Alexandrina Milcheva
Alexandrina Milcheva is born in Smiadovo, Bulgaria , as the youngest of three sisters in the family of an orthodox priest. As a young child, her family moves to the town of Shoumen, where she completes her high school studies. In this period she sings in the school choir. Her initiation in the art of singing is a complete failure, despite her beautiful voice - she applies to the Conservatory of Sofia, but is not admited due to 'a lack of voice characteristics and a career perspective'. Although she has another dream- archeology, she doesn't give up the necessity of singing and the first obstacles fail to discourage her.
Her goal is to become a professional musician, and she commences to accomplish it with a pedantic staunchness and discipline: first as a member of the choir at the Opera of Varna, and later as a soloist of the Singing Society of Mr. Michael Milkov with the National Radio. During this period, she starts her education of singing technique with Prof. Georgi Zlatev- Cherkin, with whom she works for five years.
The following stage in her development as a performer is again linked to the Opera of Varna. In 1960, Alexandrina Milcheva is invited to become a soloist at the opera house. On this stage, she prepares numerous leading roles, some of which are to become leading for her repertoire.
Alexandrina Milcheva makes her debut in the role of Dorabella from the opera Cosi fan Tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
In 1966 she receives her first acknowledgement, while still singing in Varna - the Premier Grand Prix at the International Singing Competition in Toulouse, France. This price has an enormous influence in her entire professional and private life. On one hand this leads to her first appearances on international opera stages, but furthermore it creates a lifetime link with this city. She has appeared in numerous productions on the stage of Theatre du Capitole and has gradually become one of it's trademarks. Furthermore she was a member of the jury in the very same competition, which launched her career in the past. Today many of the students appear both in the competition, as well as on stage in Toulouse.
In 1968, Alexandrina Milcheva is invited to join the ensemble of the National Opera of Sofia. She makes her debut on that stage with the extremely difficult virtuoso role of Angelina in Gioacchino Rossini's La Cenerentola. On that stage she appears in some of her most memorable roles- Amneris in Aida, Azucena in Il Trovatore, Marina in Boris Godounov, and above all as Carmen.
1976 is a year of remarkable significance for Alexandrina Milcheva. She is invited by the former director of the Opera in Plovdid- Maestro Borislav Ivanov, to perform the role of Marina in the great russian opera by Modest Moussorgski Boris Godounov. One of the spectators of this performance is Prof. Egon Seefehlner - director of the WIENER STAATSOPER. Fascinated by her class and vocal abilities, he invites her as a soloist in his theatre. Alexandrina Milcheva signs a contract with Vienna the same year, and for over a decade, becomes one of the leading stars of this prestigious opera house.
Two years later she is invited by Maestro Herbert von Karajan to appear in the role of Azucena in Verdi's Il Trovatore at the SALZBURGER FESTSPIELE. What follows are great success and brilliant reviews. But the partnership with the great conducter is broken, when Alexandrina Milcheva refuses to appear as Eboli in Don Carlos. Karajan never forgives her act of disobedience and never works with her again. Alexandrina Milcheva performs this role many years later on the Stage of GRAND OPERA in Paris, when she is confident enough in her own vocal technique.
The career of Alexandrina Milcheva leads her to all major opera stages and concert halls in the world. She is expected and hence excitedly applauded on the stages of La Scala, Arena di Verona, Teatro San Carlo- Naples, Teatro Communale - Florence, Teatro Communale - Bologna, Teatro dell'Opera -Rome,Grand Opera-Paris, Covent Garden, The Bolshoi, The MET, San Francisco Opera House, the operas in Dallas, Cincinati, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Teatro Colon of Buenos Aires, the opera houses of Barcelona, Madrid, Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Munich, Hamburg, Bonn, and many others.
Alexandrina Milcheva apperas with conductors, such as - Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Zubin Metha, Lorin Maazel, George Pretre, Herbert von Karajan, Olivero de Fabbritis, Eugene Ormandy, Michel Plasson.
Despite her numerous engagements on opera stages of the world, Alexandrina Milcheva never gives up the chamber music- her secret love. She is one of the most notable performers of lieder and romances by Moussorgski, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovski, Richard Strauss, Robert Schumann, Franz Schubert, Claude Debussy, Vivaldi, Bach. Alexandrina Milcheva performs this chamber music with orchestra, but mainly as a duet with Svetla Protich, a remarkable pianist and professor at the Conservatory of Osaka. The two ladies appear together over 30 years. Due to the perfect harmony and symbiosis between them, they are the only chamber duet, which was invited to make two recitals at LA SCALA.
Parallel to her career as an opera and conert performer, Alexandrina Milcheva is one of the leading musical pedagogues with her own unique methods of teaching and thus with remarkably high results. For thirteen years she presents on the world stages young singers, graduates from her International Opera Academy SACRA.
