Recently the Sofia Opera and Ballet put on stage Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece Madame Butterfly. The event was dedicated to the 80th anniversary of conductor Borislav Ivanov. For 60 years he has been a conductor of more than 3000 symphony concerts. Listen next to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, performed by the symphony orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio.

Borislav Ivanov graduated from the Music Academy in Sofia and in 1964 legendary Herbert von Karajan invited the Bulgarian to the Berlin Philharmonic. For 40 years Borislav Ivanov remained there as a music director of one of the 8 orchestras during that time.

“My anniversary was marked with an opera concert in July in Varna, Borislav Ivanov explaned. This month we celebrate with Madame Butterfly in the Sofia opera. On the 25 of October we move to Germany to mark 45 years on stage there.”

Maestro Ivanov has worked in the operas in Varna, Plovdiv, and Sofia. “I think Bulgarian artists are very talented and that is why they are welcomed everywhere in the world. The 120 tours that I had with Plovdiv and Varna operas and the Sofia symphony orchestra were a great pleasure to me.”

These days Borislav Ivanov is a director of the opera theatre in Varna the Verdi Festival in the antique theatre in Plovdiv has also been organized at his initiative. Maestro Ivanov is also art director of opera festivals in Palma de Mallorca, Seville and Rhodos. This music edition ends with Rhapsody Vardar by Pancho Vladigerov.

English: Alexander Markov