Madalina Manole

Singer. Called "the girl with the hair of fire," she was internationally acclaimed as one of Romania's leading folk and pop performers. Born Magdalena-Anca Manole into a musical family, she began guitar and voice lessons as a child. In 1980 she sang "For Us There Cannot Be Another Heaven" in Dorin Doroftei's film "Nelu", then from 1982 until 1985 attended the Scoala Populara de Arta. Following her high school graduation, she trained as an air traffic controller and worked in that field for a time; in 1988 Madalina had her first significant hit with Costin Diaconescu's "A Sentimental Man" and that same year met her future husband, the somewhat older composer Serban Georgescu. In 1990 she had a major success with Georgescu's "Lovely Girl" and the next year released her first album, which carried the same title. Her 1997 folk disc "Smooth, Smooth, Madalina" was well-received and from then on she traveled extensively, mainly singing for Romanian groups and always called upon for her sign