Biography2
Born in 1990 in Baia Mare,Romania, the first steps in the field of arts were surprisingly to him, not in music but in Visual Arts. Following the suggestion of his primary school teacher, he begins studying Fine Arts at the Art High School in his hometown where gets to hear classical music for the first time, attending recitals and auditions. At the end of the 8th grade, he discovered through the concerts of Luciano Pavarotti and The Three Tenors broadcast on television, his passion for opera. The decisive moment took place in a graphics class when the teacher heard him singing in a low voice a popular italian canzone and convinced him to sing it in full voice in front of the class. Upon hearing the voice, he urged him to start studying Classical Singing. The unexpected transition would bring many national prizes in the following years and in the 12th grade the 1st prize at the National Classical Music Olympiad, a prize that guaranteed his admission to the University of Music Bucharest. In the second year of the Uni, he auditioned for Bucharest Opera Choir. The young tenor did the step forward to soloist in 2011 in the role of Filipeto from I quatro rusteghi by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, shortly followed by a romanian opera Motanul încălțat (Puss in Boots) by Cornel Trăilescu. The first major role at Bucharest State Opera was Nemorino from L’elisir d’amore by Gaetano Donizetti, at the age of 22. In the following period, he adds two more large-scale roles to his repertoire: Il conte d’Almaviva from Il barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini and Don Ottavio from Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
During this time he appeared also in numerous vocal-symphonic concerts with Philharmonic Orchestra George Enescu, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Tchaikovsky Philharmonic Orchestra.
Ioan Hotea graduated from the National University of Music Bucharest in 2012, one year later having his first international career debut in Amelia al ballo by Gian Carlo Menotti at Opéra de Monte-Carlo, a new production of Jean-Louis Grinda, musically conducted by the legendary Placido Domingo.
He performed alongside the sublime soprano Edita Gruberova in Three Queens concert at Theater an der Wien, in September 2013.
The next important debut came shortly after at Opèra de Paris in Tebaldo from Capuletti e I Monttechi by Vicenzo Bellini.
In 2014 followed Ioan’s first appearance at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf as ‘Rinuccio’ from Gianni Schicchi as well as performances in the role of Alfredo La Traviata at the National Opera Timisoara, in a new production at the National Opera Bucharest and at the Qintai Concert Hall Wuhan, China.
Ioan is currently based in Germany, being soloist at the Wiesbaden Opera since 2015, he performed in opera roles and concerts such as: Alfredo from La Traviata, Il Duca di Mantova from Rigoletto, Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi; Nemorino from L’elisird’amore, Ernesto from Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti;
Tamino from Die Zauberflöte, Ferrando from Cosi fan tutte, Don Ottavio from Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Chevalier des Grieux from Manon, Werther from Werther by Jules Massenet; Il conte d’Almaviva from Il barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini; Rinuccio from Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini.
In 2015 he won Operalia in London, a competition patronized by Placido Domingo, awarded with the First Prize in the Opera and Zarzuela categories. In the same year, he also won the International Hariclea Darclee trophy, competition sponsored by soprano Mariana Nicolesco.
Ioan Hotea made his Royal Opera debut in the 2016/17 Season replacing Roberto Alagna as Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore) at short notice. In the same season, he makes two more opera house debuts; Ernesto from Don Pasquale at Opera Zürich, production staged by Grischa Asagaroff and conducted by Enrique Mazzola and Dorvil La scala di seta conducted by Christopher Franklin, staged by Damiano Michieletto at Théâtre Royal de Liège Belgium.The following season 2017/18 finds him performing Il conte d’Almaviva from Il barbiere di Siviglia by G. Rossini at the Vienna State Opera, conducted by Marco Armiliato, and at the Greek National Opera Athens. At Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf, Ioan is performing the role of Ernesto in Donizetti’s capo di lavoro Don Pasquale, production signed by Rolando Villazon and Nicholas Carter. Of great refinement was the debut in the role of Chevalier des Grieux from Massenet’s Opera Manon at Staatstheater Wiesbaden, a role that will bring him the satisfaction of being invited in two more new productions in the following period, Staatsoper Hamburg and Greek National Opera Athens.
The summer period brings Ioan Hotea for the first time, on the impressive grand stage of Théâtre Antique d’Orange, in the role of the Count of Almaviva in an imposing premiere of Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Gioachino Rossini), under the baton of Giampaolo Bisanti and directed by Adriano Sinivia.
The beginning of 2018/19 season finds the tenor in a new production of Il barbiere di Siviglia (G.Rossini) at Opéra national du Rhin – Strasbourg, production conducted by Michele Gamba and directed by Pierre Emanuel Rousseau; followed by come back to Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf for the highly successful production of Don Pasquale. A superb Premiere of Massenet’s Manon followed shortly after, in the role of Chevalier des Grieux performances that took place in Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Athens. Ernesto, in the next german theater State Opera Stuttgart, a fresh production of Jossi Wieler and Sergio Morabito, conducted by Giuliano Carella. A significant debut in the role of Elvino from La Sonnambula composed by Vicenzo Bellini at Frankfurt Opera. Another role debut Osiride from Mose in Egitto by Gioachino Rossini in Winlad Festival, Beijing.
Debuted in Wiesbaden in January 2019 Duca di Mantova from Rigoletto, staged by Uwe Eric Laufenberg and conducted by Will Humburg, is the second verdian role added to his repertoire, a large-scale role that suits him perfectly and which will certainly drive to embody Duca for a long time to come. Ioan Hotea returns at Opéra de Monte-Carlo for a new role debut, Cassio in Otello by Giuseppe Verdi, along with a set of top world-class singers including Gregory Kunde, Maria Agresta and George Petean. In Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden he resumes with a set of Rigoletto and Don Giovanni performances. October 2019 Ioan Hotea returns to the Royal Opera House in a new production of Don Pasquale, staged by Damiano Michieletto and conducted by Evelino Pidò along BrynTerfel, Olga Peretyatko and Markus Werba; production broadcasted live in cinemas around the globe.
Ein Sänger from Der Rosenkavalier – Richard Strauss is the next role debut in Wiesbaden, a production signed by Patrick Lange and Nicalas Brieger.
In December 2019, he makes his debut in the bravura role of Arturo from I Puritani by Vicenzo Bellini, again at Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf, a new production of Rolando Villazon conducted by Antonino Fogliani.
2020/2021 Despite the full quarantine period, Staatstheater Wiesbaden started the season as planned with a premiere of Il barbiere di Siviglia(G.Donizetti) in wich the romanian tenor played the role Il conte d’Almaviva.
Bavarian State Opera Munich is the next significant house debut for Ioan Hotea, in Cosi fan tutte by W. A.Mozart, staged by Dieter Dorn and conducted by Antonello Manacorda.
January 2021 Manon by Jules Massenet placed at State Opera Hamburg is the next enthusing house debut, production of David Bösch alongside Sébastien Rouland. The anniversary of the 100th season of National Opera Cluj-Napoca, invite Ioan Hotea as a special guest. The Wiesbaden Opera House once again transforms the impossible into the possible, producing a new premiere, Giacomo Puccini’s Il Trittico in the midst of the Pandemic in which Ioan Hotea plays the character of Rinuccio from Gianni Schicchi.
Bavarian State Opera Munich is the next significant house debut for Ioan Hotea, in Cosi fan tutte by W. A.Mozart, staged by Dieter Dorn and conducted by Antonello Manacorda.
January 2021 Manon by Jules Massenet placed at State Opera Hamburg is the next enthusing house debut, production of David Bösch alongside Sébastien Rouland. The anniversary of the 100th season of National Opera Cluj-Napoca, invite Ioan Hotea as a special guest. The Wiesbaden Opera House once again transforms the impossible into the possible, producing a new premiere, Giacomo Puccini’s Il Trittico in the midst of the Pandemic in which Ioan Hotea plays the character of Rinuccio from Gianni Schicchi.
2021/2022 The beginning of the season finds Ioan Hotea for the first time in the George Enescu Festival, performing the Great Mass in C minor by W.A.Mozart, at Ateneul Roman in Bucharest, along London Mozart Players Orchestra, conducted by Nicolae Moldoveanu.
Ioan returns to the Hamburg Opera for a new significant role debut, Edgardo from Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti. This much-appreciated effort is duly rewarded with two new invitations in the same season to play Edgardo at Deutsche Oper Berlin and at Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf. The third appearance at Hamburg Opera comes shortly after in the role of Il conte d’Almaviva from Il barbierediSiviglia (G.Verdi).
The next significant debut, in a role of great technical and stylistic complexity, is the role of the young Werther in the opera that also bears his name, composed by Jules Massenet, inspired by the novel The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The premiere took place at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden, 9 December 2021.
In the spring of the season, Ioan Hotea makes his house debut at Semperoper Dresden in Cosi fan tutte by W.A.Mozart, musically conducted by Omer Meir Wellber, and directed by Andreas Kriegenburg.
2022/23 Ioan Hotea started the season at the Grand Théâtre de Genève in his first grand-opera title ,performing the role of Prince Léopold from La Juive by Jacques Fromental Halévy, this marking a double debut in role and house. The new production is directed by David Alden and musically led by Marc Minkowski.