On 15 September, the Italian Embassy in Sofia and the New Bulgarian University (NBU), in collaboration with the Plovdiv Opera as part of the Opera Open 2024 Festival, celebrated the 90th birthday of the Bulgarian-Italian soprano Raina Kabaivanska with a gala concert conducted by Maestro (and Minister of Culture) Nayden Todorov, set against the backdrop of the Roman Theatre of Plovdiv.
The event featured some of the most prominent representatives of the Kabaivanska School, as well as scholarship recipients from her Foundation at the NBU, who have already performed in opera houses worldwide: Aleksandrina Mihaylova, soprano (Bulgaria); Baia Saganelidze, mezzo-soprano (Georgia); Veronica Simeoni, mezzo-soprano (Italy); Milla Mihova, soprano (Bulgaria); Reinaldo Droz, tenor (Venezuela); Sofia Soloviy, soprano (Ukraine), and Toni Nezic, bass (Croatia). The evening’s programme was dedicated to the performance of the most famous arias that have marked Raina Kabaivanska’s extraordinary career in the world’s leading opera houses.
The series of events celebrating Kabaivanska’s 90th birthday was inaugurated with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra’s New Year’s concert (December 2023). This was followed by four performances of Aida at the Sofia Opera and Ballet Theatre (January 2024), two concerts at the Opéra Bastille in Paris (February 2024) and the Britten Theatre in London (May 2024), as well as the premiere of a documentary on the life and work of the artist.
Upcoming events include the XXIV International Masterclass of the Maestro and a Gala Concert of the winners at the Sofia Opera and Ballet Theatre (October 2024), as well as a performance of the opera Adriana Lecouvreur at the Sofia Opera and Ballet Theatre (January 2025).
