Press

“Sonya Yoncheva brings Peralada to a glorious finale”
“The Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva sang on Friday night in Peralada—and beautifully, as expected—but she also recited, which is less common. She did so in the world premiere of George, a tribute to the writer George Sand (1804–1876), which also served as the grand finale of this year’s Peralada Festival, which recorded a 91% occupancy rate. Yoncheva shared the stage at the Church of Carme with mezzo-soprano Ekaterine Buachidze, pianist Olga Zado, and violinist Sara Balasch, alongside the constant presence, of course, of the life and work of the French author. The recital is built around excerpts from Sand’s letters, writings sent to her by those she was connected with, and musical and literary pieces related to those figures. Frédéric Chopin, Alfred de Musset, Pauline Viardot, Marie Dorval, and Franz Liszt all had close ties to George Sand and appear in one way or another in George.
“Sand has always fascinated me because her personality is full of so many different colors,” Yoncheva said a few weeks ago when presenting the recital, which she has also recorded for the Naïve label. The soprano added, “She wasn’t a woman who could be defined by one trait—she had absolutely everything. And what I especially love about her is that she dared; she dared throughout her entire life.”
Yoncheva now fulfills George Sand’s dream of devoting herself to music.
The concert began with Frédéric Chopin’s piano version of the aria Casta Diva from Vincenzo Bellini’s opera Norma. That same piece, exquisitely sung by Sonya Yoncheva, also brought the recital to a close. In between, and for more than an hour, the program unfolded with letter excerpts, poems, piano melodies, and songs performed by Yoncheva and Buachidze. “My guide in bringing this project to life,” explained the Bulgarian soprano, “was the love that George Sand felt for the arts in general.”
On Friday night in Peralada, the writer spoke through the voice of Sonya Yoncheva, saying for example: “Music says what one thinks, shows like the eyes do; explains like words; loves like the heart; lives, exists […]. I would give my whole being to music, and it is in that language—the most perfect of all—that I would like to express my feelings and emotions.”
George Sand never devoted herself to music and never managed to fulfill that dream in her lifetime—but Yoncheva has now given her that chance: the Church of Carme was filled on Friday with music, feeling, and emotion in the name of George Sand. The audience, which packed the venue, recognized the intent and brilliance of the performers and responded with a long and enthusiastic ovation.”
Silvia Oller, La Vanguardia

“Sonya Yoncheva at Festival Peralada with the world premiere of a vibrant recital honoring writer George Sand”
The renowned Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva brilliantly brought this year’s Peralada Festival to a close tonight at the Church of El Carme, with the world premiere of George — a production that goes beyond the conventional recital format.
This is a performance that subtly and polyphonically evokes the universe of George Sand (1804–1876), the pseudonym of Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil, through both music and spoken word. The program combined vocal and instrumental music, literary texts, and letters, crafting a dramaturgy that reimagined the intimate atmosphere of the 19th-century intellectual salons.
The figure of George Sand — writer, journalist, playwright, and literary critic, who was the lover of Alfred de Musset and later of Chopin, and a friend of Franz Liszt, Pauline Viardot-García, and actress Marie Dorval — has long fascinated Yoncheva. The soprano conceived this production herself and had already recorded it for CD (Naïve), under the same title.
As musicologist Mario Muñoz aptly explains in the concert booklet, “Yoncheva’s portrayal is that of an enthusiastic, bold, and deeply contradictory woman who critiques her society through art.”
With the refined piano accompaniment of Olga Zado, the onstage complicity of young mezzo-soprano Ekaterine Buachidze, and the occasional presence of violinist Sara Balasch, Yoncheva created an evening where not only her voice was heard, but also the voice of Sand herself, read by Yoncheva with clear diction and deep understanding of the text — along with the voices of Sand’s friends and lovers: Chopin, Musset, Viardot, Dorval…
Between admiration, passion, and intimacy, the performance painted a choral portrait of a daring intellectual with a vibrant and biting literary style — one who captivated Yoncheva. In interviews about this project, she’s stated:
“George Sand loved the arts unconditionally. This program opens the doors to the many sides of the writer, revealing her artistic universe and giving life to her passions. The home, the kitchen, the salon are brought back to life in this evening with her friends — those artists she was so close to, who listened to each other, conversed, laughed, and celebrated with music and poetry.”
The concert opened with a piano version of Bellini’s Casta diva, transcribed by Chopin — elegant and ethereal in Zado’s hands — setting the contemplative and refined tone of the evening.
Yoncheva then read a passionate letter from Alfred de Musset to George Sand, written in 1833, followed by Leoncavallo’s Nuit de décembre, based on a poem by Musset. Her warm and moving interpretation captured the poem’s melancholy and established the emotional register that would sustain the recital.
Her rendition of Delibes’ Les filles de Cadix brought a playful and witty tone, gracefully modulating the text’s inflections. This was followed by a lyrical version of Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2, where Zado displayed her full pianistic elegance. Yoncheva then read a mock love letter addressed to Chopin, whose music — ever-present throughout the program — played a double role as emotional soundtrack and personal memory of their relationship.
Each letter selected by Yoncheva was emotionally connected to the piece that preceded or followed it, intensifying the poetic and sonic experience.
Offenbach’s Ballade à la lune gave the soprano a chance to showcase her command of French prosody and her taste for poetic miniatures. With Pauline Viardot’s Madrid, Yoncheva reveled in the piece’s rhythmic and melodic sensuality, while Zado, at the piano, played with tempo and contrast with precision and vitality. The text is based on a poem by Musset from Contes d’Espagne et d’Italie (1830).
The heart of the program included a letter to Marie Dorval, one of Sand’s closest friends. The tender, affectionate tone of the letter transitioned seamlessly into Tosti’s Ninon, based on a poem by Musset. Yoncheva’s performance was particularly theatrical, contrasting the young girl’s innocence with the irony embedded in the text.
Ekaterine Buachidze followed with Viardot’s Hai luli, deepening the melancholy tone. With two Chopin mazurkas arranged by Viardot — Faible cœur and Séparation — the program entered a more intimate, emotionally raw space. Yoncheva sang the first with a thread of voice that conveyed vulnerability and longing. The second, performed as a duet with Buachidze, showcased exquisite vocal blending. The well-balanced and sincere duet was one of the evening’s most moving moments.
Next came Liszt’s Liebestraum No. 3, interpreted by Zado with clarity and intensity, highlighting the piece’s romantic expressiveness. With this as musical backdrop, Yoncheva read a passage from Sand’s Les maîtres sonneurs — a kind of love letter to music as the ultimate language of the soul:
“Music says what one thinks, sees like the eyes; loves like the heart; lives, exists.” — George Sand
The concert closed with two highly expressive pieces: Viardot’s Les Bohémiennes (based on Brahms’ Hungarian dances), and a second, full-voiced version of Bellini’s Casta diva — this time with Yoncheva in full bel canto command.
The former, performed with Buachidze, was an explosion of energy and camaraderie. The latter was a demonstration of how Yoncheva seamlessly transitions from the intimacy of recital to the grandeur of opera without losing coherence. For the encores, Yoncheva, Buachidze, and Zado improvised a two-voice version of Hai luli — a brilliant and touching finale.
As Yoncheva had stated beforehand, the evening was not meant as a vocal showcase, but rather an immersion in a space of memory and connection. Sand’s salon appeared as an imaginary stage where music and words came together to give shape to emotion. Each letter, each song, each instrumental piece was tied to a name, a bond, a shared story.
Far from seeking the spotlight, Yoncheva became the mediator of a collective narrative. With a pianist of remarkable sensitivity, a mezzo-soprano who brought light and contrast, and an excellent violinist, Yoncheva transformed this tribute to George Sand into a manifesto for expressive freedom and the transformative power of music and poetry.”
Ritmo / Toda la musica

“The Bulgarian-born singer added star glamour to the Catalan countryside alongside Joyce DiDonato and Angel Blue – with her stage presence, her tight-fitting black evening gown with a plunging neckline, but above all with the ease of her tone and technical command. Without a doubt, this voice has the potential of an eight-cylinder Hispano-Suiza. Damià Mateu, the grandfather of festival founder Carme Mateu, once established this Spanish-Catalan-Swiss luxury car brand. Since 2019, it has once again been produced by hand near Barcelona, just as it always was. (…)
… the full beauty of her voice, including its bronze-colored, slightly metallic timbre.”
Bettina Volksdorf, Oper! Das Magazin

[Photo: Festival Perelada / Miquel González]

Glowing reviews for Sonya Yoncheva’s concerts in Hamburg and Vienna by two of Germany’s and Austria’s most important newspapers, Hamburger Abendblatt and Die Presse:

“Melting Away at Sonya Yoncheva’s concert at the Elbphilharmonie”
“She soars over the orchestra: at the soprano’s opera gala, even an outfit change after intermission earns its own round of applause.”
Hamburg – She really keeps you waiting. Even longer than is usually the case at opera galas. More than 20 minutes pass before Sonya Yoncheva finally steps onto the stage of the Elbphilharmonie. Until then, the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra under Francesco Ivan Ciampa has performed the prelude and “Liebestod” from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde.
Not bad, but also not with the glowing intensity or tonal finesse of a top-tier orchestra. A bit of discontent starts to stir, and the question arises whether the evening’s star really needs to keep the audience waiting this long.
The program allows for no more than two arias in a row
But the skepticism fades quickly. Or rather, it melts away. The moment Sonya Yoncheva finally stands on the podium, opens her mouth, and releases that unbelievable voice. Dark and sensuous, her timbre gleams, immediately casting a spell. Right from the start, with Leonora’s aria “Tacea la notte placida” from Verdi’s Il Trovatore, the Bulgarian soprano hints at her beguiling wealth of color and nuance.
She draws back some notes into a veiled mezza voce, explores earthy tones in the chest register, and lets her soprano bloom gloriously in the next moment. Vocal indulgence deluxe.
After the flu that struck her down earlier this month, there may still be a slight loss of fullness in the lower range here and there. But overall, her voice sounds completely solid. When Yoncheva wants to, she can soar over the orchestra, even in fortissimo.
But the evening’s strongest moments lie in its intimacy
Like in Dvořák’s “Song to the Moon” from Rusalka. Over the whispering of the orchestra – gently stroked into the strings – unfolds a delicate melody; Rusalka asks the moon to tell her where her beloved is. Sonya Yoncheva sings it with beautiful intimacy, exuding a warmth that finds its way through the eardrum straight to the center of comfort. There’s something in it that touches the soul.
A precious instrument, that voice. Which, however, is then given a rest again. The program allows for no more than two arias in a row. After a not entirely effortless Tannhäuser overture by the orchestra, Yoncheva demonstrates with Elisabeth’s aria “Dich, teure Halle” that she is not yet as much at home in Wagner as she is in the Italian repertoire. She passionately embodies the love-stricken Leonora once more – this time from Verdi’s La Forza del Destino – pacing the stage restlessly from left to right, sending gestures of despair into the hall.
Yes, she knows how to captivate an audience. With her voice, of course, with her gripping presence, but also with her outfit, presenting herself as a true primadonna. The sequin sparkle of her golden gown in the first half would easily have sufficed for three costumes; the soft pink flowing dress she wears after the intermission earns its own round of applause.
Sonya Yoncheva is accompanied with sensitivity by the orchestra
Sonya Yoncheva delights her fans as she plucks flower petals during Puccini’s “Se come voi piccina” and lets them flutter into the front row. She enchants with evergreen arias from La Bohème and Tosca, sensitively accompanied by Ciampa and the orchestra.
No wonder Yoncheva is regarded as one of the outstanding sopranos of our time. The way she sings is at the very least magnificent, often intoxicating, and at times pure bliss. With her second encore, “O mio babbino caro,” she brings tears to your eyes from the very first line. Not many can do that. And yet – or perhaps precisely because of that – you find yourself wishing for two or three more arias and a bit less waiting.”
Marcus Stäbler, Hamburger Abendblatt

“With Yoncheva, less is more
Konzerthaus. Sonya Yoncheva proved at her gala that she is one of the great sopranos of our time – especially in more intimate moments.
She knows how to make an impact – and yet her most compelling moments are in the measured and intimate: the Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva. At her gala at the Wiener Konzerthaus, she presented ten arias from her wide-ranging repertoire – some delivered with grand gesture, others with an awareness that vocally and dramatically, less can indeed be more.
She showcased a radiant and powerful middle register in Leonora’s aria from Verdi’s “Il trovatore”. The coloratura flowed effortlessly over her vocal cords, and she sustained the final note with impressive fullness… . The aria of Elisabeth from Wagner’s Tannhäuser was noble… . With the richness of her soprano, Yoncheva didn’t need to push… . She made more of an impression when she simply let her voice flow, as she did in Rusalka’s “Song to the Moon” by Dvořák, where every single note seemed perfectly placed and velvety soft.
After the intermission, the program continued with Puccini arias. (…) She delivered Butterfly’s “Un bel dì, vedremo” with great skill, infusing every note with a sense of desperation and also making a strong dramatic impression. An aria from “La Bohème” reinforced the impression that while Yoncheva can certainly dazzle, her true strength lies in the intimate.
During the passionate “Habanera” from “Carmen”, carried away by the moment, she threw a rose, hitting conductor Francesco Ciampa, who led the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra. In the end, the audience celebrated her.”
Theresa Steininge, Die Presse

[Photo by Manfred Baumann]