Biography
Romanian tenor Bogdan Mihai trained in Italy under the guidance of legendary soprano Mirella Freni, who awarded him the Nicolai Ghiaurov scholarship. He also obtained his Masters Diploma in Belcanto at the Transylvania University in Brasov, in Romania, with soprano Mariana Nicolesco.In 2008, he debuted at Bucharest National Opera as Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Don Ramiro in La cenerentola, Ugo in Parisina D’Este, Tamas in Gemma di Vergy, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, and an international career quickly followed.
In 2009, he made his debut with Staatsoper Stuttgart as Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and as the Italian Singer in Stuttgart’s highly acclaimed production of Der Rosenkavalier. Then he debuted in a new production of Rossini’s Armida at Garsington Opera, which earned him an invitation to appear in recital in London as part of the prestigious Rosenblatt Recital series.
Recent highlights have included debuts at Semperoper Dresden, Deutsche Oper Berlin and Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, all as Almaviva, Adelberto in Adelaide di Borgogna at the prestigious Festival Rossini in Pesaro, and the title role in Rossini’s Aureliano in Palmira at the Martina Franca Festival.
Last season included a return to Don Ramiro in La cenerentola in a new production for Opéra National du Rhin, and his debut as Edmondo in Manon Lescaut with Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle at the Baden-Baden Festival and at the Berlin Philharmonic. He performed in Il viaggio a Reims at the prestigious Rossini in Wildbad Festival, which is slated for CD release under the Naxos label.
In the 2014/2015 season, Bogdan Mihai had a series of significant house debuts at Teatro del Liceu, Barcelona, Opera de Oviedo and his North American debut at Opéra de Montréal, all with his signature role of Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Other notable highlights include Ernesto in Don Pasquale at Royal Opera House of Muscat, with Teatro Comunale di Bologna and the legendary Ruggero Raimondi, Romeo e Giulietta by N. Zingarelli at Salzburger Festspiele, La cenerentola in Stuttgart and Tel Aviv.
Recently he sang in Don Pasquale at Beijing NCPA, La juive at Opéra National du Rhin and La sonnambula at Teatro Verdi of Trieste, Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, with the role of Conte di Almaviva.