Biography

“I was thirteen when it all began…”

Thus begins the story of Irina Tonas, born in Sofia, Bulgaria. Her artistic vocation revealed itself in childhood, when she would quietly slip beneath the window of her aunt Maria, a soprano at the National Opera, simply to listen to her sing. Deeply moved by a music she did not yet understand, she repeated every note, every inflection of the voice, unaware that she was learning the aria from Tosca — nor that this emotion would become the most powerful force in her life.

Trained at the Conservatory of Sofia, she began a career as a lyric artist that would take her to major stages across Europe, Asia, and the United States. Opera became for her a cry of the heart, a complete art form uniting body, voice, and soul. Now living in Monaco, Irina explores another form of expression: literature. Her novel trilogy, beginning with A Balcony in Nessebar, extends her art through words with the same emotional intensity.

After earning a Master’s degree in History and Literature, followed by another in Historical and Cultural Heritage, Irina Tonas-Pugnetti received the Prize of Excellence from the Academy of Arts and Music of Sofia.

She also studied sacred art, specializing in iconography. Her remarkable path led her to train at the Yuriev Monastery in Novgorod, the School of Iconography in Vladimir (near Moscow), and the School of Icon Art in Saint Petersburg. Born to a Russian father and a Bulgarian mother, she traveled across the Balkans and Europe in search of ancient icon painters’ works preserved until the 19th century.

Her artistic style is distinguished by the vividness of colors, the delicacy of faces, and the meditative expression of the eyes. This deep sensitivity gives rise to an iconography where the dramatic intensity of the Russian tradition meets a unique lyrical inspiration. Her mastery of color, light, and the emotion emanating from her works reveals a rare artistic elegance and a refinement of spirit that fascinates lovers of sacred art.