Mozart’s Don Juan opens the festival in Pravets, Western Bulgaria named after the great composer. The show will be presented by the company of the Rousse Opera House led by conductor Martin Panteleev. This will be the 10^th edition of the Mozart Festival with its program presented on three stages from 13 to 17 August. 

"The festival has gained momentum for the past three years and this is due to the group of enthusiasts who organize it and to the support of the Municipality of Pravets", says opera singer Hristina Angelakova, artistic director of the event. "This year the festival will be a day longer and more diverse than in previous editions. We are going to mark a few notable anniversaries this time. One of them is the 450^th death anniversary of the great Renaissance poet and sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti. Pianist Alexander Hintchev will perform for the first time Evocation of The Sistine Chapel by Franz Liszt. Actress Sylvia Loultcheva will read Michelangelo’s sonnets. A ballet festival night is devoted to Richard Strauss. A triptych on his music will be at the heart of the show of Compagnia Nazionale del Ballettofrom Rome, Italy. The playbill also features works by Gluck for his 300^th birth anniversary and by Rimsky-Korsakov for his 170^th birth anniversary.”

One of the highlights of the Mozart Festival in Pravets is a topic that has for years been of interest to Hristina Angelakova:

"I have always been curious to explore the symbiosis of theater and opera. And I was keen on experimenting in this direction, here at the festival in Pravets. This year, thanks to the perfect work of conductor Ivan Angelov, this idea has materialized. We started from the short story by Pushkin that inspired Rimsky-Korsakov for a one-act opera, and then on to the classic movie Amadeus exploring the unusual rivalry between Mozart and Salieri. In this way, bridging the plays by Pushkin and Peter Shaffer, the cross-over show Mozart & Salieri was produced. The young singers will act on stage together with celebrity actors Kalin Vrachanski and Asen Blatechki. This show has been created in cooperation with the Rousse Opera House and with leading stage-director Bina Haralampieva.”

A special guest to the Mozart Festival is Italian opera diva Bruna Baglioni. The world-acclaimed mezzosoprano will be leading a master class in Pravets that will end with a concert of its young participants. The playbill of the Mozart Festival also features the concert Classics & Jazz starring Misho Iosifov Sextet and Militsa Gladnishka.

English: Daniela Konstantinova