The Apollonia Festival of Arts has been presenting what’s best of Bulgaria’s stage for over three decades. Furthermore, the event meets us with Bulgarians who have been living abroad for years, it supports young talents and both audience and participants get charged with positive energy and optimism. The forthcoming edition on September 1 – 10 will once again fill the Old Sozopol with numerous events: theatre, music, fine art, cinema, literature… Famous musician and pedagogue Prof. Dimo Dimov is the founder of Apollonia and the foundation of the same name. Mrs. Margarita Dimitrova is the artistic director and main engine of the festival. She framed for RB the accents of the event:

“Each day has its special accent, especially when we talk about the music in the program. Everyone knows that this is the art that we have been presenting the most for 32 years now. Classical music, pop, jazz, folklore – there is a huge variety. There will be events scheduled for September 1, but the official unveiling will be on the next day – September 2, with a concert of the BNR’s Big Band, Antoni Donchev is the conductor. Two magnificent actors: Militsa Gladnishka and Atanas Srebrev are soloists. I am glad that the national TV and radio will broadcast their renditions. On the next day Antoni Donchev will have another concert, this time with the QuP quartet. The jazz pianist says this project differs from anything he has done so far. We have presented our participants at the Eurovision through the years and that is why we have invited Poli Genova who took the 4^th place in this year’s edition. I believe that she is a musician with a good future career, she is also a nice and shiny person and I am sure it will be a good concert. After the premieres there will be the performance of violinist Dimitar Burov, cellist Hristo Tanev and pianist Lyudmil Angelovwith a magnificent program – works of Schubert, Rachmaninoff, Pantscho Vladigerov… The prominent Aglika Genova – Lyuben Dimitrov keyboard duo will be available on September 2. Young pianist Victoria Vasilenko was once our guest years ago. Now she has grown up and with a very nice program – List, Mozart and Prokofiev."

The main purpose of Apollonia is the presentation of Bulgarian artists, but there are foreign participants as well. Classic guitar players Steven Cavano from Ireland and Dillan Vaughn from the USA are among them. They will play on September 5. Young Russian musicians Verustinia Shtur-Ovcinnikova – violin and Ilya Ovcinnikov – piano are scheduled for September 7 with interesting transcriptions of really famous opera extracts. The Thierry Maillard Jazz Trio from France plays on September 4 and the Theodosyi Spassov trio will perform together with Teodora Enache – one of the best Romanian jazz singers.

“We miss a ballet performance this year, but we will watch the show of the Filip Kutev National Folklore Ensemble,” Mrs. Dimitrova goes on to say. “Some of the best theatre plays from the past season will also be presented: Mir Vam /Peace to You/ of the Vox Populi Documentary Theatre; Belle Ami of Malak Gradski Teatar Zad Kanala /Small City Theatre Off the Channel/; the Vremeto e Spryalo /Time Has Stopped/ of Theatre 199 etc. Some of the literature works that we present such as Avarien Izhod /Emergency Exit/ of Silvia Choleva will be part of our Table Theatre – we hope that the dramaturgical works will be spotted and will pave their way to the stage. At the Art Gallery we present a play that I know for sure is favorite to the audience – Nirvana of Konstantin Iliev. Albena Georgieva and Vladimir Penev who presented it 20 years ago are on the same stage together again.”

Grafa, D2, Fondaciyata, the Jazz&:ME 2 project of Hilda Kazasyan – those are all formations with forthcoming concerts, alongside the Midnight Sun program of Kamelia Todorova and Zhivko Petrov. Then the last evening will host the Four Ladies Sing Jazz concert of Beloslava, Miroslava Katsarova, Hilda Kazasyan and Andronia Popova. Of course, anyone will have the chance to see all the shows via the broadcasts of the BNR and the BNTv.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev