What happens when the curtain is still down? When it’s quiet on stage, but life is bustling behind the scenes?
On 18 September 2026 at 6.00 pm, the Ruse Opera invites the people of Ruse and visitors to the city to take a glimpse into a world that usually remains hidden from the audience – the world of rehearsals, preparation, excitement, tension and the people who turn an idea into a performance. Through a carefully curated selection of black-and-white photographs, the exhibition ‘Life Behind the Scenes’ It reveals the unseen side of the performing arts – the rehearsals, the preparation of the set design and costumes, the work of the technical teams, the tension before a performance, and those small, genuine moments that make up the great magic of the stage.
In the black-and-white photographs by Shirin Javidova, a photographer at the Ruse State Opera, you will see the Ruse Opera from a different perspective – without the curtain, without the distance between the stage and the audience.
The exhibition tells the story of the people behind the show. Of the hard work behind the applause. About life behind the scenes. The exhibition ‘Life Behind the Scenes’ is dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Ruse State Opera and the 70th anniversary of the construction of its iconic building, as well as the start of the new creative season. It is being organised with funding from the ‘Culture’ programme of Ruse Municipality, provided by the ‘European Centre for Culture’ Association.
Come and take a peek behind the curtain. That’s where the magic begins.
