“Who’s that girl?”
The audience’s whispers are directed at the beautiful black-clad young woman who has just come onstage. They quickly subside as the gentle soprano picks up the aria of Leonora, who is waiting for her beloved troubadour in the silent, peaceful night… Her impressive performance is followed by enthusiastic applause and more excited whispering. After the concert, everyone wants to congratulate the talented young singer.
Twenty-year-old Aleksandrina Mihailova is one of the latest discoveries of Bulgarian opera diva Raina Kabaivanska. Her performance alongside Kabaivanska and two of the opera prima’s most promising students, tenors Davide Riu (Korea) and Reinaldo Ramírez Droz (Venezuela), was a result of a last-minute change in the program. But it was by no means an arbitrary choice: Kabaivanska had been grooming her for over two years, and when tenor Andrea Caré canceled his appearance due to illness, she invited the young singer to replace him and “add a little variety” to the Tenors of Raina Kabaivanska concert on June 3 this year in Sofia.
If the last few years are anything to go by, Aleksandrina has a bright future ahead of her. She won the first prize in the 2013 Franz Schubert International Competition in Ruse and participated in a concert of Haus Wittgenstein laureates in Vienna, Austria, in 2014. A year later, she won the special award in the name of opera legend Gena Dimitrova at the Viva Voce competition in Sofia as well as the Best Young Performer Award in the Otto Edelmann Singing Competition in Vienna. She has taken part in a number of concerts in Bulgaria, including one at the Pancho Vladigerov House Museum and another with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the city of Shumen.
In 2016, Aleksandrina caught Maestra Kabaivanska’s interest, becoming the youngest participant in her XVI International Master Class. She was able to continue her studies with the opera prima after winning a scholarship provided by Sofia Municipality and the America for Bulgaria Foundation. In 2017, she took part in Kabaivanska’s seventeenth master class. She won a Raina Kabaivanska Fund scholarship, funded by ABF, to study at the Vecchi–Tonelli Music Institute in Modena, Italy.
Aleksandrina doesn’t see much of a change in herself; she says she’s just in a new place and has made a few new friends. The outside observer, however, will notice her incredible metamorphosis from a shy teenager to a confident young woman who skillfully communicates both on and off stage. She knows what she wants and works hard to achieve it. In addition to taking intensive Italian-language classes and singing, piano, English, and German lessons, Aleksandrina is learning to live independently and take care of herself. She eats healthy food and exercises regularly because she is well aware that a healthy mind and body are essential for proper voice development.
For the past eighteen years, Maestra Kabaivanska’s prestigious international master class has brought together promising singing talent from all over the world. Many Bulgarian and foreign performers have seen their abilities unfold through the prima’s experienced nurturing. Several of the world’s opera heavyweights today got their first break in Sofia. Maestra Kabaivanska continues to share her experience generously with aspiring singers and has done more than anyone else to place Bulgaria on the world opera map.
