Biography
Early life and training
Born in Cluj, Pop initially trained as a violinist before turning to vocal studies after being encouraged by a teacher who recognised his vocal potential.
Singing career
Soon after graduating from his singing studies in 1995, Pop was engaged at the Staatsoper and Volksoper Vienna, appearing in roles including Ping, Valentin, Falke, Homonay and Malatesta between 1995 and 1999. During this period he appeared alongside Leo Nucci, Simon Keenlyside and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and worked with Jonathan Miller in his 1997 production of Fedora. That same year he appeared at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition representing Romania.
He subsequently appeared as a guest at the Opéra Bastille in Paris and the Staatsoper Stuttgart, performing roles including Marullo, Eisenstein, Beckmesser and Dr. Falke which received a favourable review in The New York Times, and the title role in Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria. In 2005 he joined the permanent soloist ensemble of Theater Basel.
Pop created and premiered the title role in David DiChiera’s opera Cyrano, based on Edmond Rostand’s play Cyrano de Bergerac, at Michigan Opera Theatre in October 2007. DiChiera wrote the role specifically for Pop, collaborating with him during the composition and rehearsal process. He later performed the role in Philadelphia and at Florida Grand Opera, where the production received critical attention.
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In 2013, Pop joined the permanent soloist ensemble of Staatstheater Kassel, where he was awarded the Kassel Volksbühne Prize in 2015 following a public vote.
Since then, Pop has gone on to sing almost all the major baritone Verdi roles, including Count di Luna in Il trovatore, Renato in Un ballo in maschera, Rigoletto, Germont in La traviata, Macbeth, Don Carlos in Ernani, Ezio in Attila, and the title role in Alzira. He has appeared as Rigoletto at Staatstheater Kassel, Maribor Slovene National Theatre and Stadttheater Bremerhaven, and sang Macbeth in Bremerhaven. He performed Alzira and Attila at the Opernfestspiele Heidenheim. He has also performed La forza del destino at Operklosterneuburg near Vienna and the Requiem at the Lucerne Culture and Congress Centre.
In 2017 Pop sang the title role of Cardillac at the Salzburger Landestheater. Pop has also appeared as a guest artist at Stadttheater Klagenfurt.
In 2026 it was announced that Pop would return to Opernfestspiele Heidenheim to sing Jago
Personal life
He lives with his wife and their son in Austria.
