July 2004

---

British Embassy Opens Its New Premises in Chisinau
On July 16 th this year the Embassy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland officially opened its new premises in the center of Chisinau. His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent who paid a three-day visit to the Republic of Moldova, Vladimir Voronin, President of Moldova, Andrei Stratan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova, Mr. Bernard Whiteside, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Great Britain to Moldova, representatives of diplomatic corps and international organizations accredited in Chisinau as well as some other guests participated in the opening ceremony of the new office of the British Embassy.
The ceremony began with both UK and Moldovan anthems. In addressing Moldovan officials, foreign diplomats, politicians, businessmen and journalists at the opening ceremony, all three speakers – HRH Prince Michael of Kent, President Vladimir Voronin and British Ambassador Bernard Whiteside – expressed their hope that the opening of the British Embassy in Chisinau would further strengthen the ties between the two nations. Continued >>>

---

Natalia Barbu:
“I can’t imagine my life without songs”
The name of Natalia Barbu, a young pop-singer, is well known not only in the Republic of Moldova but also in a number of other countries such as Germany, Romania and Ukraine. Natalia Barbu has been traveling all over Moldova. And wherever she sings – either in large concert halls or in small country clubs – she always brings a lot of happiness to her audience. Natalia is slim, red-haired, with slightly slanting eyes and has a beautiful smile. Her grateful spectators always present her flowers and give a storm of applause. It should be mentioned that the number of her admirers has been increasing on a constant basis. Most of her songs have become very popular; people listen to her songs and sing them with pleasure. “It is a great happiness for me that my songs are loved. I want this to last forever, because I can’t imagine my life without songs”, Natalia Barbu told us. What follows is our recent interview with her. Continued >>>

---

Natalia Gavrilan's Creative Way
Young voiced comprise the golden fund of culture, even if our compatriots sing not in Moldova but in Milan. This is the case of Natalia Gavrilan, our well-known young singer, who while still a student, became a winner of three international competitions. Her deep coloratura mezzo-soprano was worked at by such gifted teachers as Polina Botezat and Vladimir Dragos who gave her the vocal school and imparted enormous love of classical repertoire. Continued >>>

---

Stephen the Great As Seen By Contemporaries
The personality of Stephen the Great became known in Europe due to his deeds that spoke for themselves. However, it is only natural that a hero's personal life and details of his victories should attract everybody's attention, and numerous foreigners who appeared at the Moldovan court left some interesting records of the ruler's deeds. In this respect, we can say that the names of those ordinary travelers who described Moldova and its ruler in their travel notes, personal or official correspondence are now known only because they were lucky to describe glorious events in the history of Europe closely connected with the reign of Stephen the Great. Continued >>>

---