Ognyan Draganov with nomination for Award
News публикувана на: 16.04.2019
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His Eminence Metropolitan Kyprian of Stara Zagora chaired the Initiative Committee that nominated the Director of the State Opera - Stara Zagora, Ognyan Draganov, for the Stara Zagora Invidual Award in the Arts and Culture section. The full text of the nomination and which other personalities from the city have supported it can be seen below.
To
Mr. Zhivko Todorov
Mayor of Stara Zagora Municipality
Subject.
Dear Mr Todorov,
A native of Stara Zagora, Ognyan Draganov, besides being a talented director, has already proved himself as an excellent manager. Within a little more than 3 years, he has managed to "pull" the Stara Zagora Opera out of the dead zone of 1.2 million BGN debt and to bring it to the forefront of the musical life of Bulgaria.
According to the 2018 reports of the Ministry of Culture, Stara Zagora State Opera is second in the country in terms of budget after Sofia Opera with BGN 12.5 million.
For 2018, State Opera-Stara Zagora reached a record budget of BGN 5 million, which it distributed in the city of Stara Zagora. When Ognyan Draganov took office, the Stara Zagora Opera was in debt by 540,000 BGN. The institution started 2019 with a transitional balance of nearly BGN 100 000. Last year, 178 performances and concerts were realized, 148 of them on the stage of the opera and the rest were guest performances in the country.
A personality with enormous and engaging energy, a cosmopolitan format and extraordinary creative imagination, Ognyan Draganov never stops searching, experimenting, uniting, creating productions that meet the world's cultural standards. The priority in Ognyan Draganov's repertoire and management policy are activities related to the mastering of new and unconventional spaces, the inclusion of a growing and diverse range of opera and ballet fans, the pursuit of unusual and syncretic projects with the brand "For the first time in Bulgaria".
Among the initiatives implemented by Ognyan Draganov and the management of the State Opera-Stara Zagora, which contribute to the creative upsurge of the cultural institute, are the opening of a chamber opera stage "In Pocket 234", the restoration of the summer stage of the Ancient Forum, the organization and holding of the traditional and unique Festival of Opera and Ballet Art as a prestigious international forum, the establishment of the Balkan Opera Network, the inclusion under the umbrella of the Stara Zagora Opera of the Children and Youth Opera and Ballet Studio "Margaritki". The pride of the Opera House and the city is the multinational ballet company, which has attracted ballet artists from all over the world and has already won awards for its outstanding creative achievements. Last year, for the first time in its history, the Festival of Opera and Ballet Art opened with a ballet title - "Don Quixote" by L. Minkus with choreographer Arshak Galumyan /Germany/, costumes and sets by Salvatore Russo /Italy/.
On June 6, 2016 the historic event took place - for the first time in Bulgaria "Opera at the stadium". The performance of the opera "Aida" by Verdi was presented at Beroe Stadium on the occasion of the centenary of PFC Beroe. On July 6, 2017 the second edition of "Opera at the Stadium" took place - the opera "Carmen" was presented with the participation of the opera diva and artistic director of the State Opera - Stara Zagora - Veselina Katsarova. On July 8, 2018 - the opera "Nabucco" was presented with the participation of the world opera star Maria Gulegina. This performance was listed in the top five of the world's opera theatres in the International Opera website OperaWire. On July 7, 2019 - Opera at the Stadium is coming for the fourth time with the performance of Verdi's opera Il Trovatore.
Last year, for the first time in Bulgaria, there were the brilliant premieres of Opera with Puppets - Turandot by Puccini - a joint production of State Opera-Stara Zagora and State Puppet Theatre-Stara Zagora and Opera in the Circus - Pagliacci - under the dome of the Balkansky Academic Circus. Performances appreciated by international experts as global examples of innovation and creativity in the field of musical and performing arts.
Thanks to Ognyan Draganov, the Stara Zagora State Opera has already crossed national borders and marked a historic presence on the world opera map - preparations are underway for an international co-production with Teatro Lirico - Cagliari, Italy. The premiere of the opera Attila will take place on September 27 in Cagliari, Italy, and the premiere in Stara Zagora - in March 2020. "Attila" is the first new production of this kind of cooperation for Bulgaria, which is being prepared to be presented on both partner stages. With the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria, the press conference will take place on 6 September in the hall of the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Rome, where the project will be presented in the presence of the Italian media and correspondents of leading Bulgarian media. On 22 November, the Festival of Opera and Ballet Art will open with the anticipated premiere of the super production of opera Vasco da Gama by Meyerbeer under the direction of Vera Nemirova - with sets and costumes provided free of charge by Deutsche Oper-Berlin.
Ognyan Draganov is especially credited with creating the footage and nurturing the young audience. It is a unique fact that under the umbrella of the opera, together with the troupe, the Children's Opera and Ballet Studio "Daisies" works professionally, whose performances are equally well received by both children and adult audiences. Over 100 children are already in the studio. The youngest opera artists from the Preparatory Group of the studio, which opened in October last year - 4-7-year-olds had their first premiere "Butterfly Magic" on April 13, 2019.
Our priority is to educate and engage young audiences through a variety of fun and engaging work. The performances "Do-re-me in diapers"- for babies and children from 0 to 3 years old are a great success. Children from kindergartens and elementary school classes seek out the "Phantom of the Opera", i.e. actively participate in the educational cycle for children, led personally by Ognyan Draganov.
Beyond fully conceived and realized performances for children, the Opera offers adapted versions of major opera and ballet titles for children. The Saturday family performances and concerts are an outstanding success, where children up to the age of 12 enjoy the privilege of attending the events free of charge. All dress rehearsals have free admission for students. In addition, the stage is always made available for performances and celebrations of the children of kindergartens and schools, the faculties of the University of Thrace.
Ognyan Draganov is a frequent guest at the schools to tell the teenagers about the productions and invite them to performances. At one such meeting in March at the Romain Rolland High School, he announced a competition for a translation from French of the upcoming premiere title, the opera The African by J. Meyerbeer.
The pride of the Opera, as a logical sign of continuity and care for young and talented musicians and artists, are the two premieres realized in the current creative season 2018/2019 jointly with the NUMCI "Christina Morfova" - the musicals "Charlie's Aunt" and "The Classy Woman". Joint concert programmes are regularly performed. The school's graduates Bozhidar Rakhnev and Dimitrinka Panayotova are full-time musicians in the opera orchestra.
Ognyan Draganov warmly and enthusiastically accepts the participation of the opera theatre he directs in the most important events for Stara Zagora. On July 30 last year Ognyan Draganov was the director of the impressive sound and light spectacle "Prayer for Stara Zagora", which took place at the Memorial Complex "The Defenders of Stara Zagora" on the occasion of the 141st anniversary of the fighting for Stara Zagora during the Russo-Turkish Liberation War /1877-1878/ and the 140th anniversary of the Liberation of Bulgaria. The concert was attended by the orchestra, choir and ballet of the Stara Zagora State Opera. The conductor was His Eminence Metropolitan Kyprian of Stara Zagora.
Ognyan Draganov is constantly striving to create conditions for the development and improvement of young opera singers and musicians. As a vocal pedagogue in the ensemble of the State Opera-Stara Zagora the opera prima Stefka Mineva is attracted, whose studio marks high achievements for the artists of the Opera Chorus. Last year for the first time a Master Class in Opera Singing was held in Bulgaria with the world prima Veselina Katsarova, who is also the Artistic Director of the State Opera-Stara Zagora. The Master Class was held from 27 August to 7 September in the hall of the Bulgarian State Opera "Zahariy Knyazheski". The finale was a gala concert of the participants and the orchestra of the State Opera - Stara Zagora. This year will be held for the second time the Master Class of Veselina Katsarova from 20 August to 4 September. The Master Class of the great opera diva Anna Tomova-Sintova will be held next year. In the framework of FOBI, master classes for instrumentalists are held every year.
This year, the Board of the Employers' Club - Stara Zagora initiated a special award for "Innovation in the field of culture for 2018" and Ognyan Draganov - Director of the State Opera - Stara Zagora was named its unanimous winner.
Stara Zagora State Opera productions are performed on all stages in Stara Zagora - in Geo Milev kindergarten, in the State Puppet Theatre, in the "Zahariy Knyazheskiy" Palace, and from this creative season the stage of the hotel complex "Midalidare" was added. The State Opera Stara Zagora is a preferred guest of a number of national summer festivals: the International Festival of Arts "St. Vlas", the International Music Festival "Mozart Holidays" in Pravets, the Summer Evenings of Opera and Ballet "Baba Vida", the Summer Season of the Bulgarian Opera Theatres "Stage of the Ages"-Veliko Tarnovo, "Bansko Opera Fest" and many others.
The charismatic and tireless Ognyan Draganov managed to bring back the former glory and pride of the Opera House for the people of Stara Zagora, turning it into a real spiritual center. These are all activities that deserve not only admiration, but also a nomination for the highest award of the municipality - the Stara Zagora Award.
OGNIAN DRAGANOV graduated from the Secondary Music School "Hristina Morfova" Stara Zagora with trumpet. He studied opera directing at New Bulgarian University - two semesters in the class of prof. Vanya Bachvarova. She completed a course in opera directing at OPERA DU RHIN Strasbourg, France, as assistant director to the world famous opera director Albert-André Leroux. He graduated from the State Music Academy "Pancho Vladigerov" Sofia - specialty in opera direction in the class of prof. Pavel Gerdzhikov. He gained his professional experience at the Sofia Opera, where he was successively assistant director, assistant director, director and deputy director in the period 1998-2002. His ascending career as an opera director started in 2002 - he staged with great success in Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, the Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, Italy, Colombia and Russia. For five seasons he was the chief director of the Sarajevo Opera. Over 30 titles can be read in his biography, most of which he has staged many times: Puccini's operas Tosca, Madame Butterfly, La Boheme, Lucia di Lammermoor, Elixir of Love, Donizetti's Don Pasquale, Verdi's Il Trovatore, Aida, Nabucco, Ernani, La Traviata, Masque Ball, Falstaff, Attila. The talented director considers his greatest achievement to be his encounter with the Russian classics - the operas Eugene Onegin and Dame of Spades, which he staged in Sarajevo and St. Petersburg. Among his most recent engagements are the stagings of the operas Don Giovanni and Gianni Schicchi in far-away Colombia, where he is already known for his productions of the operas Ball with Masks, Lucia di Lammermoor, Norma, and in 2015 he staged The Handmaid's Tale in Slovenia, and at the end of 2015 he staged the unique performance of Donizetti's opera "Lucia di Lammermoor" on the stage of the Stara Zagora Opera House - the creative team of the performance received the Stara Zagora Grand Prix celebration in May 2016. Ognyan Draganov was awarded the annual prize "The Golden Feather" 2016 of Classic FM Radio and Macta Gallery. In March-April 2017 Ognyan Draganov realized another impressive production in his multifaceted creative career - the performance of the opera "Bohemi", which caused a furore in musical circles.
Ognyan Draganov has been the chief director of the Rousse Opera for three seasons. From 29 April 2015 he took over as interim director of the Stara Zagora Opera. From the end of August 2016 - he was officially appointed as the director of Stara Zagora Opera after winning a competition.
Dear Mr. Todorov,
We are convinced that Ognyan Draganov deserves to receive the Stara Zagora Award. As a resident of Stara Zagora, his aspiration is to make events happen on the territory of his hometown and to turn the Stara Zagora Opera into a leading cultural institute in national and European terms, and Stara Zagora into an even more attractive world cultural and tourist centre.
Sincerely,
Initiative Committee:
Chairman:
Metropolitan Kiprian of Stara Zagora
Members:
Gergana Mikova - Regional Governor of Stara Zagora Region
Ilko Rusev - Executive Director of PFC "Beroe"
Oleg Stoilov - President of CCI Stara Zagora
Prof. Borislav Popov - Chairman of the Employer's Club - Stara Zagora
Daniela Dimitrova - Chairman of the Public Charity Fund-Stara Zagora
Georgi Ranov - Chairman of the NGO "Friends of Stara Zagora Opera"
Tatiana Stancheva - NGO "Friends of Stara Zagora Opera"
Raicho Gunchev - Chairman of the NGO "Baga Tour"
Tony Kutsarov - LIPA Civic Club
Nadezhda Grueva - Director of "Zahariy Knyazheski"
Rozeta Velichkova - Director of the NUMSI "Kristina Morfova"
Teodora Nikolova - Director of Romain Rolland High School
Yoanna Dimitrova - Director of Kindergarten №10 "Svetlina"
Veselina Katsarova - Honorary Citizen of Stara Zagora
Stefka Mineva - Honorary Citizen of Stara Zagora
Rositsa Rancheva - Website for Art, Culture, Knowledge, Orthodoxy www.dolap.bg