Opera Ballet

In 2020, Gabriel Bebeşelea took up the position of Principal Conductor of the “George Enescu” Philharmonic Orchestra Bucharest, adding to his positions as Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic of North Macedonia and Principal Conductor of the “Transylvania” State Philharmonic Orchestra of Cluj-Napoca, which he assumed at the beginning of the 2016/17 season. Gabriel Bebeşelea enjoys a vibrant international career, being invited by acclaimed ensembles including the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre National de Lille, the Opéra de Marseille, the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia “Evgeny Svetlanov” and the Perm Opera. Highlights of the 2021/22 season include debuts with the Tonkunstler Orchestra, the Orquestra de Castilla y Leon, as well as returns to the Bochumer Symphoniker, Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, to the “George Enescu” Festival and the Musikverein Vienna. With the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, he recorded a CD featuring George Enescu’s rediscovered oratorio “Strigoii” (The Ghosts) and his “Pastorale – Fantaisie pour petite orchestre” (edition curated by Gabriel Bebeşelea). The CD was released under the label Capriccio in September 2018. A remarkable opera conductor, Bebeşelea was named Principal Conductor of the Romanian National Opera of Iaşi in 2011, becoming the youngest ever Principal Conductor in Romania. In 2015 he was named Principal Conductor of the National Romanian Opera House of Cluj-Napoca. Gabriel Bebeșelea is known to devote himself to researching and rediscovering music and he is responsible for uncovering several long forgotten or neglected musical masterpieces. In 2017, to bring such music to light, he founded the ensemble Musica Ricercata – an international artistic collective dedicated to the historically informed performance of music spanning from the baroque to modern eras, with an emphasis on early music. In 2011 he was awarded a scholarship consisting of an internship at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, where he had the possibility to assist at the rehearsals and concerts of some of the most representative conductors nowadays: Mariss Jansons, Bernard Haitink, Herbert Blomstedt, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Philippe Herreweghe, David Zinman and Eliahu Inbal. In 2015, Gabriel Bebeşelea studied with two of the world’s most appreciated conductors: Bernard Haitink at the Lucerne Festival at Easter and with Kurt Masur at the Aurora Classical Festival. Born in 1987, Gabriel Bebeşelea is winner of the 1st prize of the “Lovro von Matačić” Conducting Competition (Zagreb 2015) and the 1st prize in the “Jeunesses Musicales” Conducting Competition (Bucharest 2011). In 2018, Gabriel Bebeşelea obtained his PhD with “summa cum laude” at the National University of Music Bucharest.