On 31 May numerous guests in the Main hall of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences witnessed the presentation of the book “My Wagner” by Acad. Plamen Kartaloff – an event of the spirit and values in art.

The publisher Ivan Granitski was chairman of the meeting, and the President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Acad. Yulian Revalski greeted the guests and expressed the satisfaction of the Academy that it has in its rows such a figure like Acad. Kartaloff.

The exceptional book was presented in detail by the special guest of the event – the well-known Austrian music critic and reviewer Klaus Billand. He told about his first meeting with Plamen Kartaloff and his plans to stage “Der Ring des Nibelungen”, marked the enormous contribution of Richard Trimborm /an exceptional music pedagogue and connoisseur of Wagner/ in the work with the singers, explained the high artistic level of the directing and the interpretation, which Plamen Kartaloff made of Wagner’s operas with the help of modern stage and technical solutions and pointed out the strict adherence to the composer’s main message. Klaus Billand marked also the fact that with his spectacles Plamen Kartaloff has fulfilled another mission too – he has created a Wagner audience in Bulgaria. The guests enjoyed a short retrospection of the successes of the Wagner productions of the Sofia Opera in Bulgaria, Germany, Slovenia, Belarus and at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, as well as of the finale of the opera “Parsifal”.

Deeply moved, Acad. Plamen Kartaloff shared that 10 years of the its 130-years history, the Sofia Opera dedicated to Richard Wagner. The Maestro didn’t miss to mark the participation of the 50 Bulgarian soloists, with who were realized all productions. “Everything happened thanks to you, colleagues!”, said Plamen Kartaloff.

Namely these monumental productions become basis of the profound research and journey into the labyrinth of the genius Richard Wagner. In more than 1000 pages, Acad. Kartaloff pays the deserved to his entire team of soloists, set and costume designers, and orchestra, chorus and conductors, technical ateliers. A special part of the book is dedicated to the hundreds of reports and reviews from the last 10 years in the most prestigious specialized music editions all over the world, dedicated to the Wagner productions of the Sofia Opera.

Special awards – Honorary plaquettes – for the exceptional merits of the Sofia Opera and Ballet and personally of Acad. Plamen Kartaloff to the International Festival “Sofia Music Weeks” were handed out by Momchil Georgiev – Artistic Director of the Sofia Music Weeks Foundation.

Guests at the presentation were Iliana Yotova, Vice-President of Bulgaria, Acad. Yulian Revalski – President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Minister of Culture in the period 1982-1989 Georgi Yordanov, academicians and foreign associates of BAS, opera artists, journalists and admirers of operatic art.

The event was broadcasted online on the official Facebook page, the Youtube channel and on the site of the Sofia Opera.

Good luck to “My Wagner”, edition of Publishing house “Zahari Stoyanov”!