Students of Raina Kabaivanska are gathering at the Sofia Opera for a spectacle of “Turandot”
The production will be presented in three spectacles in December in honour of the 25th Anniversary of the New Bulgarian University
Young opera performers with an international career from Raina Kabaivanska’s school will present “Turandot” by Giacomo Puccini at the Sofia Opera and Ballet on 9, 11 and 13 December under the baton of Nikola Pashkovski, the assistant of Riccardo Muti.
The project is a co-production of the Sofia Opera and Ballet, the New Bulgarian University and the “Raina Kabaivanska” Found and presents in the main roles students of Raina Kabaivanska. The young artists, participants in the production from Bulgaria, Italy, South Korea, Spain, China and Serbia, are developing themselves in the master classes of the great opera actress at the New Bulgarian University, the Chigiana Academy in Siena and the Vecchi-Tonelli Music Institute in Modena, Italy.
The production of “Turandot”, which was already shown in Japan, Greece, Germany, Switzerland, is with the participation of the chorus and the orchestra of the Sofia Opera and under the direction of Acad. Plamen Kartaloff. In 2018, it will be presented for the third time in Japan.
“Turandot” is the third project in continuation of Raina Kabaivanska’s efforts to work for the discovering and development of young talents, as well as for their presentation on the world opera stage. In 2010, the Sofia Opera, the New Bulgarian University and the “Raina Kabaivanska” Found presented the opera “La bohème” with students of Raina Kabaivanska from Bulgaria and Italy. The production was performed in six spectacles in Sofia in 2010 and 2011, and in January 2012, and in two spectacles at the Luciano Pavarotti Teatro Comunale in Modena, Italy. In December 2012 was realized also a second opera spectacle – “Werther” by Jules Massenet, production of the Sofia Opera and the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, Belgium, in partnership with the New Bulgarian University.
The producers’ ambition also this year is, after its premiere in front of Bulgarian audience, the spectacle of “Turandot” to be presented on an international stage too.
Already 16 years Raina Kabaivanska is working with young opera artists from all over the world, who arrive in Bulgaria for participation in her master classes, organized by the NBU. This year were marked a record number of candidates from 4 continents and 18 countries. The gala concert, with which ends every master class, is one of the most expected by the audience opera events in the beginning of the music season.
The mission of the “Raina Kabaivanska” Fund and of the New Bulgarian University is to give possibility to young opera singers with expressed talent to continue their education in Bulgaria and in Italy and to present themselves on the international opera stage. Till the moment the fund has awarded over 70 scholarships for education with Raina Kabaivanska – for the master class at the New Bulgarian University, for the master class at the Chigiana Academy in Siena, Italy and special one-year scholarships for the Vecchi-Tonelli Music Institute in Modena, Italy. In the years sponsors of the fund are personalities and organizations, among which the America for Bulgaria Foundation, Fantastico, Sofia Municipality. The events are under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria.
TURANDOT
Music: Giacomo Puccini
Libretto: Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni
Characters and performers:
Princess Turandot: Ana Petricevic (Serbia), Marily Santoro (Italy)
The Emperor Altoum, her father: Dimitar Arnaudov (Bulgaria)
Timur, the deposed King of Tartary: Kostadin Mechkov (Bulgaria), Strahinja Djokic (Serbia)
The Unknown Prince (Calaf), son of Timur: Yonghyun Ryu (Korea), Taesung Lee (Korea)
Liù, a slave girl: Beibei Li (China)
Ping, Lord Chancellor: Stefano Kim (Korea)
Pang, Majordomo: Taesung Lee (Korea)
Pong, Head chef of the Imperial Kitchen: Manuel Rodriguez (Spain)
A Mandarin: Stefano Kim (Korea)
Ana Petricevic, soprano (Serbia) – Princess Turandot
She graduated Opera singing from the Music Faculty in Belgrade. She participated in the master classes of Raina Kabaivanska at the New Bulgarian University in 2012-2014 and she is a scholarship student of the Raina Kabaivanska Fund. She continued her education in Kabaivanska’s master class at the Vecchi-Tonelli Music Institute in Modena. She is a laureate of the competitions “Giuseppina Cobelli”, As.Li.Co and “Ferruccio Tagliavini”, “Magda Olivero” and others. In October 2016, Petricevic made her debut in the role of Turandot on the stage of Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania. In her repertoire are also the roles: The Countess from “Le nozze di Figaro” by Mozart, Micaëla from “Carmen” by Bizet, Tatyana from “Eugene Onegin” by Tchaikovsky and others.
Marily Santoro, soprano (Italy) – Princess Turandot
She graduated with distinction from the Francesco Cilea Conservatory in Reggio di Calabria. She took part in the Verdian Voices Competition in Busseto and was among the finalists of the European Union Competition for Young Opera Singers in Spoleto and the Toti Dal Monte International Competition in Treviso. Marily Santoro participated in the master class of Raina Kabaivanska in September 2016 and was awarded a scholarship from the „Raina Kabaivanska” Fund at the NBU and from the America for Bulgaria Foundation for one-year education at the Vecchi-Tonelli Academy, Modena. In 2016, she made her debut in the role of Turandot – a production of the Italian As.Li.Co Association in the frames of the Opera Domani project. The spectacle has forty-four performances in a series of opera theatres in Italy, among which Milano, Brescia, Cremona, Reggio Emilia, Bergamo, Parma, Ravenna, Rome, Naples. In her repertoire are roles like Turandot from “Turandot” by Puccini, Dona Elvira from “Don Giovanni” by Mozart, Violetta in “La traviata” by Verdi and others.
Yonghyun Ryu, tenor (Korea) – The Unknown Prince (Calaf)
He graduated from the Master degree at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milano. He was awarded the First Prize at the Ismaele Voltolini International Competition, Special Prize from the Music Opera Festival Competition in Sarzana and Second Prize at the Cristina Trivulzio di Belgiojoso Competition. In 2015 and 2016, Ryu took part in the master classes of Raina Kabaivanska in Siena, and after that at the New Bulgarian University and became a scholarship student of the Raina Kabaivanska Fund at the NBU and of the America for Bulgaria Foundation for education at the Vecchi-Tonelli Institute, Modena with Raina Kabaivanska. His repertoire includes roles like Calaf from “Turandot”, Pinkerton from “Madama Butterfly” by Puccini, Don Jose from “Carmen” by Bizet, Turiddu from “Cavalleria rusticana” by Mascagni, Alfredo from “La traviata” by Verdi and others.
Taesung Lee, tenor (Korea) – The Unknown Prince (Calaf) and Pang, Majordomo
He graduated from the Hanyang University in Seoul. He won the international competitions “Ismaele Voltolini”, “Giulietta Simionato”, “Gaetano Fraschini”, “Voci in Canto”. He took part in the master class of Raina Kabaivanska at the New Bulgarian University in 2015 and was awarded a scholarship from the Raina Kabaivanska Fund for education by the great Bulgarian opera actress at the Vecchi-Tonelli Institute in Modena. His repertoire includes roles like Calaf from “Turandot” by Puccini, the Duke of Mantua from “Rigoletto”, Alfred Germont from “La traviata” by Verdi and others.
Beibei Li, soprano (China) – Liù, a slave girl
She graduated from the State Academy of Music in Tyanjin and after that the L. Cherubini Conservatory in Florence. She was awarded the Third Prize at the Singing Italian Opera Competition and was among the finalists in the audition of the Puccini Academy of Torre del Lago and of the Competition of the Maggio Fiorentino. In 2015, she was selected for student of Raina Kabaivanska at the Chigiana Academy in Siena, and after that she continued her education at the Vecchi-Tonelli Institute in Modena. In 2016, she took part in the master class of the celebrated Bulgarian soprano at the New Bulgarian University and was awarded a scholarship from the Raina Kabaivanska Fund and Fantastico at the NBU. In her repertoire are roles like Liù from “Turandot” by Puccini, Lucia from “Lucia di Lammermoor” by Donizetti, The Countess from “Le nozze di Figaro” by Mozart, Violetta in “La traviata” by Verdi, Micaëla from “Carmen” by Bizet, Nedda from “Pagliacci” by Leoncavallo, Mimi from “La bohème”, Lauretta form “Gianni Schicchi” by Puccini, “Carmina Burana” by Carl Orff.
Dimitar Arnaudov, countertenor (Bulgaria) – The Emperor Altoum
He graduated from the National Prof. Pancho Vladigerov Academy of Music in Sofia. He took part in the master classes of Raina Kabaivanska at the New Bulgarian University in 2014 and 2015 and was awarded a scholarship from the Raina Kabaivanska Fund at the NBU and from the America for Bulgaria Foundation for education at the Vecchi-Tonelli Institute in Modena. He was awarded the Special Prize for young performer at the Elena Nicolai International Competition for Young Opera Singers and the First Prize at the Crown of Tarnovgrad European Youth Competition for Young Opera Singers, Veliko Tarnovo. His repertoire includes roles like: Altoum from “Turandot” by Puccini, Oreste from “La belle Hélène” by Jacques Offenbach, Venere from “Venere e Amore” by Scarlatti. He participated also in “Carmina Burana” by Carl Orff.
Kostadin Mechkov, bass (Bulgaria) – Timur, the deposed King of Tartary
He graduated from the National Prof. Pancho Vladigerov Academy of Music in Sofia. He took part in the master classes of Raina Kabaivanska at the New Bulgarian University in the period 2010–2015. Scholarship student of the Raina Kabaivanska Fund at the New Bulgarian University. He studied in the master classes of Raina Kabaivanska at the Chigiana Academy in Siena and at the Vecchi-Tonelli Music Institute in Modena, Italy. Laureate of the XXII Sv. Obretenov National Competition for Young Opera Singers and Instrumentalists – First Prize for 2010, and in 2013 he was awarded the Third Prize at the Elena Nicolai International Competition. His repertoire includes the roles of Leporello from “Don Giovanni” by Mozart, Alidoro from “La cenerentola” by Rossini, Figaro from “Le nozze di Figaro” by Mozart, Colline from “La bohème” by Puccini, Doctor Bartolo from “Il barbiere di Siviglia” by Rossini.
Strahinja Djokic, bass (Serbia) – Timur, the deposed King of Tartary
He graduated from the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad. Laureate of the National Competition for Young Opera Singers, Belgrade, as well as of the competitions “Slavic Meetings” in Russia, “Lazar Jovanovic”. Several times he was awarded a scholarship from the Melanie Bugarinovic and Mirjana Kalinovic Fund. He was selected for the master class of Raina Kabaivanska at the New Bulgarian University in 2016 and was awarded a scholarship for one-year education at the Vecchi-Tonelli Institute, Modena from the “Raina Kabaivanska” Fund and “Fantastico”. In his repertoire are included roles like Timur from “Turandot” by Puccini, Lodovico from “Otello”, Dottore Grenvil from “La traviata”, Tom from “Un ballo in maschera” by Verdi, Alidoro from “La cenerentola”, A Jailer from “Tosca”, Betto di Signa from “Gianni Schicchi”, Talpa from “Il tabarro” by Puccini, Prince Gremin from “Eugene Onegin” by Tchaikovsky, Armoured Man from “Die Zauberflöte”, Colas from “Bastien und Bastienne” by Mozart.
Stefano Kim, baritone (South Korea) – Ping, Lord Chancellor and A Mandarin
He graduated his music education in Seoul and after that also from the Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Conservatory in Fermo. He was awarded prizes at the Primo Palcoscenico National Competition and the Pia Tebaldini International Competition. In 2011, Stefano Kim started working with Raina Kabaivanska in her master class at the Vecchi-Tonelli Music Institute in Modena, and the next year he graduated from the Chigiana Academy in Siena again under her direction. His repertoire includes roles like Silvio from “Pagliacci” by Leoncavallo, Don Alfonso from “Cosi fan tutte” by Mozart, Figaro from “Il barbiere di Siviglia” by Rossini, Nabucco from “Nabucco”, Ford from “Falstaff”, Count di Luna from “Il trovatore”, Rigoletto from “Rigoletto”, Georges Germont from “La traviata” by Verdi, Leporello from “Don Giovanni” by Mozart, Doctor Bartolo from “Il barbiere di Siviglia” by Rossini and Dulcamara from “L’elisir d’amore” by Donizetti.
Manuel Rodriguez, tenor (Spain) – Pong, Head chef of the Imperial Kitchen
He is a graduate in Piano from the José Pérez Barceló Conservatory in Benidorm, and after that also in Opera singing from the Saragossa Conservatory. He took part in the master classes of Raina Kabaivanska. His repertoire includes the roles of Fernando from “Cosi fan tutte” by Mozart, Arminio from “I Masnadieri” by Verdi, Ricardo from the opera “The girl with the Bunch of Roses” by Sorozábal, Don Luis from “El barberillo de Lavapiés” by Barbieri, Gustavo from “The Hawks” by Guerrero and A Sergeant in “Song about the Life and Death of General Malbru” by Jacinto Valledor. He took part in the world premiere of the opera “Juan José” by Sorozábal and in a performance of “Moses und Aron” by Schoenberg.