“For a long time, I have not seen a slice of theatre-theatre without too much affectedness in the directorial visions, wanting to make a splash and often not succeeding but undermining the substance of the dramaturgic text. I have not seen for a long time a performance based on artlessness and innocence, without other ingredients, already a common place, to force the show and the vision of the spectators. For a long time have I not been attracted by the dramatic force of a slice of life, which acquires scenic contour with such poignancy, without being deformed by directorial artifices and hypes and performative ostentations".

Bedros Horasangian, Adevarul - „Anonymous Venetian“, from the National Theatre. A story with a HE and a SHE  

"In the show of Ion Caramitru, everything is so natural, that I have no choice but calling it cinematographic. In fact, the natural belongs to the personal footprint of this actor/director of a rare essence. Thing which he usually succeeds in also "lending" to his co-workers.

Ilinca Goia gave me the sensation that, at soul level, she is very close to "Her", that she does not build her character mathematically, coldly, but experiences it profoundly, heart-rendingly. (...) Goiagoes through an extremely difficult score with easiness and he does so, refusing any compromise for the sake of effects, which easily convey emotion.

Beyond doubt, He in the Ionescu version is much better than the Musante version".

Gabriela Hurezean, Muses and Arms – The NTB premiere, Ion Caramitru and the An(t)onymous Venetian  

"Anonymous Venetian" is what I call a "replica show". The flux and reflux of the text is charming, the scenery of the National Theatre must also be appreciated and – behold – I appreciate it. Ilinca Goia, defeating, I understand, former personal sufferings, is memorable in the role. Ioan Andrei Ionescu improves, as time flows by and his character loses from the hour glass.

(...) The understanding of human nature is, at Berto, accurate, complete – partly mathematical, partly painting.

Andrei Craciun, Ziarul Metropolis – Another Unforgettable Death in Venice  

„The city is, of course, Venice. The Man and the Woman are He and She. For ease, we shall come them Ioan (Andrei Ionescu) and Ilinca (Goia). The by gone years are 8, and the time given back together are the hours of a crepuscule. (...) Ioan grows every minute. The hardly born emotion is first floating in the air, in order to concentrate, towards the end, in his eyes. There, Venice, the story, Ilinca, the absent life, but also the career of an actor who was seemingly waiting such a role for a long time are gathered. Eyes living beyond the limits of danger. At last!”

Mihai Brezeanu, Liternet – A Classic of Failure – Anonymous Venetian  

„We thus find ourselves within the less rigid a framework of a work-in-progress, the actors permanently discovering truths about the performed characters, being equally challenged by a review of their own artistic personalities, a revitalizing, a refreshing, a return to the freshness of performance, artlessness and coherence in conveying the message. A show in the end, with many accomplished and touching moments and an absolutely interesting, even revelatory Ioan Andrei Ionescu”.

Razvana Nita, Port.ro – Love and Death in Venice  

„...Ioan Andrei Ionescu. Extraordinary in „Anonymous Venetian”, by Giuseppe Berto, the troubling show from the National Theatre of Bucharest, coordinated and adapted by Ion Caramitru...”

Mircea M. Ionescu, „Taifasuri” (No.478- June 12th, 2014) – Unforgettable Roles! 

"...a chamber show, a very tempting show.

A troubling lesson, about the fact that we must enjoy every moment we are living.

(...) He and Her are impersonated by Ioan Andrei Ionescu and Ilinca Goia. Excellent, both, with rich talent, led with a certain hand by the director of the show - Ion Caramitru".

Silvia Kerim, Formula As nr.1123 – Adaggio at "Anonymous Venetian"  

"Ion Caramitru illustrates theatrically each moment, following the study of the profound exploitation of the capacity for honest experience of the actors for each situation. He also pursues the credible consolidation of the relationship between the two, doubled also through the development of a plot suspense. Ilinca Goia and Ioan Andrei Ionescu are two prominent actors of the National Theatre of Bucharest and their “study” exercise is a natural achievement".

Ileana Lucaciu, Spectator – A Study on... a Melodrama  

"It so happens, that I had recently seen again A Duel (after Chekhov, directed by Alexandru Dabija) in the same Black Box Hall. I have rediscovered on that evening (in a supporting role, it is true) Ioan Andrei Ionescu, different from how I remembered him from the older shows of the National Theatre of Bucharest: stronger, more of a master of himself, ready for a dramatic score with the generosity of the Anonymous. And his path, as an actor, acquires something from the "destiny" of the instrument played by the character. Thanks to the technical evolution, but also the virtuosity reached by the soloists, the oboe has an increasing function in the orchestra, being granted difficult and highly expressive passages. Its sound is piercing, clear and colourful. Or, such a "sound" seems to have been reached by Ioan Andrei Ionescu.

... the experience becomes a beneficial one –both for the actors, who must permanently return to the "school state", and the spectators, who have the sensation that they witness a true story".

Maria Zarnescu, Theatre Nowadays magazine 7-8-9/2014 – An Exercise with View on the Audience 

“Anonymous Venetian is a page of theatrical refinement, which has evoked me the pretious finesse of an ancient brocade, such as it is „no longer woven nowadays“. 

Anonymous Venetian is a classical score for two soloists, who are progressively joined by further three subtle characters: Music, Time and Love.

Ilinca Goia and Ioan Andrei Ionescu perform with mastery and delicacy „the music of a life“, with lyrical highlights, which recalled to me the prose of Andrei Makine.

(...) Masks are falling, uncovering the faces of the two lovers facing death, as in a delicate family portrait. And with love. Everything enclosed in a (personal) time capsule, in an intermezzo of (affective) memory weaving, on the tunes of the Anonymous, a show like Venetian lace".

Andreea Nanu, 22 Magazine – Anonymous Venetian. Or about death, with love 

Translated by Simona Nichiteanu