In a certain way, I have made a connection between the life of the courtesan and that of a modern diva. Love was not an option, perhaps because the perception of this feeling makes one exclusive, whereas the courtesan is a character that belongs to the public – to all? As soon as they give up their status in favour of love, only one fate awaits them – death.

I discovered their world via my stage incarnations of some of them… their predestined lives never find balance in any book. I have been captivated by their sensuality, this most feminine language and amazed by their destiny, supreme and tragic at the same time. The mysterious world of the courtesans has always intrigued me. These questions could not be more relevant today.

They highlight particularly the contradictions and tensions that run through a woman’s personality, between the different roles and images she is expected to fulfill, and the ideals and fantasies she is called upon to incarnate. In her fifth solo album called “The Courtesan”, Sonya Yoncheva unites some eternal female figures, bold and provocative, some of them historical who have remained in the collective imagination under the decidedly romantic colors of the writers and composers of the 19th century.

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