1st Prize
Vesselina Kasarova
Bulgaria, mezzo-soprano
What was said about her as a contestant in NEUE STIMMEN 1989:
After starting her musical career with piano lessons, Vesselina Kasarova went on to study singing under Professor R. Kolewa at the Academy of Music in Sofia. For the 1989/1990 season, she can be heard at the Opera House in Zurich.
What is said about her today:
Vesselina Kasarova is now one of the most coveted mezzo-sopranos on the circuit. She was engaged at the Zurich Opera House until 1991, the year that marked her debut at the Salzburg Festival, where she still makes regular guest appearances even today. Her engagement at the Vienna State Opera began with a performance of Rosina in 1991 and continued until 1993. Her special love of Mozart and Rossini has led to numerous guest appearances at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, the Liceu in Barcelona, in Florence, at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and in Amsterdam. Vesselina Kasarova has also given concerts and lieder recitals in Milan, Paris, Zurich, Brussels, Munich, Berlin, Leipzig, Rome, Vienna, Dresden, Madrid and Hamburg, her lieder performances with Edita Gruberova having won her international acclaim. She has recorded works by Rossini, Berlioz, Ravel and Chausson with the BMG Classics label and in 2003, can be heard in "La Cenerentola" in London, in "An Italian in Algiers" in Milan, in "Don Quixote" in Zurich and in a series of recitals in Munich.
