Sonya Yoncheva builds bridges between Bulgarian and international musicians

On June 23, the stage of the Ancient Theater in Plovdiv will gather for a glamorous ceremony and concert the first laureates of the international "Thracian Awards for Classical Music" - the latest initiative of opera prima Sonya Yoncheva in partnership with the State Opera Plovdiv. Bulgaria’s great star returns to her hometown to participate in the first edition of the new project, which this year opens the popular Opera Open festival.

In the midst of the preparation of the event, journalist Ivaylo Spasov - a key figure in the team of Sonya Yoncheva's production company SY11 Events, spoke with Radio Bulgaria.

"Sonya's goal is to build a tradition so that the historical region of Thrace, with which we also associate the myth of Orpheus and inspired so many works of art, can live a new life. I literally quote her thought that the whole world speaks with respect about the Roman tradition, the ancient Greeks, the Egyptians, but not enough is known about the Thracians and what they left in culture and civilization. Sonya Yoncheva, who was born in Plovdiv and grew up in this oldest living city in Europe, was influenced by her Thracian roots. She herself says about herself: ‘I am a Thracian! This has largely determined my character, the colours of my voice, the way I express myself and the affinity I have for art.’ And indeed, with the Thracian Awards for Classical Music, which from now on will be held every year, she aims to build a bridge between Bulgaria and the world."

According to Mr. Spasov, Sonya Yoncheva believes that classical music and opera in particular have been the strongest cultural representation of Bulgaria for decades. Among the first laureates of the new awards is another prominent Plovdiv resident - composer Dobrinka Tabakova. The award for overall contribution to classical art goes to opera legend Anna Tomova-Sintova, and the award for debut goes to young and incredibly talented Georgian Ekaterine Buachidze - winner of the last edition of the prestigious Operalia competition, which was held for the first time in Bulgaria in October 2025.
Laureates are artists with impressive careers: director Vera Nemirova, soloist of the Sofia Opera Gabriela Georgieva, prima ballerina Marta Petkova, young pianist Emanuil Ivanov, while the Wagner Festival in Sofia was distinguished as a unique phenomenon for Eastern Europe. World stars Pacho Flores and Jakub Orliński are soloist (instrumentalist) and singer of the year and the Bavarian State Opera receives the award for opera theatre.

The selection of categories and laureates is entirely up to Sonya Yoncheva, who, in addition to being a performer with a 20-year-long global career, is also a music producer, publisher and cultural entrepreneur. This activity brought her the prestigious European Cultural Prize for 2026 at the European Cultural Forum. The award, which has been presented over the years to personalities such as Sophia Loren, Karl Lagerfeld and other significant European artists and creators, will be presented to the Bulgarian on September 4 at the Concertgebouw hall in Amsterdam.

"She has unquestionable authority, observations on all world stages," Ivaylo Spasov says. “At the same time, this is not just an award presented to specific people. It has a larger public mission - to promote the talent, work and opportunities of the Thrace region and Bulgaria as a whole.”

The idea of ​​the initiative is for it to be a bridge and to create partnerships. In fact, they are already emerging and Ivaylo Spasov gives us an example: "Before the Thracian Awards for Classical Music Sonya Yoncheva and Dobrinka Tabakova had never worked together. When we informed Dobrinka Tabakova that she had been chosen to receive an award, she was very happy about this gesture and then she said: ‘I am currently making a new orchestration of my work Starry Night based on poems by Ivan Vazov and I have conceived it for soprano and orchestra. I imagined Sonya Yoncheva as the soloist!’. That is why Sonya will perform this work at the concert. So, the first collaboration of two successful Bulgarian women in their field, who have not worked together before, will take place during the Thracian Awards for Classical Music."

When asked what kind of person Sonya Yoncheva is and is she easy to work with, Mr. Spasov says:

"Oh, Sonya is a wonderful person in every sense of the word, and I'm not trying to be polite. Sonya Yoncheva is a huge dreamer, a person who gives all her time, heart and soul to the projects she implements in Bulgaria. She is developing her global career, but it is no coincidence that she has chosen to implement her biggest projects in Bulgaria. She is so involved in every single detail, be it the Thracian Awards, the Gala in Sofia, or the Bulgarian Artist magazine. She knows every single detail. For her, these are truly intimate projects."

It is still a secret what exactly the Thracian Awards for Classical Music are and who the author of the statuettes is. We will find out on June 23 at 9 p.m. on the stage of the Ancient Theater in Plovdiv.