He Won a Scholarship of the Karajan-Stiftung and Moved to Berlin, Studying Orchestra Conduction

Julian Kovatchev

Conductor

Music Director and Principal Conductor of Daegu Symphony Orchestra and Artistic and Music Director at Teatro del Giglio in Lucca, Julian Kovatchev studied violin and at the age of five he made his first public concert. After his first music studies in Sofia the family moved to Germany, near Salzburg, where he studied with Franz Samohyl at the Mozarteum and got his degree in 1973.

He won a scholarship of the Karajan-Stiftung and moved to Berlin, studying orchestra conduction with Herbert Ahlendorf and Herbert von Karajan. Between 1975 and 1980 he made a great experience with the Berliner Philharmoniker, with the legendary violins of M. Schwalbé, T. Brandis and L. Spierei.

He was awarded by Karajan during the last edition of the prestigious contest organized by himself in 1984. In 1985 he made his debut at the Teatro Verdi of Trieste with Jenufa of Janàcek and appeared regularly on the major Italian theatres and orchestras such as Teatro alla Scala, San Carlo in Naples, Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa and Teatro Comunale in Cagliari.

He has been Music Director of the prestigious Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, and Principal Director of the Symphonic Orchestra of Zagreb and of Teatro Verdi di Trieste.

He is often a guest of Orchestra Sinfonica “Arturo Toscanini” in Parma, Orchestra Nazionale della Rai in Turin, Orchestra Sinfonica “Giuseppe Verdi” in Milan. Moreover, for many years he is been carrying out an extended and fruitful collaboration with Orchestra dell’Arena di Verona, where he is been regularly conducting both operatic and symphonic works which have been broadcasted on TV worldwide. Abroad he conducted the Radio Orchestra of Köln, the Suisse Romande Orchestra in Geneva, the Symphonic Orchestra of the Radio of Prague, the prestigious KBS in Seoul and he is a frequent guest of Dresden Staatskapelle.

In 2001 he opened the Ravenna Festival with Vincenzo Bellini’s I Capuleti e Montecchi, obtaining great reviews from public and critics.

Most important highlights in his career include I Capuleti e i Montecchi at Carlo Felice in Genoa, Carmen,La Sposa Venduta andRake’s Progress at Teatro Verdi in Trieste, I Dialoghi delle Carmelitane in Seville, Il Trovatore in Stuttgart and in Ravenna, Un Ballo in Maschera in Verona, concerts with Orchestra del San Carlo in Naples and with M° Uto Ughi, a new production of Orfeo ed Euridice in Naples, as well as Rigoletto in Toronto, with big success.

He also conducted Alcina, Il Trovatore andMadama Butterfly in Stuttgart and in Genoa, Cavalleria Rusticana andPagliacci in Piacenza, La Forza del Destino in Piacenza, La Bohème at Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, in Seoul and in Toronto, Cavalleria Rusticana,Pagliacci, La Traviata, Carmen and Nabucco at Arena di Verona, Carmen in Savona, La Vedova Allegra in Bari, Werther in Sassari, Norma in Reggio Calabria and Trieste, Tosca in Frankfurt, LaVedova Allegra and Roméo et Juliette in Trieste.

At the same time, Julian Kovatchev has a wide symphonic activity including concerts in Trieste, Bologna, Verona, at San Carlo in Naples, at Carlo Felice in Genoa, in Zagreb, with Sicilian Symphony Orchestra, Rome Symphony Orchestra, Toscanini Orchestra in Parma, as well as with the prestigious KBS in Seoul. Furthermore, he was invited at the prestigious Festival del Sole in Cortona with Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and he conducted Orchestra Regionale della Toscana in a series of concerts.

In the recent years he obtained a great success conducting Madama Butterfly in San Francisco, Cagliari and Seattle, La Vedova Allegra and I Pagliacci at Teatro Filarmonico in Verona, Lucia di Lammermoor in Trieste, Tosca in Lucca, La Traviata and Tosca in Dresden, concerts in Catania and Ankara,symphonic concerts in Prague and Cagliari. Further highlights in the recent seasons were Falstaff in Seoul, Nabucco, Aida and Carmen at Arena di Verona, La Bohème in Dresden, Otello in Budapest, Il Matrimonio Segreto in Lucca and Ravenna, Norma in Cagliari, as well as concerts in Bratislava, Prague, Las Palmas, Cagliari, Budapest and Lucca. Most recently, he conducted Roméo et Juliette in Seoul and Daegu, and Tosca in Seattle.

Future plans include: Tosca in Dresden, Nabucco, Aida and Tosca at Arena di Verona, as well as concerts with Daegu Symphony.

At the Teatro Filarmonico of Verona Kovatchev debuts in 2002 with A Masked Ball; he directs many concerts in subsequent Symphonic Seasons, in 2006 the ballet Cinderella by Prokof’ev, in 2007 Alberto Colla’s Resurrexi (then offered to the Holy Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican), in 2008 Verdi’s Attila and the Ranzato’s operetta Il Paese dei campanelliand in 2010 The Merry Widow by Lehar, in 2012 Pagliacci by Leoncavallo and in 2013 the ballet Cercando Verdi by Renato Zanella and the Concert for young soloists of the Conservatory Dall'Abaco.

In the Arena di Verona he debuts in 2006 with Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana, Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci and the Summer End Gala. Then he is back with La Traviata in 2007, Bizet’s Carmen in 2009 and 2012, and Verdi’s Aida and Bizet’s Carmen in 2010.

In 2011, from the Arena podium he conducts Verdi’s Nabucco, La Traviata and the event The Show is about to begin, live on Italian TV channel Rai Uno. In 2013 he conducts Nabucco and participates in the Opera Gala evening conducted by Antonella Clerici, broadcasted on television; also he takes part in the show Verdi, our Shakespeare – A journey into music and words at the Teatro Romano in Verona. In 2014 directs Aida, Carmen and the dance show Roberto Bolle and Friends.

He comes back on the podium for the Arena Opera Festival 2015 to conduct Nabucco andTosca.