Follow into the footsteps of your teacher – this is what soprano Alexandra Mihaylova has done with her latest success in the competition for young opera singers at La Scala – Milan. The student of great opera prima Raina Kabaivanska managed to pass the three rounds and won one of the ten places in competition with 430 applicants this year. The jury, chaired by Dominique Meyer, director of the opera house, gave Alexandra a chance to study at the La Scala Academy for the next two years. Raina Kabaivanska herself won the same competition in 1960 and her incredible international career started in Milan. Six decades later, a 23-year-old woman from Shumen has a chance to do the same.

The first meeting of the two singers took place five years ago during an audition for participation in the 16th international master class of Kabaivanska at NBU. The young singer won a place in the class, took part in the gala concert at the Sofia Opera the same year and received a scholarship to complete her secondary education and learn Italian. In 2017, Alexandra studied all year round with Raina Kabaivanska at the Vecchi-Tonelli Music Institute in Modena.

Author Vesela Krasteva

English: Alexander Markov