On the occasion of Bulgaria’s National Day, March 3rd, the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Montenegro, with the active participation of Ambassador Stefan Dimitrov, extended an invitation to the State Opera – Ruse to collaborate on the presentation of the ballet The Goat's Horn, composed by Krasimir Kyurkchiyski, based on the eponymous story by Nikolai Haitov, with choreography by Professor Petar Lukano. The guest performance of the ballet troupe was made possible with the kind assistance and financial support of the municipalities of Cetinje, Bar, and Podgorica.
On March 3rd, the ballet The Goat's Horn from the repertoire of the State Opera – Ruse was presented at the Royal National Theatre of Montenegro – Zetski Dom, in the ancient capital city of Cetinje. The national anthems of the Republic of Bulgaria and Montenegro were performed. The event was honored with a special congratulatory letter from the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, in which the head of state extended his greetings on behalf of the citizens of Montenegro and himself in celebration of Bulgaria’s National Day. Just five days later, on March 10th, the official two-day visit to Bulgaria by the President of Montenegro, Mr. Milatović, began.
The cultural delegation, led by the director of the State Opera – Ruse, Plamen Beikov, also included the family of the late Professor Petar Lukano, the creator of the production - his wife, Professor Liliyana Draguleva, and his daughter, assistant choreographer Maria Lukanova.
On October 23, 2022, the stage of the Ruse Opera hosted the premiere of the final revision of The Goat Horn by Professor Lukano. On the same stage, in 1955, began the professional journey of the young ballet dancer, and here, he presented his final performance in his long creative life.
A challenge for the choreographer was the international composition of the Ruse ballet troupe – Italians, Brazilians, and dancers with different sensibilities toward musical dramaturgy. The performer of the main role, Kara Ivan, is the Japanese dancer Masaki Takada, who, according to Professor Lukano, performs it as an "absolute Bulgarian." The cast includes Irena Barbukova as Elina, Stanislava Karadjova-Pencheva as Maria, Giuseppe Sorrentino as Lazar, Sora Tsuzuki as Memish Aga, Dean Dobrev as Deli Mustafa, Tiato Victor Santana as Hüsni, with set design and costumes by Gabriela Kărdzhilova. A provocation for the head of the Ruse ballet and initiator of The Goat's Horn performance, Vesela Vasileva, was to offer the international troupe, which had mostly performed in classical productions, the chance to feel the spirit of Bulgarian music and dance.
The performance on March 3rd, attended by the entire diplomatic corps in Montenegro, ended with shouts of "Bravo!" The audience, which was exceptionally international, expressed their admiration for the performance and applauded the ballet artists for a long time. During the intermission and after the finale, the general manager of the Opera Theater, Plamen Beikov, received numerous compliments: "Unique artists!" "An amazing ballet troupe!" The performers danced with dedication, and their transformations into the characters were deeply moving - everything thanks to the high professionalism of the ballet troupe of the State Opera – Ruse. The event, organized by the embassy, was attended by over 150 guests. Among them were the Minister of Culture Tamara Vujić, members of the National Assembly, General Zoran Lazarević – the Commander-in-Chief of the Montenegrin Army, Prince Nikola Petrović Njegoš, the great-grandson of Montenegrin King Nikola I Petrović Njegoš, senior representatives of Montenegrin institutions, including two general directors from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Director of Diplomatic Protocol. Also present were the accredited ambassadors in Montenegro, other members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of international organizations, as well as business leaders, cultural figures, and Bulgarian citizens residing in Montenegro.
On March 4th, in the capital city of Podgorica, the second performance of The Goat's Horn took place on the stage of the National Theatre of Montenegro. The theater hall, designed for an audience of over 300 people, was completely filled. The audience consisted of the cultural elite of Podgorica, including representatives of the executive branch, such as the Minister of Finance of Montenegro, ballet, theater, and music professionals, as well as local and Bulgarian citizens. The guest performance in Podgorica was made possible thanks to the kind assistance of the Secretariat for Culture of the Municipality and the Montenegro Tourism Organization.
"Both performances were carried out at an exceptionally high professional level. Neither the small size of the historic stage in Cetinje nor the peculiarities of the stage at the National Theatre in Podgorica, which differs greatly from the stage in Ruse, hindered the flawless execution," shared the general manager of the State Opera – Ruse, Plamen Beykov.
Prof. Draguleva described the visit to Montenegro as "like a beautiful dream, with the exceptional performance of the ballet and the enthusiasm of the Montenegrin audience. Many of the viewers said that this was not just a ballet, but a human drama, which is also the motto of the performance – violence breeds violence! The story by Nikolai Haitov was recreated with exceptional acting ingenuity. What is astonishing is that these first performers in the lead roles grow with each subsequent performance. I would like to express my immense gratitude to Snežana Tomanović, the Secretary of Culture of Podgorica, and her team, who ensured the troupe's stay in the capital."
Years after the Sofia Opera's tours in Germany and Greece with the ballet The Goat Horn, the performance returned to the international stage. The assistance for the tour was provided by Maria Bolevic, the first student from Montenegro to successfully complete a Master's degree in Ballet Pedagogy at the University of Arts in Plovdiv, Bulgaria (AMDFA "Prof. Asen Diamandiev").
"I thought that the role of Maria in The Goat Horn was not for me. I am in love with classical ballet and still am. But I was captivated by the incredible choreography of Prof. Lukyanov and the beautiful music of Krasimir Kyurkchiyski. I was surprised by how such a complex and tragic fate could be expressed through music and dance. It wasn’t difficult for me to embody this character. Maria is very close to me. I find many of her qualities in myself. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Prof. Lukyanov and his family. Thanks to them, I was and am Maria!"
Stanislava Karadzhova-Pencheva
"This piece is very significant because it is connected to Bulgarian history and tradition. The music is such that at times it truly saddens me, and then it brings me to a state of indescribable happiness. The Goat Horn is very popular in Bulgaria because, both in the music and the dance, there are many elements of national folklore."
"At first, it was difficult for me to understand the music, which is full of mood changes. I hope that you, the audience, have felt it too, because it describes love, passion, but also pain and death. The most important thing is to identify with the character you are playing, because you can always perform a pirouette or an adagio, but if you don't understand the essence of the character you're portraying, you can't convey the emotion to the audience."
"The role of Kara Ivan is very close to me because I also have a daughter. My character cares for little Maria, helps her, but at the same time, the situation is different, the action takes place in another era, two hundred years ago. It is difficult for me to express the emotion I experience during the dance."
"The unbearable pain of his character is portrayed by Masaki with spontaneous, genuine emotion," adds his colleague Detelina Kremakova. "Under the musical-dramatic influence of the music, he shapes the character of Kara Ivan and captivates the audience with his ability to tell a story through dance. The audience holds its breath, watching Masaki's powerful performance, and at the tragic finale, we, the members of the ballet troupe, who have rehearsed 'Koziyat Rog' countless times and know the plot of the eponymous story by the writer Nikolai Haitov well, shed a tear, momentarily forgetting that we are on stage!"
Text: Veselina Antonova
