At the beginning of
June, opera enthusiasts in Sofia were unpleasantly surprised by the news that Sofia
National Opera and Ballet was cancelling all performances of the traditional
“Opera in the Square” festival, which had been scheduled to take place between
July 9 and August 9 in front of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in the capital city.
The management of the Sofia Opera and Ballet apologized and explained that the
measure was due to financial restrictions stemming from the absence of a state
budget for 2026.
However, about a week
later, the Sofia National Opera and Ballet announced that the festival—beloved
by both the residents and visitors of the capital—would, after all, take place
during the same period, albeit with some changes.
The opera ”Cavalleria Rusticana”
PHOTO Sofia Opera and Ballet
The scheduled performances of ”Cavalleria Rusticana” and ”Pagliacci” are a co-production with three Italian houses
in Modena, Piacenza and Ravenna.
An important piece of
news for opera fans: the celebrated Georgian operatic soprano Nino
Machaidze will perform the role of Nedda in ”Pagliacci” on 15 and 17 July. Having launched her
international career at Milan’s La Scala, she has been dubbed by the European
press as the “Angelina Jolie of opera.”
Since the planned
large-scale musical ”Les Misérables” requires enormous artistic resources, the
organizers decided to replace it with an exceptionally popular production that
audiences typically sing and dance along to: Mamma Mia!.
The spiritual bridge
between the Patriarchal Cathedral and the square is ”The Hermit of Rila”,
dedicated to Saint John of Rila, the heavenly protector and patron saint of
Bulgaria.
Based on a musical
poem by Father Kiril Popov, the production was staged at the festival’s
previous two editions and can be seen again this year on August 1.
The opera ”Turandot”
PHOTO Sofia Opera and Ballet
The finale of “Opera in the Square” festival on 9 August will
will join the world in marking the 100th anniversary of the premiere of Giacomo
Puccini’s ”Turandot”. The performance, conducted by the renowned Daniel Oren,
will feature stars of the international stage — Ekaterina Semenchuk and Jorge
de León.
A week before “Opera
in the Square” (On July 2), another popular festival organized by the Sofia
Opera and Ballet begins — “Muses of the Water”. In recent years, every
summer the beloved Lake Pancharevo has been transformed into a true realm of
ballet. Plamen Kartalov shared that the idea for the Sofia Opera ballet company
to perform an excerpt from ”Swan Lake” during the Giro d’Italia 2026 was proposed
by their partners from Sofia Municipality. They asked the Opera to help create
spectacular visuals that could be captured by the race’s camera crews: “And I
said — fine. But in May… what will the weather be like? I suggested to Marta
(Marta Petkova — Artistic Director of the Sofia Opera and Ballet) that we come
up with a ballet with coats, with costumes, if necessary with hats and boots,
because we don’t know what the weather will be like. Marta said — no! Whatever
happens, we are performing ”Swan Lake”! And it was absolutely beautiful. This is a joint initiative between Sofia Municipality and the Sofia Opera. That is how we became known around the world
with our Lake Pancharevo… We are preparing the new season and waiting for the
budget to be approved… We are the only ones in the world who do not know what funding
we have available…. So, despite politicians’ claims that the state
treasury is empty, ours should be full. Because
we have the confidence and the determination to move forward together with you
— our esteemed journalists and our audience, which is now an international one”, concluded Academician Plamen Kartalov.
PHOTO Sofia Opera and Ballet
At the press
conference, the Artistic Director of the Sofia Opera and Ballet, Marta Petkova,
said that “Muses of the Water” at Lake Pancharevo is an undertaking that
requires extensive logistics: transportation, stage
construction, lighting and sound.
Careful study of the weather conditions is also essential. “Many people work on
these major festivals, and I am very proud that we have them, because I have
always spoken with admiration about where I work, and I am proud of the
institution I am part of”, Marta Petkova said.
The ballet ”Zorba the Greek”
PHOTO Sofia Opera and Ballet
Seven performances are planned for this
summer. In addition to ”Swan Lake”, audiences will be able to enjoy
much-loved productions such as ”Zorba the Greek’‘, with music by Mikis
Theodorakis, and ”A Midsummer Night’s Dream’‘, with music by Felix
Mendelssohn.
“This is truly a much-loved stage for us
ballet artists. We can’t wait to step into the water itself — it brings a sense
of calm. This stage is becoming better organized every year, and I am delighted
that it is renewed each year and becomes more and more charming. So I would
also like to welcome the audience and invite them to join us”, says Marta Petkova.
Translated by Kostadin Atanasov
