The elegance of classical music, the tender Romanian carols and the jingle of bells from songs from everywhere will envelop the Tănase Theater, in the "Christmas Extravaganza" concert.
From the classic solemnity of "Cantique de Noel," to consecrated refrains like "Merry Little Christmas" or premiere pieces, the evening will be a holiday wonderland, with seasonal music from all meridians. The joy of the holidays will be announced by: tenors Ştefan von Korch, host soloist and Andrei Mihalcea, sopranos Oana Maria Şerban and Elina Velica and baritone Fang Shuang, accompanied on the piano by maestro Alexandru Burcă.
Tenor Ştefan von Korch, host and artistic coordinator of Musical Extravaganza says: "We invite you in this period so full of meaning, on a musical tour of the Earth, with well-known seasonal pieces, from the country and around the world. We will sing carols and winter songs that you are all invited to receive in your soul, or to hum along with us, in the event in which we celebrate the most important holiday of Christianity and we thank you for all the Musical Extravaganza evenings in which we were together this year."
The Christmas Extravaganza concert is the event that crowns the stories written on the staff throughout the year 2026 by tenor Ştefan von Korch and his guests, in themed evenings that create a bridge between the rich universe of opera, the bubbly world of operetta and the audience of all ages.
About ** Ştefan von Korch – Tenor, host soloist **
** Ştefan von Korch – Tenor, solist gazdă **
Tenor Ştefan von Korch is appreciated monthly by the public as a guest soloist and artistic coordinator of the Musical Extravaganza season, a pioneering cultural project carried out in the capital, with extensions on the stages of Braşov, Piteşti, Sibiu, Craiova and Târgu Mureş.
With a dynamic presence in national and international cultural life, Ştefan von Korch has already been present since the beginning of the year on the stage of the National Theatre in Bucharest, at the Braşov Philharmonic, Sibiu, Târgu Mureş and on the stage of the National Opera in Iaşi in "The Merry Widow 2.0," directed by Andrei Şerban.
In 2025 he was the only Romanian soloist in the concerts of great tradition "Los Tres Tenores," in Central America, alongside soloists from Spain and Honduras, he debuted at the Romanian Athenaeum in "Concert at the Imperial Court," he opened the Arad Philharmonic season with "Carmina Burana", his "signature" work, in which he also began the year on the stage of the Transylvania State Philharmonic.
He is the unmistakable voice for the tenor line in Carmina Burana – a passage at the limit of the male voice's capabilities, through whose interpretation he navigates with overflowing ease. Thanks to the manner of interpreting this work, he was invited to over 40 performances of Carmina Burana, in the Philharmonic Orchestras and Cultural Institutions in the country, but also abroad, in 2024 he was honored to open the Palermo Classica Festival in this work, with an acclaimed appearance in the press in the peninsula and in Romania alike.
His name is also linked to over 15 performances at the National Opera in Bucharest where he was invited over time in "The Barber of Seville," "The Elixir of Love" and "Falstaff," but also to the national premiere of the opera "I Puritani," by Vicenzo Belinni, one of the highest scores written for a male voice.
The year 2024 ended with notable appearances at the Ion Dacian National Operetta and Musical Theatre, at the Sala Palatului and at the Philharmonic Orchestras in Târgu-Mureș and Timișoara.
In 2023, he was the only Romanian soloist in the China Tour 2023, alongside the Reino de Aragon Orchestra from Spain.
He delighted the audience with his voice in 3 national premieres: "I Puritani" and "La Sonnambula," both by Vicenzo Bellini, the vocal-symphonic work "Messa di Gloria" by Rossini, but also in the European premiere "Traiano in Dacia."
Over time, he has performed roles specific to his voice from the very well-known operas: "Rigoletto", "The Barber of Seville", "The Elixir of Love", "Don Pasquale", on the stages of the Operas in Bucharest, Cluj and Iași and is a constant presence on the stages of the national philharmonics, "Requiem" by Mozart, "Christmas Oratorio" by Bach and "Lobgesang" by Mendelssohn.
Internationally, he has performed at the Metropolitan Concert Hall Tokyo, Zhuhai Opera House, Nanjing Poly Grand Theatre and Chongqing Grand Theatre, Opera Kaiserslautern Germany, the Auditorium in Zaragoza, the Steri Palace in Palermo, Teatro Verdi Padua Italy, the concert hall of the Zurich Academy of Music, the National Theatre Bratislava.
About the Musical Extravaganza
The concerts aim to offer the public the joy of meeting representative names of the lyrical scene, in a more intimate setting, which offers a different perspective on the artistic act compared to that of the imposing opera stage, but also to bring the classical genre closer to the audience of all ages. Spectators are invited to admire their favorite soloists in a select atmosphere, complemented by a chamber accompaniment, which highlights the performers in a warm and personal light.
The first two seasons of Musical Extravaganza, held under the artistic direction of tenor Ştefan von Korch, included over 20 successful concerts, in which they delighted the audience, together with the host soloist: soprano Cristina Maria Oltean, soprano Daniela Bucşan and Oana Maria Şerban, baritones Adrian Mărcan, Lucian Petrean and Fang Shuang, pianist Alexandru Burcă, accordionist Emy Drăgoi, pianist Bogdana Cocîrlea, and the Piteşti Philharmonic Orchestra – the most avant-garde in the country.
