Hailed by the Oregonian for “a rich, agile voice and high notes that could nearly part your hair,” baritone Marian Pop’s performances in the 2008-09 season include Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia and the Count in Le nozze di Figaro at the Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Dandini in La Cenerentola with Florida Grand Opera, the Black Cat and the Grandfather Clock in L’enfant et les sortileges in a return to Opera Company of Philadelphia. He created the role of Cyrano in the work’s world premiere at Michigan Opera Theatre and sang subsequent performances of the role at Opera Company of Philadelphia in the 2007-08. Also last season, he returned to Theater Basel for Valenin in Faust and sang CarminaBurana with the St. Petersburg Philharmonia. In recent seasons, he has joined Theater Basel for his first performances of Posa in Don Carlo as well as Lescaut in Manon, Taddeo L’italiana in Algeri, and Prokofiev’s Pantalone in The Love for Three Oranges. A frequent guest at the Staatsoper Stuttgart, his numerous roles with the company have included his signature performances of Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Beckmesser in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Ulisse in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria. With the Vienna Staatsoper and Volksoper, he has sung a variety of roles including Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Dandini in La Cenerentola, Valentin in Faust, Ping in Turandot, Graf Homonay in Zigeunerbaron, and Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus.
            Among the baritone’s other international engagements are by Carmina Burana with the Teatro Municipal in Chile for his South American debut where he later sang Brahms’ Requiem and Marcello in La Bohème. He has sung Malatesta in Don Pasquale with New Israeli Opera; Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, the Count in Le nozze di Figaro and Dandini in La Cenerentola in Klagenfurt; more performances of Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus with Enschede Opera in Holland; Falke in Die Fledermaus in St. Gallen; Belcore in L’elisir d’amore in Klosterneuburg; Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia at Munich’s Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz; and Marullo in Rigoletto at the Opera Bastille. Mr. Pop made his North American debut as Malatesta in Don Pasquale with the Portland Opera and has since joined the company for Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia. He has also sung Ping in Turandot with Cincinnati Opera and Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Marcello in La Bohème with Michigan Opera Theater.
            In his native city of Cluj, Romania Mr. Pop has appeared as the title role in Don Giovanni, Marcello in La Bohème, Der König in Die Kluge, Procolo in Donizetti’s Viva la Mamma, in Tom Johnson’s Four Notes Opera, and Dandini in La Cenerentola. His oratorio credits in the city include Carmina Burana and the Fauré Requiem. Additional Romanian credits include Count di Luna in Il Trovatore in Constanta.
His concert performances have also included Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 in Bucharest and an aria evening in Bayreuth, Germany. Mr. Pop also participated in a tour of La Cenerentola and Viva la Mamma to Austria, Germany; the Netherlands; and Great Britain with the Musical Theatre of Brasov.