The renowned Bulgarian opera singer has for years been a “free musician”, performing on the world’s most famous stages. Music critics around the world have been full of praise for her memorable performances and she has fans in all corners of the planet.

Alexandrina has been living with her family mainly in Paris, but she has always said that she cannot imagine her life without the “air of Sofia” and the places she loves around Bulgaria. She usually manages to squeeze into her busy schedule the time to “pop over” to the town where she was born and see family and friends. And so it happened that when the crisis broke out she was at her home in Sofia: I came to Bulgaria for a few days but that was when the state of emergency was announced, all events on my schedule was called off and I stayed home. Actually, I am happy…

Our lives have turned around and we came to realize how good life is with so few of the things we are accustomed to. For me that is a welcome change, a time of comfort and a journey back to our souls, to our own selves, to our homes and the people we love. It is a coming home, in a figurative sense. I think all this is happening for a reason and will be good for the next upward surge of humanity which will inevitably come. That is something that happens after every crisis, but this current step is necessary if we want to look back at the road we have covered. I would like to see us all come to recognize just how inter-connected all people on the planet are, how dependent we are on one another and that it is of the essence to let the light flow into our souls and open them up, and spread all over the world, because the light of one person will bring light to everyone else. What is happening right now is necessary so we may comprehend one simple fact – that all of us, from the prince to the prime minister to the homeless person, are just human. We are all susceptible to the same diseases, the same joys, the same fears, we are as one capable of fighting off anything and it is the light that leads the way to all this. The light can spread to the whole world. I would like to wish everyone a “coming home” that is fulfilling! We ought to make use of this time to the full, reach into the deepest nooks and corners of our souls, embrace our loved ones and become part of the process of making the world we live in a better place. And if we each make a contribution, we shall all be better off for it. Make use of this time joyfully and thankfully because we have been given it for a reason!

Photo: private library