It takes a journey to the end of the world to meet love.
Today it is not easy, we all keep the memory of a love, of a life!

These are the words of Alexander Petrov, sung by Neli Rangelova and Georgi Hristov in the song "One Love" nearly 30 years ago. Today, a life filled with love, songs, travel bags and notes bribgs back vivid memories to one of the most beloved Bulgarian singers - Nelly Rangelova. Only a few days remain until her anniversary concert "The encore" on October 17 at 8 pm at the National Opera and Ballet in Sofia, with which she celebrates 45 years of creative career. The favourite of several generations of music lovers talks about it with a thrill of excitement, which the reminiscence of the past, memories of the first songs she sang, the unique emotions from the recordings in Studio 1 with the Big Band of the Bulgarian National Radio. In a special conversation with Radio Bulgaria she once again talks about the extremely important role of the Bulgarian National Radio in her musical history.

"Back in 1980, after I had already been working as a vocalist of the Burgas orchestra for a year, musicians from the BNR came to the Sunny Beach resort night club where they also had a gig. Then I met Vili Kazasyan /conductor of the Big Band-ed./ and my ex-husband Yordan Kapitanov. The summer was over and I returned to Sofia. I had just come back when I received an invitation to record a song with the Bulgarian National Radio Big Band. The first songs they did for me were all from abroad, but with Bulgarian lyrics. These are such sweet moments. When I say BNR, Studio 1 - it's a sacred place for me. And I am very happy and grateful that my career started here."

Two years later, in 1982, the young singer was again on the same stage with the Big Band, but this time she stood alongside them as the winner of the international competition for performers at the biggest musical forum in the country and the Balkans at that time - the Golden Orpheus Festival. The rest is a success story of songs, festivals and tours, as some would say. A memory of a love and a life - Neli Rangelova would sing.

The concert at the National Opera House in Sofia is very special for her, not only because of the festive occasion, but also because of the venue, as her childhood dream was to be a ballerina. "But my love for music and singing prevailed," she jokingly admits today. She sees the opera as a temple where the spirit of some of the greatest operatic voices and talents Bulgaria has given to the world can be felt. It is a magical place, the best to celebrate the fairy tale of Nelly Rangelova's long career.

For the first time on the stage of the National Opera, she will perform together with the dancers from Vaya Dance Studio and LiDance Ballet from the town of Silistra. Neli Rangelova has prepared a special duet with 8-year-old Maria Popova on the song "One Tear". Together with young singer Nevena Peykova they will present their 2022 joint single "I want to be like you". "The motto of the concert seems to be - let's give a hand to the young," Rangelova quips.

A special surprise for the audience and a tribute to her childhood will be the performance of the prima ballerina Marta Petkova, who will dance to one of her iconic songs "Unexplainable Things". Thirty years after the release of the duet "One Love", Nelly Rangelova and Georgi Hristov will again perform together - a new song, recorded days before the concert. They will be accompanied by the musicians of the Dani Milev Band.

On the eve of her jubilee concert, the singer won the first major award in her 45-year career for her original composition "Tea of Tea of Caresses" at the XIII edition of the Sofia Pop and Rock Music Festival at the end of September. That's right - she has never won first prize for any of her original songs in Bulgaria before. In her homeland the awards have been for performance, and her own songs have only been awarded outside the country.

Not many people know that Nelly Rangelova is one of the few Bulgarian artists who went to America in the early 1980s. Several months after her winning the Best Singer award at the Golden Orpheus music festival, she won the Grand Prix at the Neewollah Festival in in Independence, Kansas and became an honorary citizen of the state.

"I've had an awful lot of offers (to continue my career abroad - ed.), but in the years when I was growing up and starting my career, I was always aware that if you didn't speak the language of the country well, you could not... I particularly felt very insecure. Unfortunately, back then in school we were learning Russian and possibly German as a second language. In my native Montana there was no place to learn English. And I always had a complex about not knowing the language. So in those years when I was invited to stay in the United States, to go to London, unfortunately we pop singers weren't let go so easily. Only opera singers could go abroad to build a career," Rangelova recalls.

To this very day she always finds hope in music.

"After all, people say that as you get older, you have to gain life experience. Yes, you gain it, but in the end - you are what you are. Personally, I haven't changed and I'm sometimes the same naive, sensitive and talkative person I've always been. For me, music is happiness, music is heart. The love you get, you have to give it first to receive it back. It's a feeling I can't describe."

And when asked about her favourite song, Nelly instantly replies - "My favourite song is the one that hasn't been sung yet." For her, songs are like peaks you dream of, conquer and leave on the way to the next one, for the sake of love and the audience.

"To all the people who will hear this interview, I want to say that wherever they are, no matter where in the world, we, the Bulgarian artists, do everything with love for them. Because without their support and love we are like a tree without roots. Kisses to all of you."

Photos: Снимки: Facebook / Nelly Rangelova, BTA, Ani Petrova

Translated and posted by Elizabeth Radkova