Andrea Chénier in Stara Zagora – the triumph of a 100-year old opera company

On 21 and 22 November, the company of the first opera theatre outside the capital city Sofia, the one in Stara Zagora, staged Andrea Chénier by Umberto Giordano for the first time in its 100-year long history. As is the tradition the premiere of the Stara Zagora opera house inaugurated the Opera and Ballet Art Festival – a unique event in this country and in the Balkans – proving to be a triumph with the performances on two consecutive nights followed by frenetic applause, thunderous ovations and shouts of delight in a hall that was packed to capacity, a rare phenomenon for a Bulgarian music theatre.

Andrea Chénier – a difficult and highly demanding score, presented with inspiration, precision, refined taste and a sense of balance worthy of the world opera stages. The credit for this goes to the creative team under the direction of Ognyan Draganov who has, in the past ten years, transformed the Stara Zagora opera house into a theatre of European stature. The stellar cast of the premiere show - Dario Di Vietri (Chénier), Tanya Ivanova (Maddalena) and Kiril Manolov (Gérard) – transformed it into a vocal extravaganza, culminating in the aria of Gérard in act 3. The second show was a night of superb acting, inspiration on stage and rapture for the audience. Boris Taskov as an emotional and strong-voiced Chénier, a convincing and superbly interpreted Gérard by Gangsoon Kim from South Korea and a tender and touching Maddalena as performed by Tamara Kalinkina, the soloist of the National Opera of Ukraine who has been the prima and among the treasures of the Stara Zagora opera for three years.

In an interview for Radio Bulgaria, director Ognyan Draganov said:

“I believe that tonight was a magnificent celebration and I am happy to have been part of it. I saw it in the hall – smiling faces, endless applause for which I am thankful that the opera is alive, that opera is moving ahead, demonstrating it is capable of moving forward.”

For talented artist Denis Ivanov Andrea Chénier is the 30^th opera he has worked on since he joined the Stara Zagora Opera House 15 years ago.

“Although it is supposedly a classical work, it includes many subtly implied modern elements. Because in the costumes, especially in the first act, despite the flamboyance that is necessary for rococo, we do see a contemporary style. These are dresses that can easily be worn to a gala concert – a singer could wear them. The wigs are very ornate, very beautiful, there is nothing musty about them. That is something that is very important to me. In any work – if I am taking an "à la" classical approach I have to be very careful to avoid the “mothball” effect so it doesn’t look like it came from 30 years ago. That is a difficult thing to do, and it can only be achieved with a sense of balance and elegance. It takes a lot of experience, a lot of work to make sure it isn’t kitschy, or shabby, or that there’s nothing missing, but also that it does not go over the top because – it isn’t pretty and audiences sense it intuitively and get very annoyed with such disbalances.”

The performances were remarkable for the seamless connection between the orchestra and the stage. “I can say that everyone was really enthusiastic and responsive,” says conductor Pavel Balev, and adds he is happy to have been able to do just this incredible title during the jubilee season.

The town and its opera display an inimitable spirit, enviable energy and have similar backgrounds. Torched and destroyed, in time they have risen from the ashes like a phoenix. In our day, the Stara Zagora opera is an outstanding theatre, on a par with European opera houses. According to data of the National Statistical Institute, Stara Zagora and the surrounding area hold second position in the country for economic development. The town holds one more attraction for visitors – the Stara Zagora Opera and Ballet Art Festival held in the city every year at the end of November and the beginning of December.

More:

• Unique eopera and ballet festivities in Stara Zagora to start on November 21
• SylviaTomova – Leading Stara Zagora State Opera’s multinational ballet company

Translated by Milena Daynova
Photos: Facebook/StateOperaStaraZagora, BTA