Nicolae Bretan (born Năsăud, 25 March 1887 – died Cluj, 1 December 1968) was a Romanian opera composer, baritone, conductor and music critic.
He studied in Cluj, Vienna and Budapest before becoming one of the pioneers of Romanian opera - his opera Luceafărul (1921) is cited as the first opera in Romanian. Bretan also composed many lieder.
In 1944 Bretan wife's family, who were Jewish, were transported to the Nazi extermination camp at Auschwitz and murdered.
Refusing to become a member of the Romanian Communist Party in 1948, he was not favoured by the Romanian communist regime, who treated the composer as a "non person".
Read more about Nicolae Bretan: Major Operatic Works, Recordings