Don’t miss: Wagner-Verdi Gala

The rival legacies of classical pioneers Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner both celebrate bicentenaries in 2013, and the Bucharest National Opera, along with several other musical institutions, is paying tribute with recordings and performances around the world.

Both born in 1813, the German Richard Wagner and the Italian Giuseppe Verdi each took operatic theatre in entirely fresh directions. They continue to inspire opera-lovers, and are known by millions of people, including many with scant interest in classical music.

The ceremonial evenings held by the Bucharest National Orchestra and Choir present to classical music lovers internationally renowned guests such as Valentina Nafornita, Alexandru Badea, Dan Paul Dumitrescu and Marius Vlad Budoiu. Both performances will be under the wand of Cristian Mandeal, a Romanian who studied with Herbert von Karajan in Berlin and with Sergiu Celibidache in Munich.

Cristian Mandeal (in picture) has been a frequent guest of orchestras including the Staatskapelle Dresden and Berlin, Münchener Philharmoniker, Hessisches Rundfunk Orchester, Bayerisches Rundfunk Orchester, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony, RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Japan Philharmonic, Orchestre Nationale de Belgique, Santa Cecilia di Roma, Vienna State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Orchestra National de Cataluna, and the Gulbenkian Orchestra.

Bucharest National Opera