The majestic opera KING KALOYAN of the Stara Zagora Opera - on the "Stage of the Centuries" 2025
News публикувана на: 22.07.2025
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25 July /Friday/ 21.00 Tsarevets stage, Veliko Tarnovo
X Summer Opera Season "Stage of the Ages" - Veliko Tarnovo2025
The majestic opera KING KALOYAN of the Stara Zagora Opera - on the "Stage of the Ages" 2025
A week after the triumph of its latest production of Pancho Vladigerov's opera Tsar Kaloyan in Stara Zagora, the Stara Zagora Opera will present the monumental work on 25 July at 21.00 on the historic stage of Tsarevets Hill. The iconic work will come to life among the authentic decor of the "Palace of the Kings" and will remind with its scale and original interpretation of events related to Bulgarian history, through the eyes of the genius of the composer Pancho Vladigerov, the librettist Nikolay Liliev and the magnificent source of the story - the novel by Fanny Popova-Mutafova "The Wonderworker of Thessaloniki". "Tsar Kaloyan" is the most popular Bulgarian opera within the "Stage of the Ages" festival. After the giant plein air production of "Kaloyan" in 1987, director Plamen Kartalov staged the opera for the second time on Tsarevets Hill in 2009 and now the Stara Zagora Opera takes the baton and chooses the opera "Tsar Kaloyan" - in the year, when it celebrates its 100th anniversary, with the idea of presenting the show at the place where the historical action takes place - on the Tsarevets Hill /within the framework of the 10th summer opera season "Stage of the Centuries" 2025/.
The exhibition dedicated to the opera "Tsar Kaloyan", which traces the history of the work and the productions from the premiere in 1936 until today at home and abroad, will accompany the presentation of the latest production of the Stara Zagora Opera "Tsar Kaloyan" by Pancho Vladigerov on Tsarevets Hill. The exposition is provided by the Pancho Vladigerov House-Museum - Sofia - partner of the State Opera - Stara Zagora for the performance of the opera "Tsar Kaloyan". The author of the exhibition is Nadia Sotirova, design Tsvetelina Panova.
The performance on July 25 will be conducted by the chief conductor of the Stara Zagora Opera Maestro Ivaylo Krinchev, directed by Vera Petrova, the author of the impressive costumes and stage design is Gendoni, choreography and sculpture Sylvia Tomova, choirmasters Mladen Stanev and Stefania Ruseva with the participation of brilliant soloists, choir and orchestra of the Stara Zagora State Opera. In the role of King Kaloyan the audience will see the world-class baritone Kiril Manolov, in the role of Queen Maria - Gergana Georgieva, Baldwin will be Boris Taskov, in the role of Boril - Momchil Karaivanov, and in the role of the Bulgarian Archbishop - Ivaylo Djurov.
The opera "Tsar Kaloyan" by Pancho Vladigerov has a dramatic fate, but at the same time a happy one, because it is the first Bulgarian opera, which has been staged many times abroad in addition to Bulgaria.
On 25 July, the citizens of Turnov and the guests of the old capital will have the opportunity to see a performance that carries an extraordinary creative charge. The production team addresses the symbols embedded in the life path, "the choices each of us faces, the struggle with personal demons that each historical legend offers to our attention. The scenographic element involving the falcons inspired our team to turn to the even deeper roots of the mythologies associated with the Slavic reading of creation, namely the legend of the three falcons that created the world.
Tsar Kaloyan, as the main character for all of us, walked his complex path of personal relationships and political struggles to achieve the inexplicable and impossible in times of extreme religious division, conquest of territories, and thirst for power. Our creative team finds the importance of personal conscious choices in life to be the core message of the work - one that allows us to accept absolute responsibility for our actions, for the sake of not only our own small inner world, but also that of those around us. "God is in my soul, Father!" says Kaloyan.
Gendoni's set design brings out the levels of our universe in three clear fields: The Spiritual, the Divine, and the Unexplainable at the highest level of the forum, through the powerful presence of the icons and the three falcons; the level of Man, in the person of Kaloyan, who embraces, reads, and fulfills the mission at the highest spiritual level; and the lowest level of the whirlpool of our petty daily lives, in which we sink into the sleep of forgetfulness, forgetting the Universal Laws....Similarly, the directorial and choreographic fabric, brought out in a clean sculpture of extreme contrasts by Silvia Tomova, works with these three levels, using Kaloyan, Maria and Boril as symbols of the different opposing forces in nature. " - director Vera Petrova opens the curtain.
"The musical language Vladigerov uses in the only opera he wrote is extremely rich and is influenced by the most modern compositional techniques, which he knew very well. The structure of the title is organized in large canvases in a symphonic-oratorio plan, similar to German opera in the works of Wagner and Richard Strauss, and creates with its scale an extraordinary sense of the greatness of this period of our history. The complexity of the melodic constructions, the multi-layered harmonic sequences and the masterful orchestration, skillfully interwoven with Bulgarian motifs create this unique "Vladigerian" language characteristic of his entire oeuvre..." - reveals conductor Ivaylo Krinchev.
The wealth of costumes will immerse the audience in the atmosphere of the troubled times in which Tsar Kaloyan lived - a real inspiration and challenge for the artist Gendoni, who throws himself with enthusiasm and his usual precision to detail to carve his costume-creations. More than 60 unique canvas patterns were created especially for the production, and in designing the costume patterns the artist drew on original murals from the time as well as archival photographs provided by the Regional History Museum-Veliko Tarnovo. The choreographer of the production, Sylvia Tomova, lets her imagination and talent run wild by creating spectacular dances that involve the entire multinational troupe of the Stara Zagora Opera.
King Kaloyan - promotional video
A performance that captivates with its evocative story, stirring music, contemporary sound and sustained triumphant presence over the years.
"Tsar Kaloyan" - the performance of the Stara Zagora Opera, which will come to life for the first time on the hill "Tsarevets" and awaits its fans!
Advance ticket sales:
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