The internationally acclaimed soprano, Sonya Yoncheva, is set for a rare appearance in Belgium as part of her new European tour.
Along with the Cappella Mediterranea (under Leonardo Garcia Alarcon), she will appear in concert in Brussels at Bozar on 15 December.
It is an opportunity to present her latest creation, “Rebirth”, to the Belgian public.
The lockdown of spring 2020 allowed Yoncheva and the conductor Leonardo García Alarcón to finally make the album they had been considering for 10 years and “Rebirth” is the result of this link up.
“Rebirth” includes a comprehensive musical programme of more than five centuries, from folksong to pop and some of the most powerful moments in seventeenth-century opera.
“Rebirth”, she says, is a “message of hope but also an exploration of an idea: that silence and inactivity are the best prelude to creative renewal.”
It is her personal message to spread hope in these difficult times “and embrace creative renewal.” This, her fourth album for Sony Classical, covers more than five centuries of music, ranging from traditional songs to pop to strong tunes from the 17th century operatic repertoire.
“This project is of great importance to me. I would like to highlight the timeless quality of this music, the sense of unlimited freedom that it offers us, building a bridge from the past to the present. It is all about connecting the world of Monteverdi to the world of the Bulgarian folk, the Spanish hacaras to English madrigals. We wanted to show how global the sound of this music can be, even if in that time people could not communicate as we do now.”
Sonya Yoncheva.
After a successful European tour of concerts and recitals in six different cities this summer from Toulouse to Munich, Ljubljana, Baden-Baden, Montpellier and Salzburg, Yoncheva continues with another tour that will complete the year. Her upcoming rare appearance in Belgium with her highly expected concert in December will close the year before her final series of concerts in Berlin. Due to sanitary distancing, tickets for the event will be limited but can be booked.
Yoncheva has been heralded as one of the most acclaimed and creative performers of her generation by the media and the world of opera.She and Cappella Mediterranea performed a repertoire at the Salzburg Festival in August 2020 and received some acclaim.
“Music that moves you to tears” wrote the APA and the FAZ raved about her Bulgarian folksong ‘Zableinano mi agunce’ being “an unforgettable emotional experience”.
“Rebirth” was recorded for SONY Classical with Alarcón and his ensemble Cappella Mediterranea and was released in March 2021.
With her unforgettable portrayals of iconic roles, she has become an acclaimed fixture on the most important stages of the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Teatro alla Scala, Bayerische Staatsoper, Berlin State Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, and the Opéra de Paris.
Her extensive repertoire includes jewels of the Baroque canon, as well as works by Mozart, Verdi, Tchaikovsky, and Puccini. Celebrated for her distinctly beautiful voice and exceptional dramatic presence. She is equally at home on the concert and recital stage, having performed to critical acclaim in several cities in Europe and around the world.
Born in 1981,Yoncheva graduated with performance degrees in piano and voice in her hometown of Plovdiv, Bulgaria under the tutelage of Nelly Koitcheva. She later obtained her master’s degree in voice at the Conservatory of Geneva, studying with Danielle Borst. Yoncheva is also the winner of several renowned international competitions, including top prize and the special CultureArte prize at Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competition (2010). She was honored as the Newcomer of the Year (Singer) at the 2015 ECHO Klassik Awards and received the Special Prize of the Les Amis du Festival for her performance of Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, at the Academy of Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (2007). She also won the 2019 Readers’ Award of The International Opera Awards.
Yoncheva is also a prizewinner of numerous competitions in her home country of Bulgari, including: “Competition for Bulgarian Classical Music” in 2000 and “Competition for German and Austrian Classical Music” in 2001.
She and her brother Marin Yonchev were lauded as the Singers of the Year in the 2000 edition of the competition “Hit-1,” produced by Bulgarian National Television. Yoncheva has collaborated with acclaimed popular artists including Sting and Elvis Costello, and she retains a keen interest in film music, which includes her past collaborations with famed composer Vladimir Cosma.
Her records also include the Verdi Album and her debut solo album Paris, mon amour, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and several recordings on DVD/Blu-Ray. Her discography also includes CD recordings of Le nozze di Figaro (Contessa) for Deutsche Gramophone, Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea from the Salzburg Festival and Handel’s Messiah with the world-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Yoncheva is the recipient of many international awards and recently was acclaimed in her latest Sofia concert with Placindo Domingo. She is also a global ambassador for Unicef.
