Vera Nemirova: My ambition is to put Bulgaria on the pedestal it deserves

"Our country may be small, but it is rich in culture, and our confidence needs to grow – as a nation, as artists, as a people, and in our values," says the director, widely regarded as one of the leading figures in contemporary European opera.

Over the past quarter-century, the name of Bulgarian-born Vera Nemirova has become synonymous with the highest standards of professionalism on the European opera scene. Born in Sofia, she comes from a distinguished artistic family: her mother was the opera singer and teacher Sonya Nemirova, her father the opera director Evgeni Nemirov, and her grandfather the renowned writer Dobri Nemirov.

A year after her father's death, Vera and her mother moved to Germany in 1982, settling in Rostock. In 1996, she graduated in opera directing from the prestigious Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin. Since 1998, she has worked in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Latvia, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia. Her career has taken her to the Vienna State Opera, the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden and the Salzburg Festival. Repeatedly nominated by Opernwelt magazine for Production of the Year, Nemirova was also nominated for Director of the Year in 2021.

In 2008, she staged her first production in Bulgaria – Puccini's La fanciulla del West (The Girl of the Golden West) at the Sofia Opera. Invitations from almost every Bulgarian opera house followed. In recent years, she has worked mainly in Varna, where on 7 July 2026 she presented the Wagner Gala – a performance featuring excerpts from Die Walküre, with an outstanding cast of European soloists conducted by Svetoslav Borisov.

Nemirova is unequivocal about her identity: she is Bulgarian. Yet, having lived in Germany since the age of ten and learned her craft there, she says: "I am Bulgarian, but I am a German stage director."

Her desire to become an opera director emerged when her mother was cast as Turandot:

"A director from Berlin's Komische Oper came to the Rostock Theatre. At the time, he was an assistant to the renowned Harry Kupfer. I followed the entire rehearsal process... What I saw was simply astonishing. She was no Chinese princess, but a woman dictator in a military greatcoat, with a white nightgown underneath – her pure soul beneath the armour, a woman soldier... It made a profound impression on me. I said to myself: 'This is what I want to do.' I kept notes in a notebook, writing down what every symbol stood for. The idea of creating an entirely new world on stage – one that had never existed before – fascinated me."

She is often described as an avant-garde director whose productions provoke debate. She says she simply wants to tell stories in the most compelling and engaging way possible. In her view,

"The truly avant-garde lies in penetrating so deeply into a work, in stripping away layer after layer with such sensitivity that its very essence – its DNA – is revealed and begins to shine through. That is far more avant-garde than superficial provocation for provocation's sake."

For the past several years, Nemirova has been the Varna Opera's principal guest director.

"It has become my second creative home. I already have one foot here. I love coming back, I love working with the ensemble and creating extraordinary things especially for them. This is my fifth season here, and it shows. The audience, too, keeps asking for more and is eager to see even more exciting productions."

Asked about Bulgarian musicians and their place on the international stage, she says:

"We are still a minority, but the gems and pearls that come from this small yet wonderful country with its enormous potential are held in very high regard. Our musicians, who serve as Bulgaria's ambassadors abroad, are fulfilling their potential in the world's leading orchestras. On the opera stage, there are names such as Krassimira Stoyanova, Vesselina Kasarova and Nadia Krasteva. Even in the ensembles of smaller, less prominent cities, many Bulgarians sustain the core repertoire. One of them was Sonya Nemirova – my mother. For many years, her name appeared on the Rostock Theatre's playbills."

For Vera Nemirova, Bulgaria is "a deeply emotional subject":

"It is especially when you are far away that you realise what you miss, that you come to understand the strength of the bond that ties you to this land – heavenly, beautiful, long-suffering and poor. And yet it is rich in culture, and our confidence needs to grow – as a nation, as artists, as a people, and in our values. My ambition is to put Bulgaria on the pedestal it deserves. I have brought many people here, and every one of them has been deeply impressed. They discover a culture they never knew existed, and they are always amazed by the extraordinary wealth hidden behind the name Bulgaria. I hope more and more people will come and that we will open our horizons to them. There are already many influences flowing in both directions, and it would be wonderful to see that continue."

Editor: Desislava Semkovska