World-renowned Bulgarian soprano Krassimira Stoyanova was born in the historic city of Veliko Tarnovo. She graduated from the National School of Music in Ruse and the Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts in Plovdiv, where she obtained degrees in violin, voice, and music pedagogy.
She took her first steps on the operatic stage at the Sofia National Opera, and after her 1998 debut at the Vienna State Opera, she soon established herself as one of the leading interpreters of Verdi, Puccini, Mozart and Richard Strauss. Between 1999 and 2003 she was a soloist of the Vienna State Opera, and in 2009 she received the prestigious title “Kammersängerin” of the Vienna State Opera.
Her international career includes performances on the most prestigious stages worldwide – the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Covent Garden, the Salzburg Festival, Teatro Real Madrid, Zurich Opera, and many others. She has collaborated with distinguished conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, James Levine, Christian Thielemann, and Mariss Jansons.
Krassimira Stoyanova has an extensive discography, including solo albums with operatic arias for Orfeo, releases for Naxos, and appearances in acclaimed DVD productions. She performs recitals in leading concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, Musikverein and Konzerthaus Vienna, as well as at major European festivals.
She is the recipient of numerous national and artistic awards from the Republic of Bulgaria, including:
The artistry of Krassimira Stoyanova combines outstanding vocal mastery, deep emotional expression, and exceptional dedication on stage – qualities that inspire generations of young opera singers all over the world.
Andrea De Amici is a distinguished Italian artistic manager and promoter, recognized as one of the key figures in today’s world of opera and concert art. He was born in 1971 in Milan – a city whose rich cultural traditions and musical environment shaped his professional path and sensitivity to artistic processes. He graduated in Modern Literature from the University of Milan, completing a Master’s thesis dedicated to the literary sources of Jacques Offenbach’s operatic masterpiece The Tales of Hoffmann.
His career in the field of artistic management began in 1996, when he took part in organizing the second Italian tour of the renowned Mariinsky Theatre from Saint Petersburg, hosted by the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Following this successful start, he worked for more than six years with Giuseppe Oldani’s agency, where he was primarily responsible for international relations and markets outside Italy. This experience enabled him to build a strong network of partnerships with theatres, festivals, conductors, and young singers, as well as to gain in-depth knowledge of the dynamics of global artistic management.
In 2003, he founded his own company — Agenzia De Amici, which quickly established itself on the Italian scene as a reliable mediator between talent and professional opportunities. Its success led, in 2010, to the creation of InArt Management, bringing together the expertise and resources of several leading professionals in the field. Today, the agency is headquartered in Milan and works with numerous renowned singers, conductors, and stage artists, securing engagements, international connections, and strategic positioning for them.
As a co-founder and head of the artistic portfolio of InArt Management, Andrea De Amici plays a central role in expanding the creative horizons of performers. His work encompasses not only traditional representation but also full-scale management — from image development and marketing strategy to coordinating international tours, contracts, and collaborations. Under his leadership, InArt Management partners with major opera houses, orchestras, and festivals across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
Andrea De Amici serves as a jury member at international vocal competitions, among them the Magda Olivero Competition, Lirica Domani, as well as numerous prestigious forums for young talents. He is actively involved in masterclasses and professional meetings at music academies and opera studios, where he presents the real pathway to the professional stage and the role of the agent as a mediator between artistic potential and performance opportunities.
With his international experience, deep knowledge of the operatic market, and keen eye for discovering and supporting young talent, Andrea De Amici will be a valuable member of the Jury of the First International Forum for Opera Art “Krasimira Stoyanova.”
The internationally acclaimed Russian bass Maksim Kuzmin-Karavaev is an artist with a magnetic stage presence and a solid vocal foundation. Born in Moscow, he combines thorough vocal training with an impressive international career.
He graduated with honors from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 2004 and continued his studies at the prestigious Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Center, where he refined his vocal technique and interpretive mastery under the guidance of the legendary prima.
Between 2007 and 2013, he was a soloist at the Kolobov New Opera Theatre in Moscow, where he created a captivating gallery of roles—from King René in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and Don Magnifico in Rossini’s La Cenerentola to Sobakin in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride. His portrayals are distinguished by psychological depth and noble vocal timbre.
Since 2009, he has performed actively on some of the world’s most prestigious stages. At the Rome Opera, he sang Calchas in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Aulide under the baton of Riccardo Muti—a milestone in his international career. In the following years, he interpreted Pimen in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège (Belgium), Debrecen, Budapest and Santander, as well as Don Alfonso in Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia in Santiago de Chile.
In 2015, Kuzmin-Karavaev made his Bolshoi Theatre debut as Bartolo in the premiere production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, further affirming his artistic stature and stage maturity.
Beyond the opera stage, he frequently appears in major concert halls worldwide—the Berlin Philharmonie, the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in New York, the San Francisco Philharmonic, and the renowned festivals of Baden-Baden, Santander, Budapest and others. His concert repertoire includes works by Glinka, Mussorgsky, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, Verdi, Bellini and Donizetti.
He has collaborated with distinguished conductors such as Valery Polyansky and Alexander Rudin, and has appeared with leading orchestras including Novaya Rossiya, Musica Viva, and the Russian State Symphony Capella.
As a jury member of the First International Opera Art Forum, Maksim Kuzmin-Karavaev brings global perspective, pedagogical insight, and authentic artistry to inspire young opera talents.
Kiril Manolov is one of the most prominent and recognizable Bulgarian baritones on the contemporary opera scene. Born in Sofia, he graduated from the National Music Academy “Pancho Vladigerov”, then continued his specialization in opera singing in Milan and Vienna, refining his vocal and stage artistry under distinguished mentors.
The acclaimed baritone is a laureate of numerous prestigious international competitions (in Vienna, Warsaw, Barcelona, etc.) and recipient of many national distinctions. Among them are the First Prize at the National Competition “Ghena Dimitrova” (2006) and the Grand Prize “Golden Ring of Sofia” at the 14th International Competition for Young Opera Singers “Boris Christoff” (2009).
For over 25 years, he has built a rich international career, performing at major opera houses in Rome, Berlin, Barcelona, Chicago, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Budapest, Lisbon, Brussels, Munich, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Parma, Modena, Bologna, and at renowned festivals in Ravenna, Macerata, Savonlinna, Dubrovnik and Palma de Mallorca.
On stage, Manolov impresses with a powerful timbre, expressive delivery, and commanding dramatic presence. His repertoire includes more than 50 leading roles in operas by Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti, Rossini, Mozart, Gounod, Bizet, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Kurt Weill. Among his signature roles are Nabucco, Rigoletto, Simon Boccanegra, Macbeth, Count di Luna, Iago, Falstaff, Scarpia, Gianni Schicchi, Figaro, Gérard and others.
He also performs actively in the concert repertoire—cantatas and oratorios by Bach, Beethoven, Fauré and Brahms, as well as chamber music by Bulgarian and foreign composers.
His artistic career includes collaborations with some of the most eminent conductors and stage directors of our time—Riccardo Muti, Carlo Rizzi, Simone Young, Alexander Vedernikov, Ivan Repušić, Damiano Michieletto, Arnaud Bernard, Dietrich Hilsdorf, David McVicar and others.
His voice and interpretations are preserved in numerous recordings for Bulgarian National Radio, Croatian Radio and Television (HRT), Austrian National Radio ORF, Italian broadcaster RAI, and in CD and video productions released by Harmonia Mundi, RMM and BNR.
In recent years, Manolov has been passing on his experience and inspiration to young artists as a full-time assistant professor at the Vocal Faculty of the National Music Academy “Pancho Vladigerov”.
As a jury member of the First International Opera Art Forum, Kiril Manolov contributes his authority, stage experience and dedication to supporting young opera singers.
Georgi Patrikov is among the distinguished and actively performing Bulgarian conductors of his generation—a musician of exceptional professionalism, strong stage presence and profound understanding of the balance between tradition and contemporary interpretation in opera and symphonic music.
Born in Sofia, he graduated from the National Music Academy “Pancho Vladigerov”, studying choral and orchestral conducting under eminent professors Vassil Kazandjiev, Krum Maksimov and Plamen Dzhurov. He further refined his craft in masterclasses with world-renowned conductors such as Jorma Panula and Allan Hazeldine.
His early achievements include participation in prestigious international conducting competitions in Russia, Italy, Spain and Bulgaria. In 2006, Patrikov won a laureate award at the “Gennady Rozhdestvensky” competition, which launched his active concert and opera career.
Since 2022, Georgi Patrikov has served as Artistic Director of the musical ensembles of the Music and Drama Theatre “Konstantin Kisimov” in Veliko Tarnovo. Under his leadership, the theatre has presented numerous new opera and concert productions at leading festivals and stages across Bulgaria. His conducting style is characterized by energy, precision, and a deep sense of musical dramaturgy.
Alongside his theatre work, Patrikov appears regularly as a guest conductor with major Bulgarian orchestras, including the Symphony Orchestra of BNR, Sofia Philharmonic, chamber ensemble “Sofia Soloists”, Symphony Orchestras of Vidin, Sofia and Shumen, and the State Opera – Ruse. He has recorded extensively with the BNR Symphony Orchestra, presenting works by Bulgarian and international composers.
Since 2014, Patrikov has been an associate professor at the National Music Academy “Pancho Vladigerov”, where he teaches opera-symphonic conducting, preparing new generations of conductors with dedication and high professional standards.
As a jury member of the First International Opera Art Forum “Krassimira Stoyanova”, Georgi Patrikov brings his broad stage and pedagogical experience, musical insight, and inspiration in support of the next generation of opera talents.
