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The tour starts in ‎Niagara and will continue in Toronto, Kitchener, Plevna, Ottawa and Montreal

Boris Christoff Museum to mark its 20th anniversary with tour in Canada

Photo: Facebook/BorisChristoffMuseum

The Boris Christoff Museum - the institution in Sofia, which zealously preserves ‎the memory of one of the greatest artists in world opera history, is a vibrant ‎center for artists from all spheres of art. In 2023, the State Cultural Institute ‎under the Ministry of Culture will celebrate 20 years since its establishment and, ‎on this occasion, will tour six Canadian cities. 


"We will celebrate while working ‎‎- they say that it is happiness to work what you love! ‎ We start the tour in Canada on April 21st. We will present the Boris Christoff ‎Museum with the photography exhibition of Svetoslav Chulin "Rome. Boris ‎Christoff", with the documentary "Dream, Come True" by Elena Dragostinova ‎and Yordan Boychev and with concerts of Spectrum vocal group, says Elena ‎Dragostinova, who has been at the head of the cultural institute since its ‎foundation.‎

The programme


‎"Rome. Boris Christoff" – we can find these words at the end of hundreds of ‎letters that the great opera artist, pedagogue and donor sent from the Eternal City ‎to his relatives, friends and colleagues from all over the world, and now they ‎become the starting point of the photographic exhibition of Svetoslav Chulin, ‎which will be presented in Canada. "The long stay of the great Bulgarian bass in ‎Rome left an imprint on his personality, here Boris Christoff developed as an artist ‎with broad cultural interests. But Rome is also eternity, which is built by ‎individuals", Elena Dragostinova tells BTA. 

In Rome, Boris Christoff experienced ‎some of his greatest triumphs. This is where his desire to dedicate himself to the ‎improvement of future opera artists was fulfilled. In 1986, his villa on Madonna ‎di Campiglio street solemnly opened its doors to Bulgarian talents under the ‎name "Bulgarian Academy of Arts and Culture".‎

The documentary "Dream come true" tells about Boris Christoff's dream and his ‎will to turn his Sofia home in the quiet neighborhood at 43 Tsar Samuil Street ‎into a living museum of musical renown, but also a springboard for young ‎talents, in a space for the exchange of wisdom and fresh ideas between different ‎generations of artists. How this happens today is told by singers, artists, actors ‎and producers who are bound forever to this oasis of creativity. ‎

The Spectrum vocal ensemble will present in Canada its own programme with ‎their own arrangements of  Bulgarian folklore, evergreens and pop music. ‎

The route

The tour of the Boris Christoff museum across the ocean will begin on April 21 in ‎Niagara and continues in Toronto, Kitchener, Plevna, Ottawa and Montreal. This ‎visit is part of the Days of Bulgarian Art in Canada, which were opened at ‎the beginning of April in Toronto. They started with a collective exhibition ‎Evolving Connections, presenting works by artists of Bulgarian origin living in ‎the USA and Canada. The main organizer is Bulgarian national Elitsa ‎Yordanova, who has been living in Canada for many years. "Elitsa Yordanova ‎took care of the stages, the meetings with the audience and many other big and ‎small things, we thank her from the bottom of our hearts!" says Elena ‎Dragostinova. ‎

After the return from the Canadian tour, the Museum will organize the 19th ‎Festival of Arts "Boris Christoff" in Sofia - from May 18 to June 30.‎


The State Cultural Institute "Boris Christoff" combines the functions of a ‎museum and a center in which art programs are carried out with young ‎performers under the guidance of authoritative educators. Over the years, artists ‎from Austria, Australia, England, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, North ‎Macedonia, Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Poland, Russia, the USA, Finland, France, ‎the Netherlands, Sweden, South Korea have visited its halls.‎

The Boris Christoff Museum also features an international composition ‎competition "Miniatures for a Big Voice".‎

The cultural institute presented the creative heritage of Boris Christoff and his ‎followers in a number of cultural centers such as Moscow, Avignon, Almaty, ‎Astana, Berlin, Bratislava, Banska Bystrica, Vienna, Paris, St. Petersburg, ‎Moscow, Rome, Washington, New York. For its intense work in 2008, the Boris ‎Christoff museum was awarded the European Cultural Heritage Badge.‎

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Compiled by Elena Karkalanova

English version and publication by Rositsa Petcova



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