Stara Zagora Opera opens the New Year Music Festival with Rigoletto on 17 December
News публикувана на: 27.11.2025
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On 17 December at 19.00
Stara Zagora Opera together with the National Palace of Culture will present for the first time in Sofia on the stage of Hall 1 its impressive production of the opera Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi. The performance is this year's choice of the National Palace of Culture - organizer and host of the traditional New Year's music festival, with which its 39th edition will be officially opened (the festival was established in 1986).
"Rigoletto is one of the most exciting operatic premieres in the 2025 anniversary year for the oldest opera house in Bulgaria outside the capital - the Stara Zagora Opera House, which celebrates its respectable centenary with a series of special events, performances and concerts throughout the creative season.
The production team
The new stage production of Rigoletto brought together an elite international creative team:
- World-renowned opera singer and conductor.
- Opera director.
- Romanian artist: Katalin Ionescu-Arbore - author of the original costumes and the impressive set design
A constellation of operatic voices will delight opera lovers who will choose to share in the festive December evening experience of Rigoletto, the opera that has been a fixture on opera posters for 174 years and marches triumphantly on opera stages in this country and around the world.
Starring roles on 17 December
- Kiril Manolov - Rigoletto
- Emilia Terzieva - Gilda
- Reynaldo Droz - The Duke of Mantua
- Daniela Dyakova - Madalena
- Ivaylo Djurov - Sparafucile
- Stoyan Buyukliev - Borsa
- Alexander Marulev - Monterone
Participants: choir and orchestra of the State Opera-Stara Zagora.
Choirmasters.
Concertmaster.
Directorial and artistic concept
Director Ognian Draganov and artist Cataline Ionescu-Arbore, a proven creative tandem, offer a different take on the drama of the court jester with a surprising and logical angle. The set design is clean and simple, but expressive enough. The colours - white, red, black, gold - enhance the moods and contrasts in the narrative.
"I play with colours to show the struggle between life and death, what is good, what is evil. What is what we should strive for and what is what we cannot achieve nowadays! I think the audience will understand what we want to say with the director Ognian Draganov in Rigoletto. It will understand the story first through the music, which says a lot! I express this drama and these characters through the colours of the stage - for example the red that is scattered all over the stage - brings a strong drama!"
- Cataline Ionescu-Arboret
"Although the opera is called Rigoletto, for me the important figure is Gilda, the female face of love. There's a phrase in the opera that was a cornerstone for me and the artist Cataline Ionescu-Arbore to come up with this set and costumes and put all the 'exaggerated beauty' of power into them. The curse is on the "race" that rules - Cortigiani vil razza dannata "Courtiers, vile race, cursed..."
"Rigoletto ends in tragedy - not only does Gilda die, but Love is rendered meaningless, Love is consumed and the best thing about it is cut off - the Wings."
- Ognian Draganov
Interesting facts about the production
- This is Ognian Draganov's third production of Rigoletto (Sarajevo and Maastricht).
- José Cura, a world-class tenor and conductor, leads the production with a unique musical interpretation.
- The operas Rigoletto, Il Trovatore and La Traviata have been called Verdi's "three greats".
History of the opera Rigoletto
Giuseppe Verdi composed the opera for the Teatro La Fenice in collaboration with librettist Francesco Maria Piave. Victor Hugo's dramaturgy inspired Verdi with its contrasts and violent clashes of feelings.
It premiered on 11 March 1851 at Teatro La Fenice, Venice to triumphant success. Rigoletto was first staged in Bulgaria on 13 December 1920 in Sofia and in Stara Zagora in June 1934.
🎟️ Tickets
At the NPC box office and online: https://shorturl.at/CIEDQ
And in the Eventim network: https://shorturl.at/r0a11
