Dan Deșliu de pe aer", 1974). Starting in 1962 and particularly from 1970, he began to criticize the policies of the Romanian Communist Party, and as a result was placed under thorough surveillance by the Securitate secret police. In the 1980s, he turned toward open dissidence, repudiating his "revolutionary" past, quitting the party in 1980 and directly criticizing dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, whom he accused of behaving as if he were "the owner of Romania". In March 1989, he sent an open letter to Radio Free Europe decrying the domestic situation in his country, prompting his placement under house arrest. An excellent swimmer,
Nicolae Bretan Nicolae Bretan Nicolae Bretan (25 March 1887 – 1 December 1968) was a Romanian opera composer, baritone, conductor, and music critic. Bretan was born in Năsăud. 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 over 200 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