ПРОГРАМИ
en de ru fr es sr gr al tr ro
Podcast in English
Share
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

The oldest opera theatre outside the Bulgarian capital was opened in 1925

‎Rigoletto is the first opera premiere in the centenary year of the ‎Stara Zagora Opera

4
The orchestra rehearsing Rigoletto
Photo: operasz.bg

The oldest opera theatre in Bulgaria outside the capital Sofia - the Stara Zagora Opera, which is celebrating a remarkable centennial anniversary this creative season, ‎presents a new production of Verdi's masterpiece ‎Rigoletto on March 28 and 29. 
The production team is headed by the world-renowned opera singer and conductor José Cura, the director is Ognyan Draganov, the Romanian artist Catalin Ionescu-Arbore is the author of the scenography and costumes, and the choirmaster is Mladen Stanev.

Boris Taskov (The Duke), Elia Fabian (Rigoletto)
In the two premiere nights, the main roles will be played by Kiril Manolov and the Italian Elia Fabian as Rigoletto, Emilia Ivanova and Simona Kodeva as Gilda, Matteo Falcier and Boris Taskov as the Duke, Daniela Dyakova and Teresa Brakalova as Madalena, and Alexander Marulev as Sparafucile.

Conductor Jose Cura
The Duke from Rigoletto is not in the repertoire of the famous tenor José Cura, but for the conductor this score is a welcome challenge. When the director of the Stara Zagora Opera, Ognyan Draganov, offered the world star to participate in the new production of Rigoletto as a director, José Cura chose to conduct.

Director Ognyan Draganov with Matero Falcier (The Duke)
Director Ognyan Draganov and artist Catalin Ionescu-Arbore - a proven creative tandem, are once again looking for a different look at Verdi's well-known drama. The set design is clean and simple, the solutions are modern - both in terms of the sets and costumes, but the expressive means are classical. 

Behind the curtains: unique handmade accessories - hats, masks, crowns
"This is the fifth time I'm working here, at the Stara Zagora State Opera," says Catalin Ionescu-Arbore. "And this time I can use all the technical possibilities of the stage, which is great for me to unleash my imagination. I play with colors to show the struggle between life and death, what is good, what is evil," says the artist.



Read also:


English publication: Rositsa Petkova

Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.
Radio Bulgaria Culture    Catalin Ionescu-Arbore Jose Cura Ognyan Draganov opera production opera singer Rigoletto Stara Zagora Stara Zagora Opera Verdi Verdi's Rigoletto

Gallery

More from category

Pavel Baleff – the world-renowned conductor of Bulgarian premieres

For three decades, Pavel Baleff has been enjoying an exceptional career in Europe, Asia and America. He is the most respected Bulgarian conductor in Germany and Austria, France and Switzerland, Denmark and Slovakia, Russia and China,..

published on 8/19/25 2:10 PM

Ventsislav Sariev's short film ''Making Love'' selected for LUCAS Film Festival in Germany

The short film ''Making Love '' , directed by Ventsislav Sariev, has been selected for the 48th edition of the LUCAS – International Festival for Young Film Lovers, which will take place from September 25 to October 2 in Frankfurt, Offenbach and..

published on 8/19/25 11:09 AM

Opera star Joyce DiDonato has commissioned a Bulgarian designer for her Emily Dickinson project

The Kansas-born mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, who has won multiple Grammy Awards and received the 2018 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera, has commissioned Bulgarian designer Veselina Svilarska to create costumes for her latest..

published on 8/15/25 3:03 PM

WEATHER
Pick city: Sofía
Partly Cloudy
Min: 14 | Max: 31
Partly Cloudy
Min: 18 | Max: 28
Partly Cloudy
Min: 18 | Max: 27
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 11 | Max: 30
Partly Cloudy
Min: 15 | Max: 29
Partly Cloudy
Min: 15 | Max: 28
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 12 | Max: 27
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 16 | Max: 28
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 15 | Max: 29
Partly Cloudy
Min: 14 | Max: 30
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 13 | Max: 29
Partly Cloudy
Min: 14 | Max: 29
Partly Cloudy
Min: 16 | Max: 28
Partly Cloudy
Min: 11 | Max: 29
Partly Cloudy
Min: 14 | Max: 30
Partly Cloudy
Min: 14 | Max: 29
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 15 | Max: 26
Partly Cloudy
Min: 16 | Max: 30
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 17 | Max: 28
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 17 | Max: 29
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 13 | Max: 26
Partly Cloudy
Min: 15 | Max: 29
Partly Cloudy
Min: 16 | Max: 30
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 14 | Max: 26
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 16 | Max: 30
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 15 | Max: 27
Partly Cloudy
Min: 17 | Max: 29
BULGARIA IN PICTURES
Which world-famous Bulgarian artist designed QSL cards for Radio Bulgaria?
Yasen Gyuzelev
Theodore Ushev
Christo Javacheff - Christo
Ilia Peikov
Lika Yanko

BULGARIANS ABROAD

Български English Русский Deutsch Српски Français Ελληνικά Español Shqip Türkçe Română
MOST VIEWED

Ventsislav Sariev's short film ''Making Love'' selected for LUCAS Film Festival in Germany

The short film ''Making Love '' , directed by Ventsislav Sariev, has been selected for the 48th edition of the LUCAS – International Festival for Young..

published on 8/19/25 11:09 AM

Pavel Baleff – the world-renowned conductor of Bulgarian premieres

For three decades, Pavel Baleff has been enjoying an exceptional career in Europe, Asia and America. He is the most respected Bulgarian..

published on 8/19/25 2:10 PM

english@bnr.bg

+359 2 9336 661

Общи условия за използване на сайта | Политика за поверителност | Политика за "бисквитки"