Jonel Perlea

Who was Jonel Perlea?

Jonel Perlea was a Romanian conductor particularly associated with the Italian and German opera repertories.

Born Ionel Perlea in Ograda, Romania, he studied in Munich, then in Leipzig. He made his debut at a concert in Bucharest in 1919, then worked as répétiteur in Leipzig and Rostock. His operatic debut as conductor occurred in Cluj-Napoca in 1927, when he directed Aida. The following year he made his first appearance at the Bucharest Opera, and was music director of that theatre from 1934 until 1944. He conducted several Romanian premieres of notable foreign masterpieces, such as Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Der Rosenkavalier. Now and then he made guest appearances in Vienna, Stuttgart, Breslau, Berlin, and Paris.

After the Second World War, he conducted mostly in Italy, notably at La Scala in Milan. In Italy, too, he conducted several local premieres such as Capriccio in Genoa, Mazeppa and The Maid of Orleans in Florence. He championed the new opera I due timidi by Nino Rota. For the 1949-50 season he was guest conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, giving performances of works such as Tristan und Isolde, Rigoletto, La traviata, and Carmen.