Romanian National Opera of Cluj-Napoca – a Century of Existence beyond the Limits of the Times

Abstract

Abstract On September 18, 2019, the Romanian National Opera of Cluj- Napoca celebrated its 100th anniversary and on May 25, 2020, it also celebrated a century from its inaugural performance. The birth of a cultural institution represents in itself the first overcoming of a limit: the limit of perpetuity. The concept of limit arose with the awareness of the finite essence of human nature in relation to its need for evolution and, concurrently, with the craving for freedom, exemplary being a desirable consequence of challenging the limit. In this context, humans discovered and endowed art concurrently with the purpose and gift of sublimating them, of guide them in their effort to explore, understand, affirm and overcome their condition. From the multitude of artistic expressions, opera appears to be, perhaps, the most complex genre. From this perspective, the Romanian National Opera of Cluj-Napoca not only has the virtue of being the first institution of this kind in the country, but also of fully observing its artistic status, of triumphantly overcoming all the challenges it, at a historical scale, through the mists of time. Now that the institution has celebrated its centennial, this is no longer a mere trial, but a confirmation. Through its accomplishments, the Cluj Opera has all arguments to be confident in its ability to persevere in going beyond the most recurrent of limits: the future.