автор: Optimist

Става дума за една жена, българка, с музикална култура, емигрирала в САЩ. Ако не се лъжа, установява се в щата Пенсилвания, но не съм сигурен. Както и да е, не е от голямо значение. Там успява да влезне в музикалните среди на града. После - в музикалният елит. Залюбва се с един американец от тези среди и се женят.
Тази жена, какво впечатление е направила на този американец, как го е заинтригувала с музикалните си познания и умения, че той се вдига и идва в България с цел да проучи българската оперна музикална култура, да създаде малка енциклопедия и да я публикува, за света да научи също и да знае.
Проектът му трае няколко години. В България получава пълна подкрепа, както от американското посолство, така и от всички заинтересувани от проекта български институции. Резултатът от неговата работа излиза във формата на СД с заглавие на английски и на български - Opera from Bulgaria / Опера от България.
Не знам по какви причини, дискът излиза в много ограничен брой. Не помня точно колко бройки. Няколко стотин. 250 ми се върти в главата, но и числото 500 също ми се върти, та не знам. Тези бройки не се разпространяват на пазара. Биват раздадени безплатно на по-важните библиотеки в САЩ и по света. За България също има отделени няколко десетки броя. Аз успях да се докопам до един брой. Веднага му направих копие.

Копирам представянето на диска:
Introduction:
Perhaps one of the most important, but not well known, exports of Bulgaria is its opera singers. There are few major opera stages in the world that have not benefited from the artistry and voices of these singers. To many otherwise knowledgeable opera fans, these singers are perceived to be Russian rather than Bulgarian. There are a number of reasons for this: little understanding of the Slavic languages, limited awareness of Bulgaria itself, and possibly the political climate of earlier decades which restricted many Bulgarian singers to performing in the Eastern Bloc countries.
The interest in opera in Bulgaria dates only from the end of the 19th century. This was most likely due to the country being under the control of the Ottoman Turks until the liberation of 1878. The earliest operatic influences came from Czech bandmasters who set up orchestras in Bulgaria after the liberation as well as performances in the 1880`s and 1890`s by touring opera companies from Italy and Russia. That tradition is reflected in the opening music for this page, a fragment of the ballet from Tzar Kaloyan.
Our purpose in this project is to present an overview of the singers and operatic life in Bulgaria rather than an in-depth study. Anyone interested in more detailed information on a particular singer or subject presented here is encouraged to research more thoroughly. Meanwhile, we hope that this volume of the Audio Encyclopedia will both convey insight into the rich development of opera in Bulgaria and incentive to research the artists and music of the country.
Note: the word "we" here is used to reflect that this disc is the result of the joint efforts of Frank Fischer, who conceived the idea and assembled the materials, and Mike Richter, who produced the disc. Notes from each follow.

Както и представянето на Франк Фишер, създателят на диска и съпруг на българката:
Notes from Frank Fischer
After visiting Bulgaria I became aware of the beauty of the country and the great wealth of culture that was relatively unknown in the western world. This was a country, smaller than the state of Pennsylvania that had at one time ten opera companies.
Following repeated visits to Bulgaria, I felt that the contribution to the international world of opera by these world class singers should be given a permanent collective record that would document their accomplishments. This disc provides that document, highlighting in addition to the singers a brief history of the development of Bulgarian Opera, opera houses, composers, Bulgarian National Radio and the Boris Christoff Young Singers Competition. Complete opera performances are included not only of popular operas from other countries but operas written by Bulgarian composers. With the kind and enthusiastic support of Bulgarian National Radio, broadcast quality tapes have been furnished from which these transfers have been made. Additional recordings of varying quality have been obtained through the artists and their families. Please note that the limited sound quality on this disc is not representative of the fine, stereo source material available in many cases.
Due to the overwhelming number of Bulgarian opera singers who have recorded in and outside Bulgaria, (Bulgarian National Radio has well over 360 singers recorded in their archives), criteria had to be established for their inclusion in this presentation.
The artist must have performed major roles on major opera stages internationally or in Bulgaria. Unless under unusual circumstances, singers that perform comprimario or supporting roles will not be included.
Major artists without available recordings may be included with biography and photo, if available, with the hope that recordings may be found later.
Most of the recommendations have come from educators, music critics, impresarios and singing professionals in Bulgaria. Due to the nature of creative art, there are some gray areas of value. In these gray areas, I have opted to make the final decision for inclusion in this work. A major singer not presented is because of my lack of knowledge of their career. As I become aware of them, they will be properly included upon meeting the established criteria.
A major difficulty has been in obtaining accurate biographic information. Unfortunately, other than international publications, minimal biographic information has been available in Bulgaria. In Bulgarian reference publications, data are brief, often inaccurate and lacking in the specifics required for a more complete biography. The major source of information, "The Encyclopedia of Musical Culture", was published in 1967 and nothing printed of biographic importance followed. Additionally, artists not in favor with the government were regularly eliminated from reference materials between 1944 and 1989. Many of the biographies had to be obtained through contact with the artists, their families or friends. Because of these difficulties any inaccuracies are asked to be excused and if brought to my attention, will be corrected.
Acknowledgments:
Without the support and help from the following, the results to date of this project would have been impossible:
Bulgarian National Radio - Alexander Velev, General Director
Values Foundation - Mrs. Antonina Stoyanova, President
Classic FM Radio - Vassil Dimitrov, Director
United States Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria
Guenko Guechev - for his narration of Bulgarian names
Euro-Bulgarian Cultural Center - Yavor Koinakov, Director - http://www.culture-link.nat.bg/
My dear friends Professor Konstantin Karapetrov and Dr. Miliana Chouchkova.
And, most importantly, Svetlana Dimitrova of Bulgarian National Radio, who in addition to sharing my interest in the project has kept me focussed on what recordings should be included.