Florin Cezar Ouatu

Cezar The Voice
Cezar at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013, in Malmö
Background information
Birth name	Florin Cezar Ouatu
Born	(1980-02-18) 18 February 1980 (age 37) Ploieşti, Romania
Origin	Romanian
Genres	Opera, operatic pop, jazz, disco opera
Occupation(s)	Singer, pianist
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	2004–present
Labels	HaHaHa Production
Associated acts	Andrea Bocelli, Angela Gheorghiu, Vangelis

Florin Cezar Ouatu (Romanian pronunciation: [floˈrin ˈt͡ʃezar oˈwatu]; born 18 February 1980) is a Romanian opera countertenor, singer and pianist, sometimes known by the stage nicknames "Cezar The Voice [Vocea]" or simply "Cezar".

Son of the late flautist and former teacher at Mozarteum University of Salzburg, Florin Ouatu, he was born into a family of musicians in Ploieşti. Cezar began playing piano at six years of age. He graduated from the "Carmen Sylva" School of Arts in his hometown and the Milan Conservatory. In Italy, Cezar graduated the bel canto classical singing section with maximum mark. He has also studied Baroque music. In 2001, Ouatu was accepted to the Giuseppe Verdi Music Academy in Milan, and graduated in 2004. In the 2003 International Singing Contest Francisco Viñas and in the 2005 International Voice Competition organized by the Renata Tebaldi Foundation in San Marino he won the "Best Countertenor" prize. Cezar made his professional opera stage debut in 2007 at La Fenice, Venice. He has since appeared in further opera performances in Baroque opera roles.

Ouatu released his first pop-opera single "Cinema Paradiso" on Christmas Eve 2012. In May 2013, Cezar represented Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "It's My Life", and finished in 13th place with 65 points at the end of the contest. A week later, on 25 May 2013, he performed alongside Andrea Bocelli and Angela Gheorghiu at Bocelli's concert in Romania at the Romexpo, which led to a collaboration with Vangelis.