Giuseppe Verdi

Giacomo Puccini

Bela Bartok

Stara Zagora Opera House Stara Zagora New Opera House

BLUE DANUBE MUSIK IMPRESARIO and the BULGARIAN STATE OPERA - STARA ZAGORA, an important opera house in Eastern Europe, proudly announce an Opera Masterclass (Worldwide) for Opera Conductors to be held between 19 - 31 March 2007 in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. The focus of the Masterclass will be on three important operas sung in their original languages. La traviata and Tosca will be fully staged; Duke Bluebeard's Castle will be performed in a concert version (Konzertante).

The Masterclass will accept a small group of qualified conductors (limited to the first 8 or 9 qualified conductors who apply and pay a deposit) who will work on a daily basis with the company's orchestra, chorus, ballet, pianists and soloists. The Masterclass will culminate with public performances of each of the three operas sung in their original languages. La traviata and Tosca will be fully-staged; Duke Bluebeard's Castle will be performed in a concert version (Konzertante).

Read an article on the 2002 Opera Masterclass.

CONDUCTORS will have the opportunity to conduct major sections of all three operas in rehearsal and ca. 1/3 of one of the three in a public performance. Coaching and instruction (including video review) will be provided by Maestro Boris Hinchev, one of Europe's finest and most experienced opera conductors and teachers, and currently a staff conductor in Stara Zagora and a regular guest at the Bulgarian National Opera in Sofia; and Maestro Ognian Draganov, an internationally-renowned stage and opera director.

The Masterclass fee (tuition) is 2,500 EUR, exclusive of accommodation. Ground transportation will be provided (without extra charge) to and from Sofia's international airport and train station.

If money is sent via Western Union, the director's name (Anthony Armore), the company's name (Blue Danube Musik Impresario GmBH) and the information below is needed:

Anthony Armore
Blue Danube Musik Impresario GmbH
Strozzigasse 32-34
A-1080 Wien
Tel: +43 1 405 40 30

Moreover, for Western Union, the sender's name, address and telephone number are also needed. The MTCN number should be sent to Blue Danube Musik Impresario via e-mail, fax or telephone at the same time, alerting us that payment has been sent.

The application form is available here.

Interested conductors should contact Blue Danube Musik Impresario in Vienna, Austria as soon as possible via e-mail at: office@bluedanubeviolins.com or via telephone: +43 1 405 40 30.

HOTEL INFORMATION

The Hotel HUT is situated in Aiazmo park and is 15 minutes from the opera house. This hotel offers very good conditions after a recent renovation. Single room - 20 EUR with breakfast and 28 EUR with breakfast and one additional meal.

Hotel VEREIA is 150 meters from the opera house. Single room - 46 EUR with breakfast and one additional meal a day. Double rooms for 52 EUR.

Other hotel options are possible. Please inquire.

Blue Danube Musik Impresario will make reservations for the participating conductors.

Maestro Boris Hinchev was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1933 and began his formal education in music first at the Lubomir Pipkov Music School (1945-1952) and later at the National Academy of Music (1954-1957), where he studied conducting and composition. He undertook advanced studies in Italy (at the Teatro alla Scala di Milano) with Gianandrea Gavazzeni and Antonino Votto (1960-1962). His first professional appointments were as a conductor with the Bulgarian National Radio Orchestra (1956-1961) and for the Bulgarian Opera in Ruse (1957-1962). He was chief conductor for the Stefan Makdenonski Music Theatre in Sofia (1983-1990). Currently, Hinchev is a conductor at the National Opera in Sofia - a relationship he has had since 1966.

Boris Hinchev is an important teacher of conducting and pedagogue as well as an opera coach in his native Bulgaria. Several generations of Bulgarian artists (conductors and vocal artists) have studied and worked with him. Since 1970, he has taught at several institutions in Sofia -- at the National Academy of Music, and since 1995, at the New Bulgarian University. As a guest conductor, he has appeared widely, working in Italy (with Giuseppe di Stefano and Ettore Bastianini), Spain (with Montserrat Caballe, Jose Carreras, Juan Pons and Elena Obrazova), Holland, South America, France, Malta, Russia and Switzerland.

Hinchev is important too for his recorded legacy with prestigious record companies. He has recorded operas by Puccini, Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Cilea, Giordano and Mascagni as well as contemporary music (symphonic) by Bulgarian composers.

Maestro Hinchev’s repertoire is unusually comprehensive -- it includes all important operatic, ballet and symphonic works. He is also notable for the first Bulgarian performances of La Fanciulla del West by Puccini, Story of a Real Man by Prokofiev, the Miraculous Mandarin and Duke Bluebeard’s Castle by Bartok, La forza del destino by Verdi, and Adriana Lecouvreur by Cilea.

The Bulgarian stage director, Ognian Draganov, studied music performance (trumpet and piano) and opera direction in Bulgaria (with Plamen Kartaloff) and France (with Albert-Andre Lheureux). After a brief period as a member of the Sofia National Opera Orchestra (trumpet), he quickly established himself as an important stage/opera director in southeastern Europe, working as stage director and later general director for the Sofia National Opera as well a resident and guest (opera) director for companies in Greece, Macedonia, and Romania. His productions are regularly seen in productions that tour western Europe, particularly in the Netherlands. Already in command of a large repertoire, his conceptions and productions are generally overarching, including sets, costumes and lighting in addition to stage action.

* = chorus will be finished much sooner than 14.00
** = one hour shorter than the others because of performance that evening