State Opera Varna opens its jubilee season with a rich and varied programme

At the beginning of its 80th season, State Opera Varna marked October 1 (International Music Day) with an exhibition by the Pancho Vladigerov House Museum dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Bulgarian premiere of the opera “Tsar Kaloyan”. The first production on the October 2026 programme was Verdi’s classic “Un Ballo in Maschera”, directed by Nina Naydenova and conducted by Pavel Balev. Its spectacular premiere took place on August 25 as part of the “Opera in the Summer Theatre” festival.

On October 5, audiences will be treated to Imre Kalman’s much-loved operetta “The Csardas Princess”, directed by Alexander Mutafchiyski and conducted by Stefan Boyadzhiev, featuring popular melodies, humor, love, and artistic transformations. The series of musical comedies continues on October 9 with Gioachino Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.” This will be followed by the hit musical “The Lion King,” with music by Elton John, one of the highlights of the programme for family audiences.

On October 17, the ballet company will present two performances of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, choreographed by Sergei Bobrov to music by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Cesare Pugni. The production received the 2026 Varna Award. Music by Johann Strauss II will be featured in an operetta gala concert on October 20.

The programme continues with performances of Verdi’s opera “Aida” and the musical “Winnie-the-Pooh” by Alexander Yosifov, featuring students from the Varna Children’s and Youth Opera. A major highlight of the programme is this year’s premiere of Aram Khachaturian’s spectacular ballet “Spartacus”, choreographed by Sergey Bobrov, with performances on October 27 and 28. The month concludes with the spectacular musical “Aladdin.”

Edited by Tsvetana Toncheva

Translated by Kostadin Atanasov