The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria awards the “Boris Christoff” golden medal to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden

11.03.2015

The Golden Jubilee medal “Boris Christoff”, with which the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria awarded the Royal Opera House, was officially handed to the Chief Executive of the Institution, Mr Alex Beard.

The delegation welcomed in the Royal Opera House was led by the Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to the United Kingdom, Mr Konstantin Dimitrov. His Excellency was joined by diplomats from the mission in London. The famous Bulgarian Concert Master of the Orchestra at the ROH, Mr Vasko Vassilev was also present at the meeting.

The “Boris Christoff” medal is awarded to people or organizations that have contributed to the promotion of Bulgarian culture around the world or have taken part in the global celebration of the centenary of the birth of the great Bulgarian basso. On this occasion, the ROH showed great support during the filming of the documentary feature about Boris Christoff called “Letter from Tuscany”. Boris Christoff has performed on the stage of the ROH for over 20 years, making his debut in 1949.

The award was accepted on behalf of the ROH by Mr Alex Beard, who highlighted the priceless heritage left behind by Boris Christoff, at the Opera. He emphasized on the noticeable Bulgarian presence currently on the stage of the ROH, in the face of Vasko Vassilev and Sonia Yoncheva.

Possibilities of future forms of collaboration between Bulgaria and the ROH were discussed during the course of the meeting, where the important role of the Bulgarian Cultural Institute London and the Bulgarian Embassy in promoting Bulgarian culture in the UK was underlined.

“Music is what unites us against the challenges faced of today’s modern world”, noted Alex Beard, as he accepted the award and certificate from the Ministry of Culture.