Classical music festival in Pravets returns after a one-year hiatus

Classical music festival returns to Pravets after a one-year break. The festival now has a new name - Pravets Art Nights. The musical programme and its performance is entrusted to the musicians of the Sofia Philharmonic and Maestro Naiden Todorov.

Many years ago, opera prima Hristina Angelakova turned the town of Pravets into a significant place on the map of summer music festivals in Bulgaria.

"The festival used to be called Mozart Fest, Mozart is the symbol of Viennese classics. In honour of the old name of the festival, in the first concert, we decided to perform the works of the three Viennese classics, starting with Mozart. The person who created this festival was a person of opera, Hristina Angelakova was one of the most prominent figures of Bulgarian opera. So we decided to dedicate our second concert to opera. And this is, I hope, a wonderful for the people opera gala, in which her student, Bessa Lugici, also participates. With this year's festival, we are making a curtsy to its founder Hristina Angelakova," said Naiden Todorov, director of the Sofia Philharmonic.

"I missed this place. I sang here every year over a period of five years in a row, since the opening of the Mozart Festival. I have wonderful memories of a very beautiful period of my life. I wanted to come back and feel that energy," said Bessa Lugici.

Bringing classical music outdoors is a complex task, but it always brings an inimitable charm.

"The audience is different, it is not the conventional opera audience, which on the one hand is a challenge, on the other hand is a measure of whether one radiates the right energy to light people up for classical art," Mihail Mihailov explained.

A true comeback needs a memorable finale. And next year, the Sofia Philharmonic promises to bring to Pravets not just famous musicians, but artists who are symbols of classical music today.