site.btaSoprano Sonya Yoncheva Likes Experimentation in Art, but Only if Done in Good Taste

Operatic soprano Sonya Yoncheva favours experimentation in art, but only if it is done in good taste. On Monday, she told journalists: "The only way to get closer to the new generation is to begin to speak its language. All the digital stuff, the image projections, the mapping technology, allows us to see a show from multiple perspectives. What I would never change by any means is the composer's score. It is a document bequeathed to us and we have no right to alter it, but the way we 'serve' it to the audience is of great importance."

Yoncheva will appear in two operas by Giacomo Puccini during the Open Air Opera Festival in Varna. She will sing in La Boheme on August 6 and Madama Butterfly on August 10.

"Culture should be diverse and accessible, a right of every person in a given country," the diva said. This is the idea of her project, Intimate Voices, which is intended to attract an ever-growing audience.

She is keen on following events in Bulgaria, although she has not lived here for 23 years. She sees much progress in the country, particularly business-wise. "It is about time people started talking about a culture industry," she said. Therefore, she has created a media platform called Bulgarian Artist, in which artists can "see" themselves and find their problems talked about. "It is important that the platform is clean, free of influences, and describes the cultural reality of Bulgaria," Yoncheva said.

Discussing her upcoming performances, she said the right way to stage La Boheme is the classical way, because the story is so beautiful it does not need to be embellished. In Madama Butterfly, the main character undergoes a remarkable evolution as she descends deeper into her inner drama, wishing she could belong to a different nation, the singer said.

Asked to what degree a singer can improvise on stage, Yoncheva said there should be no limits to it. She cited as an example a contemporary staging of Puccini's Tosca in Rome, in which she sang recently. It was radically different from anything she had done before. It incorporated image projections, and the main character was presented in the style of Anna Magnani, appearing in a state of undress in Act 2. Yoncheva said she likes Tosca because the girl is very young, bold and loving and knows no borders, and people still relate to her story, which can be told in many ways.

The soprano is perfectly happy with her career. "It is very important to me to leave a legacy for the next generations of artists, to help young people become familiar with art, beginning from my own children. They are the future, and I try to pass down to them what I know about life and the opportunities my job has given me," she said.

The opera singer's job requires a lot of physical effort, she noted. A singer needs to be prepared to breathe and run around wearing a 15-kilo costume. "Sometimes I feel like an athlete. Young people should know that working out is a must," she said.

Yoncheva is in Varna for the second year in a row. Last season, she took part in an opera gala in the seaside city.