Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

The tour starts in ‎Niagara and will continue in Toronto, Kitchener, Plevna, Ottawa and Montreal

Boris Christoff Museum to mark its 20th anniversary with tour in Canada

Photo: Facebook/BorisChristoffMuseum

The Boris Christoff Museum - the institution in Sofia, which zealously preserves ‎the memory of one of the greatest artists in world opera history, is a vibrant ‎center for artists from all spheres of art. In 2023, the State Cultural Institute ‎under the Ministry of Culture will celebrate 20 years since its establishment and, ‎on this occasion, will tour six Canadian cities. 


"We will celebrate while working ‎‎- they say that it is happiness to work what you love! ‎ We start the tour in Canada on April 21st. We will present the Boris Christoff ‎Museum with the photography exhibition of Svetoslav Chulin "Rome. Boris ‎Christoff", with the documentary "Dream, Come True" by Elena Dragostinova ‎and Yordan Boychev and with concerts of Spectrum vocal group, says Elena ‎Dragostinova, who has been at the head of the cultural institute since its ‎foundation.‎

The programme


‎"Rome. Boris Christoff" – we can find these words at the end of hundreds of ‎letters that the great opera artist, pedagogue and donor sent from the Eternal City ‎to his relatives, friends and colleagues from all over the world, and now they ‎become the starting point of the photographic exhibition of Svetoslav Chulin, ‎which will be presented in Canada. "The long stay of the great Bulgarian bass in ‎Rome left an imprint on his personality, here Boris Christoff developed as an artist ‎with broad cultural interests. But Rome is also eternity, which is built by ‎individuals", Elena Dragostinova tells BTA. 

In Rome, Boris Christoff experienced ‎some of his greatest triumphs. This is where his desire to dedicate himself to the ‎improvement of future opera artists was fulfilled. In 1986, his villa on Madonna ‎di Campiglio street solemnly opened its doors to Bulgarian talents under the ‎name "Bulgarian Academy of Arts and Culture".‎

The documentary "Dream come true" tells about Boris Christoff's dream and his ‎will to turn his Sofia home in the quiet neighborhood at 43 Tsar Samuil Street ‎into a living museum of musical renown, but also a springboard for young ‎talents, in a space for the exchange of wisdom and fresh ideas between different ‎generations of artists. How this happens today is told by singers, artists, actors ‎and producers who are bound forever to this oasis of creativity. ‎

The Spectrum vocal ensemble will present in Canada its own programme with ‎their own arrangements of  Bulgarian folklore, evergreens and pop music. ‎

The route

The tour of the Boris Christoff museum across the ocean will begin on April 21 in ‎Niagara and continues in Toronto, Kitchener, Plevna, Ottawa and Montreal. This ‎visit is part of the Days of Bulgarian Art in Canada, which were opened at ‎the beginning of April in Toronto. They started with a collective exhibition ‎Evolving Connections, presenting works by artists of Bulgarian origin living in ‎the USA and Canada. The main organizer is Bulgarian national Elitsa ‎Yordanova, who has been living in Canada for many years. "Elitsa Yordanova ‎took care of the stages, the meetings with the audience and many other big and ‎small things, we thank her from the bottom of our hearts!" says Elena ‎Dragostinova. ‎

After the return from the Canadian tour, the Museum will organize the 19th ‎Festival of Arts "Boris Christoff" in Sofia - from May 18 to June 30.‎


The State Cultural Institute "Boris Christoff" combines the functions of a ‎museum and a center in which art programs are carried out with young ‎performers under the guidance of authoritative educators. Over the years, artists ‎from Austria, Australia, England, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, North ‎Macedonia, Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Poland, Russia, the USA, Finland, France, ‎the Netherlands, Sweden, South Korea have visited its halls.‎

The Boris Christoff Museum also features an international composition ‎competition "Miniatures for a Big Voice".‎

The cultural institute presented the creative heritage of Boris Christoff and his ‎followers in a number of cultural centers such as Moscow, Avignon, Almaty, ‎Astana, Berlin, Bratislava, Banska Bystrica, Vienna, Paris, St. Petersburg, ‎Moscow, Rome, Washington, New York. For its intense work in 2008, the Boris ‎Christoff museum was awarded the European Cultural Heritage Badge.‎

Read also:


Compiled by Elena Karkalanova

English version and publication by Rositsa Petcova



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Христо Павлов

World-class performers are drawn to Bulgaria by its warm and engaged audiences

The shortage of talent is one of the biggest issues in Bulgaria’s labour market — especially evident in the country’s symphony orchestras, both in Sofia and across the regions.  The ratio of Bulgarian to foreign musicians in a regional orchestra like the..

published on 5/15/25 10:11 PM
BNR Director General Milen Mitev and Gabriela Georgieva

Soprano Gabriela Georgieva is the "Musician of the Year 2024"

Opera prima Gabriela Georgieva is the "Musician of the Year 2024" in the national poll of the classical music show "Allegro Vivace" on the Bulgarian National Radio. The soloist of the Sofia Opera is among the leading sopranos in Bulgaria. Gabriela..

published on 5/13/25 9:21 AM

Thanks to Donvena Pandoursky, people in Germany pronounce the name Stara Zagora very well

Donvena Pandoursky, a Bulgarian ballet master with an impressive European career, graduated from the State Choreography School in Sofia in the late 1970s and joined the Sofia Opera Ballet. In 1988 she graduated from the Rimsky-Korsakov State..

published on 5/12/25 12:47 PM