The young operatic diva Aleksandrina Mihaylova – A celebration on stage

On 13 December 2025, the auditorium of the Sofia Opera was filled to capacity for yet another performance of Verdi’s La traviata, repeatedly interrupted by waves of enthusiastic applause. While the success of the evening was undoubtedly the achievement of the entire creative team, the audience listened with particular rapt attention to the interpreter of Violetta.

At just 27, Aleksandrina Mihaylova—one of the most cherished pupils of the legendary Raina Kabaivanska—had already aroused keen anticipation before the curtain rose. During the performance she garnered fervent acclaim and, by its close, had unequivocally won the audience’s affection. Her Violetta is sincere and sensual, refined and elegant, irresistibly charming, yet also combative, strong, and dignified. The beautifully sculpted phrases of her finely judged vocal conception find their culmination in the celebrated duet with Giorgio Germont.

In life, Aleksandrina is a gentle and modest young woman, endowed with a captivating smile, yet also with the strong character, determination, and willpower essential for conquering the great European and international stages. She was born in Shumen, where she began piano lessons at the age of seven, joined a children’s choir, and, at fourteen, turned decisively toward operatic singing.

In 2016, she auditioned for Raina Kabaivanska’s International Master Class in Sofia, but as she had not yet completed her schooling and did not speak Italian, she was unable to continue her studies in Italy. The following year, however, she participated in the masterclass and was awarded the prestigious Raina Kabaivanska Foundation scholarship to study at the Vecchi–Tonelli Music Institute in Modena.

In 2021, Mihaylova was selected among 430 candidates from around the world to receive a two-year full scholarship at the Accademia Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

Alexandrina made her operatic stage debut in 2021 in Sofia, performing the role of Liù in Puccini’s Turandot. In September 2022, she made her debut at La Scala itself as Carolina in Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto, followed by another leading role on the Milanese stage in Pierangelo Valtinoni's Il piccolo principe.

She usually spends Christmas with her family, whom she describes as “an entirely ordinary Bulgarian family”. Her father worked in the gendarmerie and her mother is a laboratory technician. The decision to pursue music was entirely her own. She speaks with gratitude of all her teachers, for their faith—past and present—in her potential. After completing Kabaivanska’s master class, she was invited by the great soprano to Italy:

'It was like opening the door to a whole new world,' Aleksandrina recalls. 'She took me to Modena. I had never left Shumen or lived anywhere else. I had travelled around Bulgaria, but going abroad and starting to live in a new place was a huge shock. The Maestra was by my side every step of the way. She helped me find accommodation and deal with documents — absolutely everything, like a true mother. She even fed me, inviting me to her home, where we often had lunch together.”

She then went on to study at La Scala’s academy for young opera singers, where she was taught by major international stars. After her debut as Liù at the Sofia Opera, she returned several times in triumph to the capital’s stage, and last year marked her resounding debut as Violetta in La traviata. Since 2023, she has been a permanent soloist at the Varna Opera, which she affectionately refers to as “a second home”. When not in Varna, she divides her time between Milan and Modena. Raina Kabaivanska remains the guiding mentor of her artistic path, while the Sofia Opera holds a special place in her heart: 'I truly return with immense pleasure every time I sing here.”

When asked what she would wish for herself and for everyone at Christmas and in the year 2026, she replies:

'First of all, I wish for health — for myself and for everyone in Bulgaria and beyond. And the other most important thing is to stand firm for what we fight for, for what we desire, for what is truly ours. We must also be united — far more united than many believe us to be. Because we are a strong people. Our weakness has always been our disunity. May that change, and may we become much more united.”

Editor: Elena Karkalanova

Posted in English by E. Radkova