opera Studio Program. During her two seasons in Munich, Ms. Nicorescu was actively guesting and concertizing in productions such as Die Zauberflöte (Pamina) in Bayreuth and Hof, Cosi fan tutte Fiordiligi in St Gallen, and Jenufa (Jano) in Leipzig, as well as concerts with orchestras such as, Berliner philharmoniker, Koblenz Philharmonie, Mozarteum Orchestra. After two seasons in Munich, Ms. Nicorescu went on to perform in Entführung aus dem Serail (Konstanze) - a new production in Antwerpen and Gent, L'Elisir d'Amore (Gianetta) at the Salzburg Landestheater, in the New Year's Eve Concert at the Großes Festspielhaus in Salzburg as a part of the "Voices of Spring Valse" with the Mozarteum Orchestra, and in 2011, she made her role debut in Le Nozze di Figaro (Susanna) in Theater Krefeld- Mönchengladbach. She has been recognized with many awards at competitions and elsewhere, such as : Special Prize for Young Talent at the Francesco Vinas Competition in Barcelona; Prize at the Competition of Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg; Prize for the Best Singer at the Open Summer Concerts in Izvorani; First Prize at the National Singing Competition Bucharest, Exellence Prize at  Lied Competition Brasov . First prize at National Competitions Mihail Jora and Ionel Perlea  in Romania. Laura Nicorescu has taken part in masterclasses with Sonia Ghazarian, Denyce Graves, Ileana Cotrubas, Grace Bumbry, Saverio-Suarez Ribaudo. Her  mentor is Irish voice professor, Veronica Dunne. Laura worked with conductors like: Fabio Luisi, Kent Nagano, Kiril Petrenko, Leo Hussain, Asher Fisch, Simone Young, Ivor Bolton, Umberto- Benedetti Michelangeli. Performed at the Festival in 2012, 2013 and 2014.