We all know that every appearance onstage of Alexandrina Pendatchanska turns into an event. The last time was 5 years ago when the opera diva marked 25 years since her debut with that unforgettable concert in Sofia. The same thing happened after her artistic opening night in the role of Tosca in Giacomo Puccini’s opera of the same name. Another performance is forthcoming on December 20^th because of the great interest. Grigor Palikarov is the conductor and Plamen Kartalov is the director. Kamen Chanev sang Cavaradossi on December 8^th and 10^th. Now Marin Iliev will play the role in the last show. As we know, Alexandrina has lived in Paris for years now. She has so many performances across opera houses worldwide that it is a challenge for her to find time for small things in life. The singer has stated many times that her family is the most important thing. She has also proven that Bulgaria is still her home, full of memories on the charm of youth and the initial steps in everything. That was why her first Tosca was onstage in Sofia.

“Tosca is one of the parts that motivated me to become a singer,” Alexandrina says. “However, I would never rush into it, I wanted to be sure that the right time had come and that I wouldn’t take any chances with this role. I believe it was the right moment. My mother used to study Tosca when I was 13 – 14 years old. This is the second opera after Manon Lescaut which has determined my destiny. I love that music so much, I do like these two pieces of art. Tosca was mostly the thing that made me realize the inevitability of my path in life, while listening to my mother’s preparation for the role. The perfect rendition of Tosca belongs to Maria Callas and no singer has achieved the same thing so far. There comes the greatest challenge – to recreate something that on one hand doesn’t contradict this ideal and on the other – is not an imitation. That was my approach as well. The toughest task was to ‘become’ Tosca, to make her ‘mine’. The initial idea for the show came from maestro Mikhail Angelov whom we sadly lost in the summer. The talk with him took place in February. I told him that I had some time in November and he suggested Tosca and a conversation with Mr. Kartalov, head of the Sofia Opera Theater. I hoped, wished, dreamt about Tosca as learnt under maestro Angelov, the way he had prepared my mother for the same role so many years ago. However, when the time came, he was no longer there with us anymore. Whenever I needed a piece of advice and support I pictured in my mind what he would have told me.”

The third rendition of Tosca with the participation of Alexandrina Pendatchanska coincides with Ignazden – one of the major traditional holidays within the Christmas festive cycle. Folklore beliefs say that this day identifies the next year to a great extent.

“This coincidence is great. We joked with my husband that I would have to sing Tosca throughout 2018, as they say that whatever you do on Ignazden – you will do it over the whole of the following year. So, I will work on Ignazden, let’s see how it goes… I think that this is really only the start of Tosca for me. I am happy that we will be all at home for Christmas. Our family doesn’t have any special rituals for these holidays, we only try to be together whenever we can and as long as we can. In my opinion it’s tough for a person to be always good – it’s very easy to ‘slip’ into the dark side. That is why my wish for my family over these glory days is to fill up with love and light – to struggle every day and to be in love and light all the time.”

We are about to see if Ignazden’s Tosca will determine the future. At the same time Alexandrina has several events in her calendar for the next few months: Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana in Brussels, also concerts, dedicated to the 30^th anniversary since the start of her career (which started at the age of 16) and then her first role – Elizabeth in Verdi’s Don Carlos. The prima is looking forward to all of those.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev