State Opera - Ruse opened its 75th anniversary season with the ballet "Fire". Conceived as a large-scale performance, it involved not only the ballet dancers, but also representatives of all creative units of the Ruse Opera. At the end of the previous creative season, it was performed to provoke the audience of Ruse and all the institutions on which it depends to restore the stage of the Ruse Opera House as soon as possible after the fire in 2020. That is why this production will be presented again on the stage of the Rousse Opera, even though it is still completely unfit, and that is how the new creative season will be opened. This time Dmitry Shostakovich's music from his symphonies and ballets will be performed live by the State Opera-Ruse Orchestra under the baton of Dimitar Kosev. We should not forget that Shostakovich was the composer who triumphed twice on this very stage six decades ago. In the next performance, the ballet also delves into the universal human themes - world conflicts, lack of empathy, environmental catastrophes... The audience will again see what "fires" burn in the human souls of those who live and create in our complex and troubled world, how they have doomed themselves on the theatrical stage. The theatre - as a stage that looks at the world and life as if through a magnifying glass that is frightening in its frankness, life - as a reproduced theatrical phenomenon and all this, engulfed by the real fire of self-destruction, of war, of madness - all this will come to life again on the suffering stage of the Rousse Opera.
The lounge was packed again! Our guests were also welcomed with an accompanying exhibition in the foyer of the Opera House. The JARTA exhibit depicts footage of our artists in the immediate aftermath of the 2020 fire, from which we are unfortunately still recovering. The Opera House is not yet suitable for either operatic or operetta performances, and even the ballet ones present a real challenge, albeit minimalist ones.
Thank you to the audience for their empathy! We are all working hard to get our theatre open again... permanently.
We continue the month with a beloved fairy tale story. On September 15 at 19:00 at the State Opera House, State Opera - Ruse will present the opera "Turandot"by Giacomo Puccini. This is Puccini's last opera, which has enjoyed great success in Bulgaria for more than a decade, thanks to the captivating and intriguing stage realization of the outstanding Bulgarian director Nina Naydenova. Ruse audiences first enjoyed this production in 2006. In the following years, the performance of the Rousse Opera toured in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and even performed on the Salzburg festival stage. The opera tells the extraordinary tale of the mystical and cruel Chinese princess Turandot in a most attractive way. With the power of beautiful music, orchestral mastery, lavish set design, bright costumes, ballet and the impressive vocal performance of the soloists and choristers, the production becomes an unforgettable spectacle.
Boris Lukov will play the role of Prince Calaf, Tsvetelina Vassileva - the role of Princess Turandot, Teodora Chukurska will debut in the role of Liu, and Momchil Milanov will again play the role of Timur. The conductor of the performance will be Maestra Viliana Valcheva, who will lead the orchestra into the world of the irresistible and willful Princess Turandot.
Puccini died before finishing the opera, and it was composer Franco Alfano who wrote the finale. The tale of Turandot has inspired the best storytellers, composers and playwrights for centuries, remaining a constant inspiration, reimagined and built upon throughout the ages. This tale was first published in 1197 in the poem "Haft Peikar" by the Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi. In Europe, the tale became famous thanks to the translation of the French Orientalist François Petit de La Croix, who in his 1710 collection A Thousand and One Days called the unnamed in Nizami's poem Princess Turandot. The name is derived from "Turandokht" and translated from Persian means daughter of the country Turan.
Turandot premiered at La Scala in Milan, Italy, on 25 April 1926, a year and five months after Puccini's death. Soprano Rosa Raisa played Turandot. Tenors Miguel Fleta and Franco Lo Giudice alternate as Prince Calaf, with Fleta singing the role on opening night. The conductor is Arturo Toscanini. Halfway through Act III, the orchestra stops playing. Toscanini turns to the audience and announces: 'Qui finisce l'opera, perché a questo punto il maestro è morto...' ('Here the opera ends, for at this moment the maestro has died...'). The curtain is then lowered. A newspaper report from 1926 states that Puccini, in his lifetime, had asked Toscanini to stop the opera midway through Act III. The second and subsequent performances of La Scala's 1926 season included Alfano's finale.
The opera "Turandot" is a true fairy tale that comes to life on stage and reveals an often forgotten truth - Love is stronger than anything!
Tickets for the performance - at the Opera box office and online.
We won't leave the month without a premiere performance either!
On 20.09.24 in the Great Hall of the Dokhodno Building we present "THE BARBER OF SEVILLE" by Joaquino Rossini. "The Barber of Seville is one of the best-loved and most popular operas, captivating for its vivacity, infectious for its humour, memorable for its melody and musical inventiveness. It is said that Rossini wrote this masterpiece in just 12 days. Perhaps this short timeframe also necessitated that Rossini follow the tradition that had remained since Baroque times of quoting musical themes and for this comic opera use music from his own earlier works. But this does not diminish its merits at all, on the contrary, it becomes an inimitable example of the comic opera genre. Rossini's work was originally titled Almaviva, the name of the protagonist, or "Vain Caution". But with the title The Barber of Seville, the opera became a work "born" under a lucky star. This means only one thing - the music of Gioachino Rossini brings light. The new premiere of the Rousse Opera floats with ease and ease in this ocean of light. Conductor - Viliana Valcheva, choir conductor - Steliana Dimitrova-Hernani, director - ALEXANDER MUTAFCHIISKI, scenography and costumes - Denis Ivanov, plastic - Natalia Osipova
Tickets for the performance - at the Opera box office and online.
Stay tuned for our October program, which will be filled with festive celebrations of our anniversary season.
Don't miss out on our "EXCITEMENT" raffle - you could win a trip for two, courtesy of our friends ALEXANDRA TRAVEL. The conditions can be found on our facebook page.
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