Sofia Opera opens its open-air season with Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana

The much-anticipated summer cultural event Opera at the Square will take place as planned, the Sofia Opera has officially confirmed. All performances in this year's programme will be staged on a specially constructed open-air stage in front of the St. Alexander Nevsky Patriarchal Cathedral in the heart of the Bulgarian capital.

The festival will run for exactly one month, from 9 July to 9 August 2026.

The open-air season opens this evening with Pietro Mascagni's opera Cavalleria Rusticana. The production is a co-production between the Sofia Opera and Ballet and the renowned opera houses of Modena, Piacenza and Rimini, Italy.

The production is directed by Academician Plamen Kartaloff, Director of the Sofia Opera and Ballet, who is widely acclaimed for his experience in staging large-scale open-air performances. The authentic costumes are designed by Nella Stoyanova, while Maestro Francesco Rosa will conduct the orchestra, leading the audience through a spectacular evening celebrating Italian and Bulgarian operatic artistry.

Edited by Darina Grigorova