On the 22nd of January, 2025, the “Bulgaria, this is you!” citizens’ association unanimously awarded Kartaloff for the fifth time in a row with the prize of the same name for his exceptional contribution to upholding universal values and popularizing humanitarian deeds as well as for his contribution to the Bulgaria society and to Bulgaria as a whole. The honorary statuettes the prize bearers receive are made by our famous sculptor prof. Evgenii Kuzmanov. Engineer Dimitar Kutsarov is the association’s chairman.
Famous representatives of science, culture, sport, healthcare, journalism etc. received their awards at the “Ivan Vazov” National theater.
Acad. prof. Plamen Kartaloff, director of the Sofia Opera and Ballet, received an award for his enormous contribution to Bulgarian culture. The prize was awarded by Plamen Beikov, director of the Rousse Opera, who reminded that in the middle of the 80s Plamen Kartaloff set the beginning of a golden age for the Rousse Opera which continues to this day.
Excited, Plamen Kartaloff commented:
“It’s a great honor for me to be on this stage and I’m so excited to express my thanks for this honor, for this award and recognition because on this stage, one century ago, the Sofia Opera and the National theater worked together. It’s truly thrilling! This acknowledgment is a small nod to the enormous efforts of my colleagues at the Sofia Opera, to all those with whom we built Bulgaria’s contemporary culture together. The cultural diplomacy in which our theater dabbled with its performances around the world reveals our nation’s soul, the soul of Bulgaria: it upholds certain values and develops the skill of recreating the ideas and ideals of all those who think of the future of Bulgaria, a spiritually elevated Bulgaria. Thank you.”
Event partners were Rousse Opera lead singers, its orchestra and ballet with conductor Dimitar Kosev.
Among the other prize bearers were the Romania ambassador in Bulgaria N.Pr. miss Brandusa Ioana Predescu, journalist Tsvetanka Rizova, prof. Nikola Vladov, director of the liver-pancreatic surgery and transplant clinic at VMA, and Carlos Nasar: our olympic weightlifting champion.
