The Thracian Awards are a new initiative by world-renowned Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva. The first edition took place during a gala concert in the Roman theater of the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv on June 23. The award winners performed with the orchestra of the Plovdiv State Opera. The gala concert also marked the opening of the Opera Open season at Plovdiv State Opera in this impressive Roman amphitheater dating from the first century. It will become an annual tradition, the presentation of the Thracian Awards in the Roman theater of Plovdiv.
Orpheus
Thrace, present-day southern Bulgaria, had as rich a history in antiquity as ancient Egypt, Greece, or the Roman Empire. The mythical Greek figure Orpheus, musician, poet, and prophet, hailed from the Rhodope Mountains, the Thracian mountain range that separates Bulgaria from Greece. The mythical Orpheus stands for musical excellence. With Orpheus as an ideal, this initiative aims to honor both young and experienced musicians and artists. Not only Bulgarians, but many others as well.
With her initiative, Sonya Yoncheva also wants to put the city of Plovdiv and the region of Thrace on the European cultural map. Plovdiv is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe. Six thousand years old, by 100 A.D. the Greco-Roman city of Philippopolis—present-day Plovdiv—had 100,000 inhabitants. The first-century theater seats 3,000 listeners and is a magnificent testament to this heritage, and is used every summer for all kinds of concerts, from opera to jazz or rock.
Six Thracian Awards for Singers and Musicians
In total, eleven Thracian Awards were presented, gilded statuettes of the mythical Orpheus. First come the young talents: Georgian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Buachidze (debut award), Bulgarian pianist Emanuil Ivanov (young musician award), and prima ballerina Marta Petkova (ballet artist award). Polish countertenor Jacub Józef Orliński receives his Thracian Award as singer of the year. He captivates the audience with his high voice, his presence, and charisma.
Bulgarian soprano Gabriela Georgieva is one of the leading opera voices in Bulgaria. She receives the award as female singer of the year. There is also a lifetime achievement award, which goes to 85-year-old Anna Tomova-Sintova, a living legend in the opera world. This Bulgarian soprano performed with the greatest conductors. On screen, historical clips are shown in which Herbert von Karajan and Zubin Mehta praise her.
Four Awards for Composition, Direction, Opera Project, and Best Opera House
Between the soloists, there are also several orchestral pieces with different choirs: the wordless choir from Puccini's Madama Butterfly and the famous "Va pensiero" from Verdi's Nabucco. Choirs from Plovdiv perform on stage: the Plovdiv Boys' Choir and the children's choir "Detska Kitka."
There is also a Thracian Award for Composer of the Year, which goes to Bulgarian Dobrinka Tabakova. Born in Plovdiv in 1980, she moved to London as a teenager and is today a celebrated composer in the UK and beyond. This year she won the prestigious BBC Music Magazine 2026 Award. The gala concert opened with her work Orpheus' Comet, a paraphrase of the overture to Monteverdi's Orfeo.
Additionally, there is the Thracian Award for Director of the Year, which goes to Bulgarian Vera Nemirova, who is particularly active in Germany, where she gained recognition with Don Carlos in Dresden and Wagner's Ring in Frankfurt. Then there is the Award for Opera Production of the Year, presented to the Wagner Festival of the Opera Ballet Sofia with its founder Plamen Kartalof. The Thracian Award for Best Opera House goes to the Bavarian State Opera, one of the most renowned opera houses in the world, with 600,000 visitors and 400 events per year. Besides conductor Vladimir Jurowski, the Bavarian Opera is also led by a Belgian, General Director Serge Dorny.
Sonya Yoncheva
After these ten Thracian Awards, there is still one more. That is a grand finale. The award for Soloist of the Year goes to Venezuelan trumpeter Pacho Flores. The man is making a breathtaking international career and plays dazzlingly virtuosic trumpet in Arturo Márquez's Concierto de Otoño.
Sonya Yoncheva, initiator of the Thracian Awards, of course also performed herself this evening. She says it is one of her beloved arias: the Song to the Moon from Dvořák's Rusalka. The crescent moon also hung visibly above the Rhodope Mountains, where the audience looks out toward the south. As an encore, she sings a duet from Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea with countertenor Orliński.
It was a memorable evening in the magical setting of this Roman theater. The Arena of Verona is well known for its opera performances. But this theater in Plovdiv has a more intimate atmosphere. Unlike the gigantic Arena di Verona, it was built for theater and music. Countertenor Jacub Orliński said it aptly: "After singing in Verona I feel coming home here in this Ancient Theater in Plovdiv." For many Flemings, it remains a far-flung corner of Europe, but the city and region are certainly worth a visit.
