For travelers with plans to visit Bulgaria, the Varna Summer International Music Festival kicks off today. This is the 85th anniversary of this, Bulgaria’s and one of Europe’s biggest music events. The internationally acclaimed event is a world performing arts and classical music extravaganza no visitor to the area should miss.
Germany's Sophia Jaffe to perform July 5th - Image courtesy Varna SummerFest
A wide array of genres will be represented at this year’s festival including; opera, symphony concerts, chamber and choral music, cross-over projects, thematic series, as well as the International Summer Academy. Regional and world renown performers and performances from soloists, conductors, symphony and chamber orchestras, choirs, opera ensembles, and ballet companies will be presented. Organized and presented by the city of Varna and the Ministry of Culture, the festival runs from today until 28 July. The event is sponsored by great Bulgarian and International businesses like Hotel Capital Varna, Golden Tulip Business Hotel in Varna, Instituto Camoes Protugal, and many, many more.
Moscow Soloists Chamber Ensemble 2010 - Courtesy Varna SummerFest
Among the most noted attendees are; The Academic Maly Drama Theatre – Leningrad, the National Academic Theater for Opera and Ballet – Odessa, Ballet of the Hungarian Opera, Ballet Company of Komische Oper-Berlin, Bolshoi Theatre – Moscow, Piccola Scala-Milano, Gyorgy Ballet, Royal Ballet of Flanders, Royal Swedish Ballet, and the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, among the dozens more.
Gancho Ganchev conducts the Varna Chamber Orchestra in 2010 - Courtesy Varna SummerFest
Today’s program will include the Symphony Orchestra of the Varna State Opera, conducted by Rosen Milanov, with soloist Lyudmil Angelov on piano. Tomorrow enthusiasts can enjoy the Varna Music Gallery with Lora Marinova performing on cello and Dimitar Nakov on piano.
For more information on the upcoming performances for the festival, please consult the official website schedule here. The reader may also want to visit Bulgaria’s superb tourism pages here to find out more very cool things to see and do. And, for a schedule of festivals and events throughout Bulgaria, this is the best list we have found. We leave you with a YouTube video from one of the festivals upcoming performers, world renown harpist Angela Madjarova. Angela is scheduled to perform on Monday.
