26 august 2020 Тhe Burgas Musical Festival Were Closed With "Pretty Elena" The "Emil Chakarov" award was presented to Prof. Ivaylo Krinchev

The Burgas musical festival "Emil Chakarov", realized by the State Opera - Burgas, with the successful and fruitful partnership of the Municipality of Burgas, was officially closed with the comic opera by Jacques Offenbach "The Beautiful Elena", directed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alexander Tekeliev. The award in the name of the world-famous conductor was presented to maestro Ivaylo Krinchev by Diana Savateva, Deputy Mayor of Burgas Municipality for "Culture, Tourism and Sports", who was permanently with the management of the Burgas cultural institution in the implementation of the large-scale music and stage project. which for the 13th consecutive year attracted a large quality audience on the stage of the most functional open stage in Bulgaria - Summer Theater - Burgas. The award ceremony was also attended by the Director of the State Opera - Burgas Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alexander Tekeliev, who thanked the laureate for many years of successful creative cooperation.
A magnificent combination of natural beauty, sophistication, charisma and gushing talent presented in the image of the Beautiful Helen, queen of Sparta and wife of Menelaus, mezzo-soprano Ioana Kadiyska. She managed to perform the difficult vocal task with ease and to give her image the necessary dose of royal nuance - such as presence, gestures and posture. The young tenor Yani Nikolov successfully debuted as Paris, the son of the king of Troy Priam, who fit into the emotional framework of one of the emblematic love couples in world history, lining the image with very stable vocal technique and soft, caressing, rich timbre voice. Comic and provoking sincere laughter in the audience was the baritone Yordan Hristozov, like Menelaus, king of Sparta, who brilliantly coped with the difficult artistic task of building a grotesque image of a deceitful naive husband, whose faithful hardly tolerates his presence and obeys the command of the gods - to he finds his beloved, who is a predestined shepherd, but turns out to be a prince of Troy.

Fully fitting into the overall vision of the large-scale spectacle, transporting us to ancient times at the beginning of the Trojan War, were the other main characters: in the role of Mercury, the messenger god, Miroslav Dimitrov appeared on stage, artistic and funny. Kalina Popova made a successful debut as Juno, queen of the Olympic gods, wife of Jupiter. Lina Peeva introduced herself as Venus, the goddess of love - confident, giving guidance to two people who are sought in space-time, despite the circumstances. Polina Bahchevanova also made a successful debut role - as Minerva, goddess of wisdom, science, crafts and war. The role of Kalhas, the High Priest of Zeus, for the bass Diman Panchev was also debut, who also created occasions for laughter in the audience, with his thoughtful tricks that always lead to dividends for himself. Branimir Nedkov, baritone, was also stable and bright on stage in the debut image of Agamemnon, King of Kings. Soprano Maria Tsvetkova-Madzharova's part was unusual for her role, but despite the stage challenge, she did brilliantly, putting artistry and an enviable sense of humor into the image of Orestes, son of Agamemnon. Bass Kostadin Mechkov, who also made a successful debut in the role, introduced himself as Achilles, a Thessalian hero, king of Phthiotis. Admirations for their fresh presence on the stage were also deserved by: Milen Dinolov and Lyubomir Todorov, as Ajax I and Ajax II, Nikolay Nikolov, as Philocom, a servant of Kalhas, and Stefka Hristozova / debut /. like the elegant Bacchis, Elena's maid.

The young conductor Tsanislav Petkov once again proved that the debut titles, which he handles with a strong responsibility for the process of building the performance and professional ease, for him are just another step in his creative growth.

Beautiful, impressive in the historical times that were presented on the stage, with the characteristic splendor of the festivities in the ancient temples, the specifics and philosophy of the sacrifices, as well as the human relations, which are identical - from the deepest antiquity, so far, were the direction, the scenography, the magnificent costumes, in which every detail carries messages, the choreography of "Pretty Elena".

This unusual but very successful summer season' 2020 ended with a great mood. Despite the challenges of an objective nature, all the events of the Burgas Music Festival, as well as all other events included in the programs "Children's Summer", "Party on the Island" and chamber concerts at the Exposition Center "Flora", the Ethnographic Museum, and the Opera Hall, were at an extremely high professional level. It seems that the difficulties motivated the artists to activate their potential and to distribute themselves to an optimal degree, both in the rehearsal process and on the stage.
Admiration for all the soloists, conductor, orchestra, the assistant director Peter Tiholov, who has been leading the rehearsals for weeks, to recover the performance, and to fit successfully the debutants into their roles, for the wonderful choir /choirmaster Nevena Mihaylova/, for the excellent  ballet /tutor — Gali na Kalcheva/, and technical services who created the code of the Burgas Music Festival in an exciting, colorful, memorable and emotional way!