Romanian-Irish soprano Ioana Constantin Pipelea praised for her superb singing (Opera Journal), timbre with a beautiful presence and easy high notes (Forum Opera), best singing and charisma (The Irish Times), vocal delight (Edinburgh Music Review), pleasing soprano voice and confident performance, with her attractive upper register (Opera Wire), impeccable technique (Radio Romania Cultural), and highly accomplished performance and coquettish (Seen and Heard International) has performed on international stages like Ireland, Romania, Switzerland, UK, France and Spain.
Award-winning soprano Ioana Constantin-Pipelea is the winner of the €5000 Wexford Festival Opera Gerard Arnhold Award (2017), finalist in Verum Solitus Singing Competition (2023) and winner of the Romanian National Opera Cluj prize: main operatic role engagement at the Romanian National Opera Cluj, 2nd Prize Winner at CORSICA LÍRICA International Singing Competition 2022 (ex-aequo) in Corsica, France, 2nd Prize Winner in the Dramatic Competition at Feis Ceoil RDS Ireland, winner of the Gaiety Theatre Dublin Bursary offered by the Royal Irish Academy of Music for an outstanding student. Ioana has collaborated with the Northern Ireland Opera as Associate Artist in 2021-20222 and was a Young Artist in 2013-2014 YAP. The soprano has performed regularly as operatic soloist at the National Opera House in Wexford as part of Wexford Festival Opera: the main role of Colombina in Mascagni’s opera Le Maschere, Michelina in opera Il Bravo* by Mercadante - *winner of the Best Opera Award at The Irish Times Theatre Awards, the role of Fenitchka in opera Risurezzione by Alfano. Other operatic roles performed by soprano Ioana Constantin Pipelea are: Pamina in Die Zauberflöte by Mozart Lismore Opera Festival/ Blackwater Valley Opera Festival, Vixen in The Cunning Little Vixen by Janáček, Cupid in Handel’s Semele, Emmie in Britten’s Albert Herring, Clorinda in Monteverdi’s Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda -operas produced by Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM). The soprano has had the privilege to perform as soloist in operatic and concert performances under the batons of acclaimed conductors like: Francesco Cilluffo, Neil Thomson, John Finucane, Jonathan Brandani, Ben Gernon, Marco Zambelli, David Adams, Andrew Synnott, Timothy Myers, John Butt etc. and has worked with stage directors as: Rosetta Cucchi, Rodula Gaitanou, Stefano Ricci, Dieter Kaegi, Lynne Parker, Thomas de Mallet Burgess, Renaud Doucet etc.
In vocal-symphonic and oratorio Ioana has performed the soprano solo in the Symphony No.4 by Mahler with the Hibernian Orchestra at the National Concert Hall Dublin, the soprano solo in oratorio Messiah by G.F. Handel with the Irish Baroque Orchestra at Christchurch Cathedral Dublin, BBC Radio Ulster live broadcast soloist with the Ulster Orchestra at Ulster Hall Belfast etc. In July 2018 Ioana has made her solo debut with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland (former RTÉ NSO) at the National Concert Hall Dublin in a live broadcast concert presented by Liz Nolan on RTÉ Lyric FM.
Ioana graduated with First Class Honours at the Royal Irish Academy of Music & Trinity College Dublin and DCU of Master of Arts in Vocal Performance, Bachelor of Arts in Music (Vocal) Performance and Diploma in Music Teaching and Performance. At present, Ioana is taking singing lessons with the Italian tenor Antonio Lemmo.
During the Young Artist Programme at the Northern Ireland Opera, soprano Ioana Constantin Pipelea has had the opportunity to participate actively in opera coachings at the Royal Opera House London (Covent Garden) with David Gowland, at the English National Opera with Martin Fitzpatrick and at the National Opera Studio with Katherine Harries.
Ioana has been selected for the final rounds of the International Singing Competition Bordeaux Médoc Lyrique 2018 at the Opéra National de Bordeaux, France and the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition, Dublin in 2019.