The traditional Spanish evening at “Ohrid Summer,” organized by the festival in cooperation with the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain, will feature a concert by tenor Aquiles Machado accompanied by pianist Andreja Naunov. The concert will be held at the church “Saint Sophia” starting at 9 PM.
Aquiles Machado, born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, began his music education at the “Vicente Emilio Sojo” Conservatory. He studied under Professor William Alvarado at the “Simón Bolívar” Conservatory in Caracas. After moving to Spain, thanks to a scholarship from the Spanish National Bank and the “Mozarteum” Foundation of Venezuela, Machado studied at the “Queen Sofia” School of Music under Alfredo Kraus. He made his opera debut in Caracas in 1996 with “The Elixir of Love” and had his European debut the same year in “Macbeth” at the Canary Islands Theatre. His career has been steadily rising with performances at some of the most prestigious opera houses, including Teatro Colón in Lisbon, Arena di Verona, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Teatro di Parma, Rome Opera House, operas in Washington and Los Angeles, as well as Teatro Liceu in Barcelona, Teatro Real in Madrid, Berlin State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Vienna State Opera, Zurich Opera, Metropolitan Opera in New York, and La Scala in Milan.
Pianist Andreja Naunov was born in Kočani. He graduated from the Faculty of Music Arts in Skopje in the piano department under Assistant Professor Simon Trpčeski, where he also pursued postgraduate studies. He has won national awards for chamber music and piano and has given numerous solo recitals, and performed with the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra and the orchestra of the Macedonian Opera and Ballet.
In addition to his piano career, Naunov is active in vocal ensembles. One such ensemble is “Vokali,” with which he has performed at “Ohrid Summer,” “Skopje Summer,” Days of Macedonian Music, and film music recordings. He also performs with the vocal ensemble “Heraklea” at the “Dubrovnik Summer Festival,” “Ohrid Summer,” Novi Sad’s “Wine Festival,” and more. As a répétiteur, he has had numerous opportunities to showcase his piano performance skills in a variety of concerts across Macedonia and internationally, including in Switzerland, Austria, Serbia, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, and Romania.