At 23, in 2010, he won two of the most important international vocal competitions just seven days apart, on two different continents: Operalia, hosted by Teatro alla Scala in Milan under the careful guidance of Maestro Placido Domingo, where he was of the few competitors in the entire history of the contest who won two prizes in the same evening, the first prize and the auditorium prize; and the 6th International Music Competition in Seoul, where he won the first prize.
Born in Bistrita, Romania, and having a strong musical background after studying the violin for twelve years, Stefan Pop graduated the “Gheorghe Dima” Music Academy (the canto department) in Cluj Napoca.
After winning most of the national singing competitions, in 2008, at 21, he made his debut as Nemorino in “L’elisir d’Amore” at the National Opera in Timisoara and in “Il Matrimonio Segretto” at the Hungarian Opera in Cluj-Napoca. In March 2009 he was invited to perform at the world premiere of “Colinda balada op. 46″ by Gyorgy Kurtag together with Transylvania Philharmonic Orchestra from Timisoara. His spectacular international debut came when he was only 22, in December 2009, as Alfredo in “La Traviata” at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma in famous production staged by Franco Zeffirelli.
Stefan Pop was also celebrated as Duca (Rigoletto) in Taormina under the baton of Placido Domingo. The greatest successes of the past seasons include Jacopo (I due Foscari) in a new production in Parma, which was also recorded on CD and Blu-ray, his first opera-movie La Traviata for Classica HD At Teatro Massimo Bellini Catania.
The 2022/23 season begins for Stefan Pop with the Messa da Requiem by G. Verdi at Festival Verdi Parma; continue with a concert “Bellini &Donizetti” at Teatro Massimo Bellini Catania, then with two gala concerts in Osaka and Tokyo.
At the Staatsoper Berlin he will guest as Rodolfo and Pinkerton before making his debut as Don Carlo under Daniel Barenboim at the end of the season. In Teatro Comunale Bologna and Teatro Carlo Felice Genoa he is engaged as Pollione (Norma). Concerts with Verdi's Requiem in Rome under Michele Mariotti complement his calendar.
Highlights of recent seasons have included his role debut as Cavaradossi (Tosca) at Royal Opera House, where he returned as Foresto (Attila in Concert) and Rodolfo (La Bohème).
