It is quite unusual to organize concerts for babies, and in Bulgaria such events have not been held so far. However, audiences are interested to join such projects and before even announcing the details about this brand new initiative, tickets for the first shows have already sold out, the Sofia Opera said. On Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am concerts will be held for kids aged up to 3 years. The first concert is due on 18 January. The idea came to Sofia Opera House CEO Plamen Kartalov after he could spot kids aged below 3 at some of the opera’s shows. For a few years now, he and his team have been bringing up an audience aged from 3 to 14. Now the new concerts for babies are aimed to create a lovely intonation ambiance for young infants. They will be given in the refurbished VIP hall of the Sofia Opera. It has special flooring plus cushions on the floor, various toys and rattles – the first percussions.

“The audience will not be large, and we have tried hard to provide for the comfort of spectators,” Plamen Kartalov explains. “Mothers are the mediator between children and the musicians, so we count strongly on moms. We plan to keep  statistics for the sake of feedback, as we are going to send invitations to the child for other similar events. In this way each of our treasured young spectators will have a file of their own full of operatic experience. With this endearing project we think about the future with responsibility. The audience that we are bringing up today will be here after we are gone.”

To make this wonderful idea happen, the Sofia Opera House has found support on the side of I Want a Baby Foundation. Its chairperson Radina Veltcheva says more:

“We met music pedagogue Maria Momirova who has acted as consultant for these concerts. The children from the foundation have a music ID each and they visit the training of Ms. Momirova from the age of 6 months. Our ideas have coincided fully with the ideas of Mr. Kartalov. Kremena Milenkova, a violinist in the orchestra of the Sofia Opera House, is the contact person between us. She is a volunteer of I Want a Baby Foundation and her son Ioan became the face of our first exhibition entitled, Angels with a Mission. This year we plan to organize an exhibition with the motto, Babies & Music Scores. It is going to feature photos of mothers and babies who have visited Concerts for Babies. Babies with different music instruments will add color and sound to this nice event.”

We, too, grew up in the opera, reads the brochure of Concerts for Babies, and various advertising materials feature Ioan, Kremena Milenkova’s son. For a seventh season in a row, the Sofia Opera House has been working on specialized programs for kids that include the children’s musicals Winnie the Pooh and the Red Riding Hood, the opera The Grumpy Goat and other works. The shows are directed by Yulia Krasteva. Musicians and singers from the Opera are involved in them. “The costumes are theatrical, but not too extravagant, and we do not overdo make up either”, Yulia says. She and artist Pavlina Kotseva select the interior design for the shows.

“In the first part of the concerts our host will be Ms. Momirova – she will play the piano, and engage in dialogue with the kids and with the soloists”, Yulia Krasteva goes on to say. “We have selected together some fragments from our children’s shows to include in the scenario. We have selected the musicians and our priority is to opt for intonations that are appealing for infant ears. The first part of concerts includes songs. Then we have planned a break, as spectators lie on the floor and musicians play some instrumental music. The second part of concerts features fragments from operatic and symphony works. In one of the songs there are various instruments involved. It is entitled I am a Musician, and it will show to children how instruments are played. We will be vigilant about the reception of various approaches by children and this will help us update our shows to bring it closer to the best of audiences: young kids”, concludes stage-director Yulia Krasteva.

English Daniela Konstantinova