ph. Krum Stoe
On Tuesday evening 1500 persons made an improvised surprise for Raina Kabaivanska on the occasion of her forthcoming birthday – December 15. It happened after the third and the last for the year performance of the opera "Turandot" implemented by the students from the School of Kabaivanska and New Bulgarian University.
The audience, her students together with the orchestra and the chorus of Sofia Opera and Ballet sang "Mnogaja leta" and applauded the great opera Prima who appeared on the stage immediately after the performance to congratulate young opera artists and the entire group of Sofia Opera.
"Turandot" by Giacomo Puccini was performed three times - on 9-th, 11-th and 13-th of December, and thoroughly excited Bulgarian audience. Young participants from the School of Raina Kabaivanska arrived especially for this performance from Italy, South Korea, Spain, China and Serbia. All of them are students of the great opera actress from her master classes at New Bulgarian University, Academia Chigiana in Siena and Music Institute "O. Vecchi - A. Tonelli" in Modena, Italy. They are scholarship holders of Raina Kabaivanska Fund and already develop their international careers.
The performance took place only three months after the XVI Master Class of Raina Kabaivanska at New Bulgarian University. While implementing it, she chose main soloists for the opera "Turandot". This year Master Class was record-breaking in number of registered applicants coming from 19 countries.
"Turandot" is the third project and continuation of the efforts of Raina Kabaivanska not only to discover young talents and to work with them, but also to present them on the world opera stage.
In 2010 Sofia Opera and Ballet House, New Bulgarian University and Raina Kabaivanska Fund performed the opera "La Bohème" featuring Raina Kabaivanska’s students from Bulgaria and Italy in the leading roles six times on the stage of Sofia Opera and ballet - in 2010 and 2011and twice in January 2012 at Teatro Comunale Luciano Pavarotti in Modena, Italy. In December 2012 was staged the second opera performance - "Werther" by Jules Massenet – a production was collaboration between Sofia Opera and Ballet House, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, Belgium and New Bulgarian University.
This year the ambition of the producers of “Turandot” from New Bulgarian University is again after the premiere in Sofia the performance to be presented on international opera stage.