Giacomo Puccini

Bulgarian State Opera, Burgas Production of Tosca

BLUE DANUBE MUSIK IMPRESARIO and the BULGARIAN STATE OPERA, BURGAS, an important opera house in Eastern Europe, proudly announce a Puccini Masterclass (Worldwide) for Conductors to be held 5 - 17 May 2008 in Burgas, Bulgaria. The focus of the Masterclass will be the essential operas by Giacomo Puccini: LA BOHEME, MADAMA BUTTERFLY and TOSCA.

The Masterclass will accept up to (9) qualified conductors who will work with the company's orchestra, chorus, ballet, pianists and soloists on a daily basis. The Masterclass will culminate with public performances of each of the three operas - Tosca and La Boheme will be fully-staged; Madama Butterfly will be performed in a Konzertante (un-staged) version. All works will be sung in Italian with professional casts. In addition, orchestral rehearsals (one each) of Turandot and Manon Lescaut may be added to the schedule.

Read an article on the 2002 Opera Masterclass.

Click here for an application form.

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, currently a regular conductor at the Bulgarian National Opera in Sofia.

The Masterclass fee (tuition) is 2,500 EUR. Accommodation and transport are not included.

NB – The 9 active participants will be the first 9 qualified conductors who:

1) Pay the course application fee (non-refundable/50 EUR) and course deposit (refundable/500 EUR) and submit their application and materials. Conductors who have attended past events produced by Blue Danube Musik Impresario do not need to re-send their materials.

2) Are formally accepted after review of their materials and receipt of application and deposit fees (total of 550 EUR)

3) Confirm their intention to participate

NB…the deposit will not be refunded if a conductor cancels (for ANY reason) after 5 March 2008. The balance (2 000 EUR) will be due in Burgas on the first day of the course (in cash and in EURO only, please). The deposit will be returned to any conductor not accepted after review of materials.

Please send the application form (click on link to view and print), your CV, and a recent video tape or DVD of your conducting (preferably with both rehearsal and performance footage and in any format) as soon as possible to:

Blue Danube Musik Impresario GmbH
32-34 Strozzigasse
A-1080 Wien (Vienna)
Österreich (Austria/Europe)
Tel/Fax: +43 1 405 40 30
info@bluedanubeviolins.com

Please send the application and deposit fees via bank wire transfer or Western Union and in EUR only.

Name of Bank: BAWAG P.S.K.
Bank Address: Josefstädter Strasse 28/A-1080 Wien (Vienna)
Name on account: Blue Danube Musik Impresario GmbH
Account number (Kontonummer): 02010 006 026
BIC: BAWAATWW
IBAN: AT221400002010006026
Reason for payment: Course application and deposit fees

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 (Vienna)
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.

Please note: The currency used in Bulgaria is the Bulgarian lev(a), not the EURO. However, the balance of the course fee and the optional excursion must be paid in EUR, please, to Blue Danube Musik Impresario in cash.

Interested conductors should contact Blue Danube Musik Impresario in Vienna, Austria immediately at:
info@bluedanubeviolins.com
or telephone: +43 1 405 40 30 or +43 660 944 16 59.

HOTEL INFORMATION

Blue Danube Musik Impresario will make reservations for low-cost accommodation for the participating conductors. More information will be available soon.

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.