The young Bulgarian conductor talks about TARJA's show with the Orchestra!

The rising star of the new school of Bulgarian conductors Levon Manukyan will be conducting Tarja Turunen's big show at the Roman Theater in Plovdiv on September 21st.

The Finnish diva will perform her unique 'Beauty and the Beat' extravaganza, featuring star drummer Mike Terrana and the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir.

Two weeks before the big event, Levon popped by TMR's studio to talk to Vassil Varbanov about the forthcoming show.

THE PROMOTERS OF THIS SHOW - TANGRA MEGA ROCK - SAID THEY LOOKED AT ALL THE BULGARIAN CONDUCTORS WHO ARE INTO ROCK MUSIC AND CHOSE YOU, AS YOU ARE ALSO A BIG METAL FAN AND VERY WELL VERSED IN THE GENRE.
That's true.

YOU EVEN WROTE THE FIRST METAL BALLET IN THE WORLD - "DEJA VU", WHICH PREMIERED IN BURGAS ON AUGUST 8 THIS YEAR. CAN YOU DESCRIBE IT AND TELL US WHAT MADE YOU TRY SOMETHING SO BOLD?
What made me do it is the fact that I'm always up for trying out new things, different things, stuff that hasn't been done yet. It's true enough that there hasn't been a heavy metal ballet before, not that I've heard of anyway. Although there have been attempts to put on dance shows with metal music. I've always been interested in mixing different styles and art forms. I've integrated folk music and rock elements in classical pieces many times, so getting some metal in there was next on my agenda of challenging artistic endeavours. In my opinion we created something quite interesting. An intriguing mix of rock and metal music, classical dance, modern ballet, a live orchestra, young singers, who not only imitated, but also put their own stamp on the pieces. This made for a most wonderful show and the amphitheatre in Burgas, which was sold out.В В В 

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BEARING IN MIND THAT THE CLASSIC METAL "DANCE", SO TO SPEAK, INVOLVES PLAYING AIR GUITAR, HEADBANGING AND MOSHING, DANCING PROPERLY TO METAL COULD ACTUALLY LOOK A BIT DAFT. SO THERE MUST HAVE BEEN AВ  THIN RED LINE BETWEEN SOMETHING SPECTACULAR AND TOTAL EMBARRASSMENT. OBVIOUSLY TO AVOID THE LATTER, THE MUSICAL SELECTION MUST HAVE BEEN OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE.
Of course! We chose such hits, that even my granny knew them. I can safely say she's now a fan of some of those songs.

PROBABLY TARJA'S?
Oh yeah, Tarja's too, definitely. Tarja's were one of the highlights. What's interesting is that in classical ballet you have some very acrobatic stuff - very high leaps with about 32 pirrouettes mid-air. They look stunning set to a background of metal music, very effective. Especially when you also have big video screens, amazing lighting and perfect sound.

I SUPPOSE WITH SOMEONE LIKE YOU, WHO'S BEEN INVOLVED IN MUSIC SINCE A VERY YOUNG AGE, IT'S KIND OF POINTLESS TO ASK YOU WHO YOUR FAVOURITE BAND IS...
Yes, let's not even go there. It would be like asking me who my favourite composer is. I will say, however, that I admire everyone those musicians who are doing something new and like to experiment. In that respect Tarja is a very interesting artist, because she's a clasically trained singer, who can sing metal in a classical way. I think that's one of the reasons for her success worldwide.

LET'S IMAGINE IT'S SEPTEMBER 22 AND TARJA'S SHOW HAS COME AND GONE, BEING A MAJOR SUCCESS OF COURSE. WHAT'S NEXT ON YOUR AGENDA?
I'm working on a bunch of things. Next Summer I'll be putting on a new version of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake", a metal version.

WHO'S GOING TO PERFORM THAT THEN?
My orchestra - the Levon Manukyan Collegium Musicum and the metal band that plays with us. I think this new take on "Swan Lake" will be quite intriguing.

WHAT'S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE ABOUT THE FORTHCOMING TARJA SHOW WITH MIKE TERRANA AND THE ORCHESTRA?
Maybe it's the combination of Tarja and Mike onstage.

ACTUALLY THEY'RE USED TO PLAYING TOGETHER, AS MIKE IS IN TARJA'S BAND ANYWAY. I GUESS THE BIGGER CHALLENGE IS HOW THE PLOVDIV PHILHARMONIC FITS IN WITH THE TWO OF THEM. DO YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS ABOUT THAT AT ALL?
No. The Plovdiv Philharmonic is one of the best orchestras in Bulgaria and I think they get even more inspired with a great lightshow and a euphoric audience there. I've already experienced a metal audience and I know how great it felt for both me and the orchestra.

WHICH BAND, IN YOUR OPINION, WOULD BE NIGH ON IMPOSSIBLE TO DO A CLASSICAL TAKE ON?
I'm not sure there's such a band. You can always use your imagination to get stuff done. I mean, I never expected to be able to achieve a classical treatment of Marilyn Manson's music.

But we did it with an orchestra and replicated all the electronic effects by scraping the bow against the violins and stuff like that. I thought that was quite effective. I think all bands are prone to a classical makeover.

MOST OF THE MUSIC WE KNOW NOWADAYS HAD ITS ROOTS IN THE ERA WE LIKE TO CALL CLASSICAL...
Absolutely! Let's not forget that one of the first metal bands to go classical was Metallica.

SPEAKING TO HER BULGARIAN FANS, TARJA TURUNEN HERSELF SAID THAT THE FORTHCOMING SHOW IN PLOVDIV WOULD BE EDUCATIONAL AND HELP YOUNGER FANS DISCOVER THE POWER AND BEAUTY OF THE CLASSICAL ORCHESTRA!
Every experiment like that, like, for instance, incorporating drums and percussion into classical music, has always been a revelation. I've experienced it myself. Also, watching parts of Tarja's show on the Internet, I've noticed the crowd goes completely wild during all the classical pieces. It's a really interesting approach. Perhaps that's one of the reasons I turned to classical ballet - to show all the metalheads that ballet can go hand-in-hand with metal. I think that's the way to go forward.

WHAT COMPOSER'S WORK DO YOU FIND THE HARDEST TO CONDUCT?
Wow, that's really hard to say...

I'VE HEARD SHOSTAKOVICH IS A BIT OF A NIGHTMARE...
There are no hard or easy ones. Depends what audience you're playing to. For example, if you were to perform Mozart in front of an Austrian audience, that would be suicide really.

WHY SO?
Because they know his music inside out and it's even on their keyrings, ringtones etc.

EVEN ON THE SWEETS PACKETS?
Yes...That's a difficult question to answer.

OK, TO CONCLUDE - WHAT WILL YOU BE WEARING AT THE SHOW?
You know, i was just thinking about that - whether I should be wearing a suit or something more rock. I think I'll go for the latter.

rights Tangra Mega RockВ 

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