Songs and Duets by Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini

Serbian soprano Ana Cvetković Stojić and Romanian mezzo soprano Mihaela Işpan with pianist Dušan Toroman will perform some of the most beautiful songs and duets of Italian opera masters, Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti. Concert is organized in cooperation with the Italian Institute of Culture in Belgrade.

Program:
Vincenzo Bellini
Vaga luna, che inargenti
Vanne, o rosa fortunata
L’abbandono
Torna vezzosa Fillide

ANA CVETKOVIC STOJNIĆ, soprano
DUŠAN TOROMAN, piano

Gioachino Rossini
Beltà crudele

Gaetano Donizetti
Me voglio fà na casa
Amore e morte
Ah, rammenta, o bella Irene

MIHAELA IŞPAN, mezzo soprano
DUŠAN TOROMAN, piano

Gaetano Donizetti
Il giuramento
L’aurora

Gioachino Rossini
Mi lagnero tacendo
La Pesca

ANA CVETKOVIC STOJNIĆ, soprano
MIHAELA IŞPAN, mezzo soprano
DUŠAN TOROMAN, piano

Biographies:
Ana Cvetković Stojnić is permanently present on domestic scene and very much devoted in promoting the Serbian contemporary music with the chamber ensemble Quadrema (violin, flute, piano, and voice) which received the “Gold plaque” at the music festival Mokranjcevi dani in Negotin, Serbia.  Ana’s repertoire to a large degree includes composers of French, Italian and German songs. She cherishes the concert singing with the pianist Vladimir Stojnic. Their recital “Evening of Strauss and Schumann” was awarded as the best concert in 2014. Season by the Association of Musical Artists of Serbia. With the latest recital “Le Secret” these two artists had once again shown to the audience their virtuosity and expressiveness, but more important their great musical understanding and compatibility.Ana’s professional debut was in Japan, touring with the Opera Operetta Classical Vienna Series as Micaela („Carmen“). She was also performing as a guest singer in Staatsoperette Dresden (Eurydice, “Orphée aux Enfers”), Opernhaus Chemnitz (Blumenmädchen 1, “Parsifal”), Fürth (La Contessa, “Le Nozze di Figaro”), Erlangen and Kammeroper Köln (Violetta, „La Traviata“), Goethe-Theater Bad Lauchstädt (Konstanze, „Die Entführung aus dem Serail“). Her first significant opera engagement was at German State Opera House, Coburg (2014-2017) where she had the chance to expand and build her repertoire. She made a breakthrough with the part of Konstanze („Die Entführung aus dem Serail“) which brought her sensational reviews – the critics described her Konstanze as a fascinating combination of seemingly effortlessly coloratura-speed and lyrical intensity. Besides her “fragile-tough” interpretation of Mozart’s heroines, the highlight of Ana’s career, so far are the roles of Lakmé („Lakmé”), Violetta („La Traviata“), Musetta („La Bohème“) and Sophie („Der Rosenkavalier“). In the season 2019/20 she made her debut as Sylva Varescu in „Die Csardásfürstin“ at the National Theater Osijek in Croatia. In the season 2022/23 Ana made her Debut in Opera and Theater Madlenianum, Belgrade in Offenbach’s La Vie Parissienne, as La Barone de Gondremarck. In January 2023. Ana made her debut in Temisoara Opera House in the role of Mozart’s Contessa. On the summer Festival ,,Isidora Žebeljan’’ in Kragujevac, Ana made her role and house debut in contemporary opera ,,Marathon’’ by Isidora Zebeljan. In the season 23/24 Ana made role debut as Hanna Glawary at Opera and Theater Madlenianum in Belgrade. In the Sason 2025.she will make her first Rossini role at Bad Kirchstetten Festival in Austria as Berenice in L’occasione fa il ladro.
Cvetkovic has always had an affinity for baroque music. Since 2013. she continuously collaborates with the “Belgrade Baroque Ensemble” with whom she performed twice on the “Early music festival”in Serbia and Austria. In the Season 23/24. Ana celebrated XX years since the founding of the Belgrade Baroque Ensemble, with a series of concerts through Serbia with Bach “Kaffeekantate” BWV 211. She participated in master classes for baroque music held by Prof. Nigel Rogers in Berlin. She worked with Roberta Mameli in Austrian Baroque Academy Gmunden, Sophie Daneman and Katherine Haataja. Besides the English and German baroque, she mastered the French baroque style as part of “Baroque Atelier” lead by Serbian world-known contralto Marijana Mijanovic and American harpsichord Jory Vinikour in February 2020. Since 2019 Ana is working on baroque repertoar with contralto Marijana Mijanovic.
Ana’s versatile stage experience includes solo parts in monumental pieces for orchestra and choir such as Bach’s “Messe in B-minor”, Mozart’s “Requiem” in D minor as well as performing in chamber ensembles. Ana had the honor to perform with renowned conductors at home and a broad such as Darinka Matic-Marovic, Premil Petrović, Aleksandar S.Vujic, Stanko Jovanovic, Dragana Jovanovic, Bojan Suđic, Christian Pollack, Roland Kluttig, Roland Fister, Lorenzo Da Rio, Alexander Merzyn, Fimco Muratovski, Mihnea Ignat, Ennio Morricone, Kristian Pfitzner.
Ana’s musical background started with her violin education graduated from elementary Music School Stanislav Binicki, and later she continued to nourish her voice in Mokranjac music school, studying with Professor Georgi Minov. At the same time, she enrolls in the Ballet secondary school “Lujo Davico”, at the special department for traditional songs and dances from Balkan. She graduated at the Faculty of Music as one of the most promising students of the voice department studying with Prof. Gordana Jevtovic. She was the student with the most successful concert activity, which brought her the prestigious “Anita Mezetova” award judging by the opinion of the voice department in Belgrade. After receiving her Bachelor’s degree, she continued her studies specializing in Operatic repertoire with the professor Nikola Mijailovic. While studying, Ana was a member of Opera Studio at the National Theatre Belgrade, which brought her new stage experience. She continued her education at the Vienna Private University of Music and Art (MUK) and gained an Opera Master Degree. In Austria, she received „CEE Musiktheater” scholarship for the most promising young opera talents in South-East Europe. Ana completed her PhD Doctoral Studies at the Belgrade Faculty of Music (March 2024.) department for chamber music under mentorship of professor Ljudmila Popović Gross.
Her competition successes include Nikola Cvejic International vocal competition in her home country (2001 First Prize and Laureate) Ferruccio Tagliavini (Austria – 2006, Fourth Prize and Finalist) with Dame Joan Sutherland as the main member of Jury. Ana participated masterclasses working with renowned opera singers such as James Hooper, Doreen DeFeis, David Bižić and Snežana Stamenković.

A soloist of the Bucharest National Opera House, the mezzo soprano Mihaela Işpan is a fortunate example of a lyrical artist having all those attributes, fully confirmed, indispensable both on the opera scene and in concerts; her clear and warm voice, the musical intelligence and expressiveness, the pleasant presence on the scene and the acting talent, the passion for art and her persistent work are all the references and the ingredients of the artistic evolution that she achieved so far. As a licentiate and graduate with a Master degree of the Faculty of Scenic Art, Canto, from the „Gh. Dima” Music Academy from Cluj-Napoca (the class of the professor dr Alexandru Fărcaş and of academic lecturer Ramona Eremia), the mezzo soprano Mihaela Işpan did sharpen, in parallel, the art of singing and the stylistic of the vocal performing under the soprano Niculina Mirea. She also got a field of expertise at the Vocal Mastery classes taught by the mezzo soprano Viorica Cortez, the tenor Ion Buzea and the soprano Mariana Nicolesco.
Furthermore, she followed the classes of „Internationale Bach Akademie” (Stuttgart), and later, the „Paul Constantinescu” (Ploieşti), „Internationale Hans Gabor Belvedere” (Vienna), „Julián Gayarre” (Pamplona) and „Debut” (Bad Mergentheim) Canto competitions.
Having a valuable skill in singing that proves a mature taste in music esthetics, the soloist Mihaela Ișpan is well-known, during the last twelve years, whenever she accepted the numerous invitations from some institutions in the music field, as: The Romanian Broadcasting Station and The „George Enescu” Philharmonic from Bucharest, The State Philharmonic from Arad, The „Banatul” Philharmonic and The Romanian National Opera House from Timişoara, The Room With An Organ from Chişinău (Moldova Rep.), The „Transilvania” Philharmonic and The Romanian National Opera House from Cluj-Napoca, The „Moldova” Philharmonic from Iasi and The „Muntenia” Philharmonic from Târgovişte.
Of course, a consistent scenic experience does honor her continuous efforts of self improving of the vocal technique, during the artistic tours from Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Spain and England.
The repertoire of the artist contains, besides the consecrated opera titles* (Rossini, Il Barbiere di Sevilla-Rosina, La Cenerentola-Angelina /first performance, Bellini, I Capuleti e I Montecchi-Romeo, Mozart, Don Giovanni-Zerlina, Le Nozze di Figaro-Cherubino/ /Marcelina, Verdi, Nabucco-Fenena, Bizet, Carmen-Carmen, Gounod, Faust-Siebel, Purcell, Dido and Aeneas-Dido /first performance, Humperdinck, Hänsel und Gretel-Hänsel /first performance, Stroe, Orestia II Choeforele-Electra /first performance, Kappl, Meşterul Manole- Miruna /first performance), also many reference vocal-symphonic musical productions** of Bononcini, Vivaldi, Händel, Bach, Pergolesi, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Mahler, Scriabin, Loussier.
The mezzo soprano Mihaela Işpan sings and charms not only by her inciting professional qualities from the performing of her pleasant vocal versatility, but mostly assuming in a very deep way the quality of the generous offering of artistic joy, that comes together with her own calling for excellence in the lyrical career.

Dušan Toroman received a graduate degree in piano performance in his native Serbia. An interest in historical keyboard instruments brought him to Italy, where he studied fortepiano with Stefano Fiuzzi at the Imola Piano Academy and harpsichord with Maria Luisa Baldassari at the Conservatory “Gioacchino Rossini” in Pesaro. For many years he enjoyed the guidance of musicologist and harpsichordist Emilia Fadini, while also attending masterclasses by musicians such as Enrico Baiano, Ottavio Dantone, Sergio Ciomei, Malcolm Bilson, Ketil Haugsand… Winner of the Broadwood Harpsichord Competition (London), Tournoi International de Musique (Paris) and Concorso Internazionale Wanda Landowska (Ruvo di Puglia), Dušan maintains a lively concert activity that has brought him to France, England, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Serbia, Bosnia and Slovenia.
Due to his long-standing interest in vocal music, he has worked extensively as a piano accompanist and currently holds a position at the singing department of the Faculty of Arts in Kragujevac. He also works for the Belgrade Baroque Academy led by contralto Marijana Mijanović and conductor Predrag Gosta.