Barely eight hours after her arrival in Gozo, Prof.sa Blagovesta Karnobatlova Dobreva was already coaching the Chorus Urbanus members in view of the Choir's participation in the high-profile performance of Il Cuore di Cristo. Prof. Dobreva is well known for her dedication and constant striving towards attaining a relentless driving spirit that motivates an electric performance. Such was the atmosphere at yesterday’s rehearsal (Monday, 8^th October) held at the Don Bosco Oratory. The discipline of her art and pedagogy matching the high demands asked by our conductor will surely ensure a high-calibre performance.

The choir members were all too anxious to meet once more the rigorous parameters of vocal technique as one and all were only too happy to work under the guidance of such an international pedagogue, a living legend of our times in today’s musical universe. Prof. Dobreva, a highly respected vocal authority at the National Academy of Music in Sofia is still very active and everyone who gets in close contact with her pedagogy will surely remain captivated by the sheer magic she puts into the beautiful art of singing.

Saturday’s premiere performance of John Galea’s oratorio Il Cuore di Cristo was definitely a performance that will be remembered due to a unique fact: all the soloists and choir have been coached in various degrees at some point or other by Prof. Dobreva. The Chorus Urbanus is indeed grateful towards the eager enthusiasm of the ‘professoressa’ and will surely benefit from this training to achieve a high level of proficiency in the art of choral singing coupled with a strong determination to beat ‘the performing challenge’ with its characteristic excellence.

 Also present for the rehearsal were Marios Kristaki Andreou (Cyprus) and Dimitar Penchev (Bulgaria) who will interpret the roles of John the Baptist and The Eternal Father. After the rehearsal, the choir members were all too happy to renew their acquaintance with Prof. Dobreva and Dimitar Penchev who had already collaborated with the choir when recording the oratorio in Sofia last year together with the Sofia Collegium Symphony Orchestra.