Biography
The younger sister, and only sibling, of Angela Gheorghiu, Elena Dan was born in 1967 in Adjud, Romania. She joined Angela at the music boarding school in Bucharest and also graduated from the Bucharest Music Academy. She made her international debut in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore at Opéra National de Lyon in 1996. The opera was filmed and recorded and is still available on DVD and CD.
Angela and Elena were, as Angela puts it 'inseparable, like twins'. In 1994, Angela Gheorgiu described Elena as follows: 'she is more beautiful than I and sings even better!'. Angela dedicated her 'Mysterium' recording to her sister.
Elena Dan died in 1996 in an accident. Angela Gheorghiu commented, 'she was more than a sister to me... She was only a year younger. We were inseparable almost like twins, although she was blonde and green-eyed. She was another me. But, of course, it's worse for my mother. She is really very badly hit.'
Elena Dan married a doctor, Andrei Dan whilst still attending the Bucharest Music Academy. In 1990 she and Andrei had a daughter called Ioana. After Andrei's death in 2001, Ioana was adopted by Angela Gheorghiu. She now lives in the UK and is a university student.
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