Operatic Concert: Maltese-Bulgarian Music Legacy

Operatic Concert: Maltese-Bulgarian Music Legacy

On the occasion of the Liberation Day of Bulgaria

The Maltese-Bulgarian Circle is organising a concert of vocal classical music to commemorate the day of the Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman rule, celebrated on 3 March. Maltese, Bulgarian and European talent participating in this event includes the Bulgarian-born Maltese soprano Andriana Yordanova, the Maltese baritone James Agius and the young Bulgarian bass Deyan Kostadinov, a laureate and winner of a special price of the Maltese-Bulgarian Circle at the 7th Edition of the Classical Voice Competition Art Stars held in Varna, Bulgaria, in 2022. The singers will be accompanied on the piano by Sofia Sciberras-Narmania.

The concert will celebrate the legacy in classical music between Malta and Bulgaria. In the year 2024, the Maltese-Bulgarian community is celebrating the 110-year anniversary of the birth of world-renowned Bulgarian bass Boris Christov who was highly praised by the Maltese audiences in the 1970s when he gave a recital at the Manoel Theatre.

Donations at the door are welcome.

ANDRIANA YORDANOVA, SOPRANO – Biography

Andriana Yordanova, established soprano and voice teacher, holds a Masters in Opera singing and Vocal pedagogy and a Ph.D. in Music. She won scholarships for European Opera Trust in England, Academy “Boris Christoff” in Rome and bursaries from “Kraft Jacobs Suchard”. A winner of competitions, member of international judging boards, she lectured at the University of Malta at the National Academy of Music, Sofia and acts as independent evaluator of National Qualifications which are being accredited against the MQF.

Her repertoire ranges from Italian, French, German and Russian operatic roles to operettas, Baroque and Sacred music, Lieder and modern composers.  Her career brought her from Bulgaria to Egypt, Greece, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Italy, Austria, Russia, Kazakhstan, Hungary, UK, Dubai.  Since 2001 she made Malta her second home. She is passionate about the Maltese-Bulgarian relationships in Culture and Music, work with young and upcoming opera singers and promotion of Maltese classical vocal music. Yordanova held numerous Master classes for young Opera singers in Malta and abroad.

In 2019 she was nominated for the most prestigious Bulgarian Award in Music for achievement – Crystal Lyre. Currently she is teaching voice technique at Malta School of Music and Opera Studio at Mikiel Anton Vassalli College as well as performing in Malta and abroad.

JAMES AGIUS, BARITONE – Biography

Baritone James Agius graduated as a Music Teacher in the year 2003 and he is currently reading for a diploma in classical singing at the Malta School of Music, under the mentorship of Dr Andriana Yordanova. He also participated in several masterclasses, namely with renowned musicians Baritone Wolfgang Holzmair, Soprano Miriam Gauci, Baritone Dr. Carlos Conde, Soprano Miriam Cauchi, Mro Michael Laus and Soprano Dr Andriana Yordanova.

James has performed in various operas with the Teatru Manoel Chorus and Teatru Manoel Youth Opera, including Donizetti’s L’Elisir D’Amore, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Gluck’s Orphee et Eurydice, and Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, where he landed the role of Apollo. James has also performed in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Tom Armitage’s Isperanza, and Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

As part of Valletta2018, he was selected for the role of Rinaldo in the newly commissioned opera, Corto Maltese, by Monique Crüs and later filled in as one of the main roles, The Monk.

James performed the baritone solos from Puccini’s Missa di Gloria at St John’s Co-Cathedral. He also performed in the MCMA Vocal Masterclasses Concert with the Uzbekistan National Orchestra.

Currently, James is an active member of the Opera Studio within the Malta School of Music. He is also a member of the Goldberg Ensemble Choir and the Schola Cantorum Jubilate.

DEYAN KOSTADINOV, BARITONE – Biography

Deyan Kostadinov was born in Rousse (Bulgaria) and spent 12 years in Spain.

His love for classical singing was inspired by the legacy of world-renowned Bulgarian basses such as Boris Christov, Nikolay Gyaurov, Nikola Gyuselev and the rich tradition of Lyric Opera. For 3 years he received private tuition in Classical singing from Catherine Emilova in his native town Rousse.

Since 2019 he has been a regular participant in the yearly Masterclasses for young opera singers of the world acclaimed Bulgarian tenor Emil Ivanov. The Masterclasses are part of the international “Varna Summer Festival” held annually in Varna, Bulgaria.

Since 2021, Kostadinov is mastering his voice technique under the guidance of tenor Emil Ivanov. He took part in a number of concerts, such as the one at the Boris Hristov House, a museum in Sofia and the Varna Summer Festival (2021, 2022 and 2023), the Opera Gala Concerts with the orchestras of the State Opera Varna (2022 and 2023) and Symphonietta orchestra in Vidin (2022). His performances outside Bulgaria include concerts at the Festival delle Chighe, Rome (July 2023), in Belluno, Italy (August 2023) and performances in Marseille (November 2023) and Lucera, Italy (December 2023).

He is a finalist and laureate of international competitions such as Art Stars in Varna and Let’s Sing in Sofia National Opera House where he performed fully staged parts of “Don Carlo” and took part in the concert of the finalists.

In 2023 Kostadinov made his operatic debut as Count Monterone in the opera Rigoletto in Formelo, Italy. In the same year he was awarded a 4-month specialisation at l’Accademia d’Arte e Cultura Bulgara “Boris Christoff”, Rome, renamed in 2006 as Istituto Bulgaro di Cultura, where he worked with the acclaimed Bulgarian opera singers, bass Orlin Anastasov and soprano Darina Takova.

SOFIA NARMANIA, PIANIST – Biography

Pianist Sofia Narmania displayed tremendous interest in music from an early childhood and started giving her first concerts at the age of seven. At the age of ten she won great public acclaim  and then she was invited to continue her music education in Moscow Pre-Conservatory college.

Her musical development was shaped by her studies at the Moscow Conservatoire and postgraduate, where she graduated with honors in the class of professor Irina Plotnikova.

During her years of education Sofia appeared on the concert stage as a soloist with many orchestras, and gave several recitals in the main halls of Moscow and in other cities of Russian Federation. As a soloist she performed the concertos of J. S. Bach, W. A. Mozart, L. Beethoven, F. Liszt, C. Franck, S. Rachmaninov, P. Tchaikovsky, D. Shostakovich. Sofia has participated in numerous festivals and master-classes with various renowned professors in Salzburg Mozarteum Summer Academy with Prof. C. Tanski.

Sofia continued her career as an accompanist with different instrumentalists and opera singers. She took part in vocal masterclasses with Miriam Gauci and Dr. Andriana Yordanova, Jose Cura.

A winner of international competition in Italy (1^st prize), she has performed in  Greece, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Russia, Abkhazia and Malta. Her extensive repertoire covers all musical periods and styles, she performs works by Scarlatti and Bach, Liszt and Rachmaninov, Ginastera and Piazzolla.

Saturday 2 March 2024

7pm

Concert Hall of the Malta Society of Arts,
Palazzo de La Salle, 219, Republic Street, Valletta