Veselin Stoykov

Orchestra and choir together — the Sofia Philharmonic and the Choir of New Bulgarian University — carried the gala of Raina Kabaivanska's international master class at Bulgaria Hall on 28 September 2006, a programme of Mozart, Cilea, Lehár, Donizetti, Verdi and Tchaikovsky in which Veselin Stoykov sang. Stoykov was born on 1 November 1973 in Stara Zagora and first trained as a violinist before studying voice at the National Music Academy in Sofia and the Hochschule für Musik Detmold; he later took a master's degree in vocal pedagogy and a 2010 doctorate in musicology at New Bulgarian University. He made his stage debut in 1994 as Don Basilio at the State Opera Stara Zagora, where he has been general director since February 2007; his roles include Colline, Ramphis, Sparafucile and the title parts in Don Giovanni and Attila. He studied singing at the Pancho Vladigerov Academy in Sofia, continued his training in Detmold and pursued vocal pedagogy and doctoral work at New Bulgarian University. His operatic debut came as Don Basilio at State Opera Stara Zagora in 1995. Alongside his stage work, he has appeared in concert repertoire, including Beethoven's Missa solemnis and Ninth Symphony in Sofia Philharmonic programmes. His performances have also included Benjamin Ashkenazi's Jewish Soul project with the orchestra and chorus of Varna State Opera.