Extracts from the opera Impaled, the first opera of young Romanian composer Vlad Maistorovici, will be performed on January 21 at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The performance is part of the museum’s wider program Opera: Passion, Power and Politics.

The opera looks at the figure of the medieval Wallachian ruler Vlad the Impaler. The production that premiers this weekend “provides fascinating and disturbing insights into the roots of the divisions between East and West,” a V&A museum presentation reads.

The opera was inspired by the play The Third Stake by Romanian playwright Marin Sorescu. The libretto was written by Richard Crane. This weekend’s performance is directed by Faynia Williams. The 12 Ensemble, soprano Becca Marriott, tenor Oliver Brignall and baritone Matt Kellett will be performing, alongside Vlad Maistorovici at violin and conducting.

Vlad Maistorovici was born in Ploiesti in 1985. He studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and at the Royal College of Music in England, and at the Lausanne Conservatory. In 2015 he established the Vibrate! Festival in the central Romania city of Brasov.

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editor@romania-insider.com