Opéra de Lausanne

At Opera de Lausanne: Nireno in Gulio Cesare (April 2008).

Florin Cezar Ouatu was born in Romania in 1980. Grown in a musicians’ family, he began his musical studies at the Academy of Art and Music in his home town, where he obtained the piano and choral direction diploma. In 1998 he began the study of singing, immediately distinguishing himself as male soprano. In 2001 he was admitted at the Conservatory of Milan, where he graduated with special mention in 2004, under the guidance of Margaret Hayward. He attended masterclasses with Jordi Savall, Sara Mingardo, René Clemencic, Magda Olivero ,Viorica Cortez and Mariana Nicolesco.

He won several prestigious international competitions, including Francisco Viñas of Barcelona (Best Countertenor), Competizione dell’Opera of Dresden (First Prize), Riccardo Zandonai of Riva del Garda (Jury Special Prize), Voice Competition Renata Tebaldi of San Marino (Baroque Prize) and Spiros Argiris of Sarzana (First Prize).

Florin Cezar Ouatu recenlty he recorded Mannio in Gluck’s world premiere Il trionfo di Clelia (MDG), Amor Oriental Handel alla turca with (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi) - Sony Classics, the  role of Caio in Ottone in Villa by Vivaldi (Brilliant Classics), the DVD of Pergolesi’s Salustia at the Pergolesi Festival 2011 (UNITEL CLASSICA), Requiem and Two Voices Motets by Cavalli (Tactus), Vespero delli Cinque Laudate by Cavalli (Dynamic), Bizzarrie, follie, stravaganze in musica (Amadeus).

Florin Cezar Ouatu  has worked with many of the most notable conductors and stage directors of our day including  Fabio Biondi, Alan Curtis , Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Ottavio Dantone , Diego Fasolis, George Petrou , Federico Guglielmo , Werner Ehrhardt , Emilio Sagi , Pierluigi Pizzi , Corrado Rovaris , George Petrou and Emmanuel Villaume.

In 2007 he made his debut at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice singing the role of Armando d’Orville (title role) in Meyerbeer's Il crociato in Egitto with Emmanuel Villaume conductor and Pierluigi Pizzi director.

His opera roles include: Handel’s Giulio Cesare (Nireno) at the Opéra de Lausanne under the baton of Ottavio Dantone; Vivaldi’s Ottone in Villa (Caio Silio) at the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, with l’Arte dell’Arco and Federico Guglielmo; Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea (Nerone) at the Corinth Festival and Athens Festival under George Petrou; the world premiere in modern times of Bononcini’s La conversione di Maddalena (Amor Divino) at the MITO Festival Milano with Accademia d’Arcadia under Diego Fasolis; Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine with Ensemble Matheus and Jean-Christophe Spinosi in Brest and at the Théâtre du Châtelet, in a new production directed by Oleg Kulik. He made also his debut as Didymus in Handel’s Theodora at the Cuenca Festival with Il Complesso Barocco and Alan Curtis.

Florin Cezar Ouatu appeard in concerts with Simone Kermes , Ruth Ziesak , Juanita Lascarro , in Istanbul, Dortmund , Berlin , Steinfurt, Halle .

He had  reported a big success as Nerone in the 300th anniversary production of Handel’s Agrippina at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice and  in 2011 at Handelfestspiele in Halle under the baton of Fabio Biondi , as Montezuma (titlerole) in a new production of Graun’s Montezuma  under Sergio Azzolini at the 2010 Musikfestpiele Potsdam, as Rinaldo in Armida project at the  Berliner  Philharmoniker and Istanbul together with L’Arte del Mondo and Werner Ehrhardt (the live recording of this project at the Berliner Philharmoniker was released by Sony/BMG) and with Bach’s cantata Ich habe genug and Magnificat at the Bucharest Early music festival.

Recently he had  received a good critic acclaim as Nerone  in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea at the Onassis Concert Hall (Athens Festival), Nerone in Handel’s Agrippina at Handelfestspiele in Halle under the baton of Fabio Biondi , as Alessandro in Pergolesi’s Salustia at the Spontini-Pergolesi Festival 2011 in Jesi, as Orlofsky in Strauss’s Die Flederamus at the Croatian National Opera in Zagreb.

Among his future opera and concert engagements: the title role in Graun’s Montezuma at Schlosstheater Neues Palais von Sanssouci in Potsdam, Baroque concert with Royal Camerata at Romanian Athenaeum Hall for the Romanian Royal family, Strauss’s Die Fledermaus at the Croatian National Opera (Zagreb).