In the year when the Sofia Opera finally entered its own home and its company began to grow, a young and already known singer appeared for an audition there, Nadia Sharkova. This happened back in 1953.

Today, Mrs. Sharkova goes back in time: “I was actually a soloist of the Musical Theater when my shows started to be visited by conductor Asen Naydenov and stage-director Dragan Kardjiev. They had been impressed by my success at the World Youth Festival in Bucharest in 1953. There I received First Prize and a Gold Medal. So, I was invited to appear for an audition at the Opera, and joined the company. In 1954,I was selected to take part in the celebrated Emma Destinova and Karel Burian Contest, part of the Prague Spring Festival. A large jury staffed with famous musicians singled me out from among 180 sopranos! This was a big challenge and today after so many years I can definitely say that the prize was really a very high distinction for my skills. Together with tenor Lubomir Bodurov and the great Romanian baritone Nicolae Herlea we were selected to make recordings for an LP”, the singer recalls.

On June 2 this year Nadia Sharkova turned 90. She still looks well and vibrant, with excellent memory for past and present events, always curious and excited to discuss the latest developments. Her voice is still clear and resonant, and her account of her career is void of any sentimentality. Instead she picks up moments recalled with a lively sense of humor.

Born and raised in the Danube City of Rousse, still in junior high school she participated in the presentation of several children's operettas. Besides being a good singer, she played both the piano and violin with great devotion.

In 1944 she enrolled in the National Academy of Music in the class of Lyudmila Prokopova – a renowned pianist and pedagogue. Parallel with her studies Nadia Sharkova was invited to sing at Odeon Theater in Sofia where she had her debut in 1943. And since 1944 she appeared consecutively as soloist at the Artistic Operetta Theater, the Popular Operetta and at the newly founded State Musical Theater. This is where Nadia Sharkova emerged as a singer with a beautiful and powerful soprano, with outspoken musicality, artistry and intelligence, qualities that naturally took her to Bulgaria’s leading operatic stage.

A foremost soloist in Sofia theaters, Nadia Sharkova became popular with a few big parts such as Silva in The Gypsy Princess, Juno in Orpheus in the Underworld, Helena in Beautiful Helena, the princess in The Bird Seller, Stella in The Free Wind etc. Elegant, beautiful, artistic, with a big and steady voice, Sharkova quickly rose to operetta stardom.

In the Sofia Opera Aida was one of the most impressive parts of the singer: just like Elizabeth in Don Carlos, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera, the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Neda in Pagliacci, Lisa in The Queen of Spades Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew and other big soprano parts in the works of great German, Italian and Russian composers.

It is worth mentioning here Nadia Sharkova‘s attitude to Bulgarian opera - with remarkable success and a wonderful voice and artistic presentation she has interpreted a range of female characters from operas by Lubomir Pipkov, Marin Goleminov, Parashkev Hadziev, Konstantin Iliev etc.

Let us wish Nadia Sharkova the best of health, good luck and happiness for her 90^th birthday and for other birthdays to come.

English Daniela Konstantinova

The audio to this feature includes the following recordings with opera singer Nadia Sharkova:

1/ An aria of Helena from Act 2 of the opera La belle Helene by Jacques Offenbach in the rendition of Nadia Sharkova and the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vasil Stefanov (a recording from 1957)

2/ A fragment from Scene 1 from the opera Ivaylo by Marin Goleminov with Nadia Sharkova cast as Kremena.