site.btaTenor Mario Nikolov: The Audience in Pazardzhik Has Deep Musical Appreciation

The audience in Pazardzhik has deep musical appreciation, tenor Mario Nikolov told BTA's Nikoleta Mandzhukova, following his Saturday evening performance at the Winter Musical Evenings – Prof. Ivan Spasov International Festival.

The operetta evening at Maestro Georgi Atanasov Hall brought together Nikolov, soprano Valentina Korchakova, and pianist Stefan Petkov, who performed arias and duets from works by Franz Lehár, Johann Strauss, Jacques Offenbach, and Imre Kálmán.

"The Winter Musical Evenings festival holds fond memories from my childhood. I grew up with this festival, as I played the violin as a child, and my parents constantly took me to concerts. For me, this is a very dear memory," Nikolov said.

He expressed gratitude to Grigor Palikarov and the Municipality of Pazardzhik for the invitation to take part in the anniversary edition of the festival.

"I am happy to perform for the audience in Pazardzhik. I believe it is highly musically educated, especially in the operetta genre," Nikolov said. "I have never lost my connection with my hometown and always return with joy because I have many friends here."

As a special moment of the evening, his daughter, Chiara Nikolova, took the stage and performed Sevdana by Georgi Zlatev-Cherkin on the violin. "She is in 10th grade at the National Music School, and this beautiful and emblematic piece of the Bulgarian violin school is deeply emotional," he said.

Nikolov noted that orchestras across Bulgaria support and encourage young musicians. When launching the Eternal Music television programme on BNT, one of its key objectives was to provide a platform for young performers alongside prominent figures in Bulgarian and global classical and jazz music, he said.

He emphasized the role of operetta in engaging audiences. "Operetta is the art of youth, love, and people. It is not an elitist art, as some claim. It began as the pop music of its time—from Offenbach, then through Strauss, whose golden statue stands in Vienna. This is music that speaks directly to people's hearts. The themes are timeless, and the dramaturgy is closely tied to real life. Operetta immerses the audience in their own emotions by reflecting life on stage. It is meant to move people. If they do not leave the theatre humming the melodies we performed, then we have not done our job," Nikolov said.

Regarding the Municipality of Pazardzhik’s initiative to restore the city's Operetta Theatre, he expressed hope that the project would be realized, as Pazardzhik has strong traditions in this art form.

Tenor and director Mario Nikolov was born in Pazardzhik. He studied opera singing at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and the Pancho Vladigerov National Academy of Music in Sofia. He graduated in directing from the Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts, specializing in musical stage productions. He also trained in performing arts and cultural management. A recipient of numerous awards for contributions to Bulgarian culture and the arts, since 2018, he has been the author, scriptwriter, and host of the weekly BNT programme Eternal Music, dedicated to classical music and jazz, Pazardzhik Municipality said.