{"id":17497,"date":"2025-06-11T12:09:43","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T10:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/?p=17497"},"modified":"2025-06-11T12:30:28","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T10:30:28","slug":"opera-between-nations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/17497\/opera-between-nations\/","title":{"rendered":"Opera between Nations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Soprano, Tenor, Culture: Arias in the air over the city Cluj-Napoca.<\/strong> The international spirit of opera is experiencing a nationalistic twist in Romania\u2014but the divide is smaller than it seems.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Severin Weh<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLa commedia \u00e8 finita!\u201d \u2013 \u201cThe comedy is finished!\u201d The curtain drops and the audience rises, applauding and cheering the stars of the night. Opera singers in Cluj-Napoca perform either on the stage of the Hungarian State Opera<\/a> or the Romanian State Opera. Both are significant cultural institutions in the city, staging major productions each year that attract locals, tourists, and culturally curious visitors alike. The second largest city in Romania is home to many various minorities <\/a>from which the Hungarian one is the biggest; sometimes it can feel like Cluj has a personality disorder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cluj-Napoca, Kolozsv\u00e1r, Klausenburg<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The history of this city is written in many national hands. Today\u2019s Cluj still bears the marks of its multi-ethnic past\u2014in its architecture, its institutions, and its cultural life. The Austro-Hungarian monarchy, communist rule, and modern Romanian nationhood have all left their imprint on this city near the Hungarian border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9All three by Severin Weh, Romanian State Opera<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Romanian State Opera<\/a> building is a perfect example of this layered history. Built by Austrian architects in 1906, it was originally intended for the Hungarian State Opera. After the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the incorporation of Transylvania into Romania, the building was reassigned to house the Romanian ensemble. Step into the grand hall and it\u2019s clear: this space was designed to impress. It smells like your grandparents\u2019 old closet, and the chandeliers resemble the ones your grandmother might have had in her living room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the opera is bustling. More than twenty workers\u2014tiny from afar like ants\u2014are busy preparing the stage for a new production. \u201cThis year we\u2019re celebrating over one hundred years of opera,\u201d says Cristian Avram, deputy manager of the Romanian State Opera. The milestone marks not only a historical anniversary but also the continuation of a national cultural project that began shortly after 1918: asserting Romanian cultural presence in Transylvania through institutions like opera, theatre, and the university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two Operas, One City<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Romanian and Hungarian State Operas<\/a> are just a few minutes apart, but to a sensitive ear, they can feel like different worlds. Yet this is often the nature of opera: sung in Italian, French, German, Romanian, or Hungarian\u2014but never Romanian in the Hungarian Opera, and never Hungarian in the Romanian one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To the uninitiated, this might seem like a cultural identity conflict. But it isn\u2019t. As Avram explains, \u201cWe don\u2019t see the Hungarian Opera as a competition.\u201d Instead, the two institutions coexist peacefully, offering different repertoires and artistic visions. The Romanian Opera tends toward classical staging with modern technical elements\u2014video projections, LED effects\u2014while the Hungarian Opera often embraces more experimental productions. Both institutions collaborate occasionally, including joint concerts and Cluj\u2019s Opera Aperta festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cross-attendance exists, but unevenly. Romanian audiences are less likely to visit the Hungarian Opera, often due to misconceptions about language barriers. \u201cPeople think Traviata is sung in Hungarian. It\u2019s not. It\u2019s just the subtitles,\u201d Avram notes. Meanwhile, members of the Hungarian community regularly attend Romanian performances, drawn by internationally known productions and guest stars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A City\u2019s Cultural DNA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A look into the past offers nuance. Under the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, nationalities lived side by side across a unified kingdom\u2014now divided by national borders. A large German-speaking population once lived in Transylvania. After the empire fell, many left, though they had been well integrated. A small community still survives in rural areas, but as it ages, their unique dialect fades. One day, this region may be entirely Romanian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bal\u00e1zs Bodolai, an artist at the Hungarian State Opera, recalls his upbringing in Romania as part of the Hungarian minority. \u201cIt was normal for our community to stick together,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s different today, and never in the opera.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9Severin Weh, Bal\u00e1zs Bodolai in the Hungarian State Opera<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9 Severin Weh, Honorary wall for famous Hungarian artists in the Hungarian State Opera<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBorn This Way\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lady Gaga? If we\u2019re asking questions about identity, she\u2019s as good a starting point as any. Opera, after all, is little more than long, high-pitched, old-school Lady Gaga songs. And like Gaga, identity is performance. It\u2019s a story crafted by elites of a community to foster a sense of unity and belonging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9Severin Weh, sculpture of a Hungarian artist in the Opera<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why is identity so often treated as static\u2014trapped in the hands of the state or its political stewards? To control the cultural narrative is, in effect, to shape a community\u2019s self-conception\u2014an act of power that, at its highest level, is exercised by the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which brings us back to why elites care so much about culture. They need to hold power to control the cultural narrative and they need to control the cultural narrative to hold power. Opera, as a high art, carries prestige and soft power. That Cluj-Napoca has two national opera houses\u2014one Romanian, one Hungarian\u2014says a great deal about the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shifting Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9Severin Weh and AI, Number of Opera performances throughout the theatre season 2022\/23<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you look at performance frequency, the Romanian State Opera appears more established. It consistently stages more shows than its Hungarian counterpart. Census data from 2021 <\/a>confirms a demographic shift: the Hungarian population in Cluj-Napoca is declining, currently around 11\u201313% of the city\u2019s population. Still, this minority maintains a strong institutional presence\u2014schools, newspapers, theaters, and, crucially, its own opera house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avram points out that audience diversity is also shaped by history and education. Generations of separation in schools have created parallel cultural tracks. \u201cBut the goal isn\u2019t assimilation,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s coexistence. The presence of two national operas in one city is not division\u2014it\u2019s depth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Stage for Dialogue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opera is a space of emotional universality. Verdi, Puccini, Mozart\u2014they don\u2019t belong to any one nation. As Christian Avram puts it, \u201cOpera can be a powerful bridge, precisely because it operates on an emotional and symbolic level.\u201d It\u2019s a chance to share stories and sorrows beyond linguistic boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cluj-Napoca\u2019s model is rare in Europe: two public opera houses in two languages, supported by the same ministry. Their continued cooperation, in festivals and infrastructure, points toward a cultural ecology based on mutual respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9Severin Weh, collage in the Hungarian State Opera with Loekie<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, my homeland, never shall I see you again!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most heartbreaking arias in Aida<\/em>, this line is sung in Act III as Aida mourns her lost homeland of Ethiopia. She stands torn between love and national loyalty. This year Aida<\/em> is on the stage again to mark the opera\u2019s 105th anniversary. The stage is heavy with sorrow\u2014but in Cluj-Napoca, the audience looks up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aria is in Italian, but above the stage, the surtitles glow in Romanian. And this may be the most important lesson of all: culture isn\u2019t about exclusion\u2014it\u2019s about understanding. Hungarian and Romanian audiences sit side by side when the curtain falls. Opera lovers go to both venues not because of surtitles, but because of the music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Soprano, Tenor, Culture: Arias in the air over the city Cluj-Napoca. The international spirit of opera is experiencing a nationalistic twist in Romania\u2014but the divide is smaller than it seems. Severin Weh \u201cLa commedia \u00e8 finita!\u201d \u2013 \u201cThe comedy is finished!\u201d The curtain drops and the audience rises, applauding and cheering the stars of the night. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3744,"featured_media":17499,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5],"tags":[496,494],"class_list":["post-17497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cbj","category-acls","tag-borders","tag-cluj-napoca","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOpera between Nations - International Journalism<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Opera between Nations - International Journalism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Soprano, Tenor, Culture: Arias in the air over the city Cluj-Napoca. The international spirit of opera is experiencing a nationalistic twist in Romania\u2014but the divide is smaller than it seems. 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