25 June 2010

The initiative to establish a master programme in opera singing, aimed at the professional training of young and talented singers springs from the need to preserve an extraordinary cultural patrimony of Italy, that of Opera and Belcanto.

The SANTA CECILIA National Academy took up this challenge and in 2004 established Opera Studio, a programme of master courses aimed at completing every aspect of opera singers' professional training, from musical interpretation and vocal technique, to the presence on stage, correct diction and choice of repertory.

Through collaboration with theatres and festivals in Italy and abroad, among them Belcanto Festival of Montreal, Mikhailovsky Theatre in S. Petersburg and Boris Christoff Foundation in Rome the Studio offers the most distinguished students some work opportunities.

Since the first session in 2004, more than 250 singers from all over the world have attended the Studio courses. Teachers at the Studio are Renata Scotto - Vocal Interpretation, Anna Vandi - Vocal Technique, Cesare Scarton - Acting and Movement, Italian Diction.

GANCHO GANCHEV graduated from the Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts in Plovdiv where he studied orchestral conducting with Prof. I. Spasov.

Later he specialized orchestral and opera conducting with Ass. Prof. K. Chaplikov. Since 1998 he has been Chief Artistic Director of the Varna Children's Opera at the Municipal Children's Centre.

He has been conductor and producer of more than 12 musicals, including: Scrooge by J. Lacey, The Wizard of Oz by H. Arlen, American Weekend by Al. Yosifov, West Side Story by L. Bernstein, The Kid by T. Nagy and others. He has had concerts in Bulgaria, Germany, Austria, Greece, Russia, Ukraine, Italy, Canada and others.

In 2005 he founded the VARNA CHAMBER ORCHESTRA featuring professional musicians from the Opera-Philharmonic Society-Varna and since then he has been leading it and has given more than 50 concerts with this orchestra.