Scientific Conference THE OPERA AND THE CITY
News публикувана на: 25.11.2025
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On 27 November at 13.00 in the hall of the Regional Library "Zahariy Knyazheski" begins Scientific Conference
OPERA AND THE CITY, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Stara Zagora Opera House. The forum is organized by the State Opera Stara Zagora, Institute for Arts Research at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and is in the program of the 55th Festival of Opera and Ballet Art.
The conference will be attended by renowned scholars and researchers from various scientific divisions of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and other universities, PhD students and students, opera directors, conductors and directors, singers.
Among the participants are prof. Julian Kuyumdzhiev from "Prof. Assen Diamandiev - Plovdiv with a presentation of the Musical and Stage Works of Hristo Manolov /on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of his birth/. The presentation of prof. Rumen Neykov - director and director ofStaraZagora Opera in the 90s of the last century is on the topic.
With interesting topics also participate. Svetla Dimitrova, researching the development of cultural institutions in Stara Zagora in the 1940s and 1950s; prof. Prof. Rosmari Statelova from the Institute for Arts Research-BAS, who has observed and covered a number of FOBI performances over the years, and whose monograph "The Summer of Bulgarian Culture" is a fundamental work on festival themes in Bulgaria.
The report will also be presented by the organizing secretary of FOBI Dr. Lyubomir Kutin, who defended his dissertation under the supervision of Prof. Statelova. The participation of prof. Anelia Yaneva - famous ballet teacher, who started her career as a choreographer on the stage of Stara Zagora Opera.
Desislava Hristova traces some national trends in the musical and performing arts during the guest appearances of the St. Makedonski Dance Theatre at FOBI. Also of interest is the inclusion of an author such as Ognyan Stamboliyev, known for his numerous reviews and articles in the field of music and performing arts, for a number of translations, but especially for his two volumes, The New Book of Opera and The Book of Operetta and Musical, which are proving to be a desktop reference for researchers, playwrights, and admirers.
It is gratifying to see the interest of specialists from other fields who find intersections with the theme of the Conference, such as Elena Dragastinova, Janeta Yordanova, Dr. Rumyana Lecheva, Assoc. Stefka Venkova - Scientific Secretary of the Institute for the Study of Arts, etc. Children's themes and the participation of children in performances is the focus of Dr. Ioanna Dimitrova and Maria Ivanova.
Prof. Nikola Popov examines the directors whose names filled the programmes of the National Reviews in 1951-1989. Prof. Nina Naydenova will remind us of four of the best Stara Zagora productions of the early 21st century, created by herself, together with the artists Boris and Tsvetanka Stoynov and the choreographer Boryana Sechanova, who "took" the troupe on a number of tours. The director of Tsar Kaloyan (2025)
Vera Petrova, deputy director of Sofia Opera and Ballet will introduce us to the manifestations of archetypal and mythological images in three Bulgarian works. Bulgarian opera, but seen from a different angle, is also the topic of Vladimir Boshnakov, director of the Stara Zagora Opera. Maria Koleva will examine the role of the mask and make-up as active components in the aesthetic and meaning-building of the performance, drawing on examples from a Stara Zagora production.
An attempt at a comparative analysis between the French and Bulgarian versions of the musical Romeo and Juliet is expected from Sava-Kalina Angelov-Zhunitsch. Finally, Assoc. Petar Plamenov will present his views on the greatness and crisis of the art of opera.
In the course of the Conference we will have the opportunity to touch new printed editions. Krasimir Kashev, Director of the National School ofMusic and PerformingArts "Hristina Morfova" will present the jubileeedition "50 years of the National School of Music and Performing Arts "Hristina Morfova" - Stara Zagora. In his book, which will be presented by the author himself, Arseni Arsov talks about specific productions and names of artists from different periods in the history of opera in Bulgaria and the Stara Zagora Opera in particular.
We sincerely hope that the variety of topics and points of view will provoke discussions in which everyone - participant or guest - could express his opinion, defend his point of view.
In a separate file we attach the conference programme.