In the lead role Kalin Vrachanski

With the special participation of Slavcho Peev

Enormous is the repertoire of pearls from the world opera and ballet classic, which the Sofia Opera possesses, maintains and regularly presents to its audience. Especially significant role in the theatre’s policy is the care about the growing of a new worthy generation of opera artists.

But together with this, the vision of the management is the care about a new audience too. The look is towards these spectators of ours, who will enter the opera building to discover new horizons for spiritual communication, emotional enrichment and mutual experience with the world of the opera and ballet.

Together with the most beautiful nature of these arts, addressed to the youngest audience with concerts for babies and repertoire for children, already stable is our invitation with a repertoire palette in the genre of the musical.

But now we are facing new circumstances with the confusion of the normal rhythm and way of life – the fear of the pandemic.

How the people of art, the audience and the interaction between them will continue to exist? Shall we think only about surviving or we will look for each other and discover new ways, not only for existence, but also towards progress, towards going ahead?

These are the alternative solutions for mutual connection, interest in new spaces for communication between art and audience.

The concept for the stage realization of “My Father the Painter” is by the stage director Plamen Kartaloff, in order to continue the life of one exceptional creation, of one film-musical made in 1974 with legendary Bulgarian actors. For the first time this happens with the same enthusiasm and passion to develop the musical as a genre also at the Opera. And this is in balance with the priorities of the great examples of the world treasury from the prestigious opera repertoire of the Sofia Opera.

In the series of hit musicals, produced on the stage of the Sofia Opera, are some among the realized recently first as film productions with world fame, “Mamma Mia!”, “Les Misérables” and “Shrek”. And one new title besides them, as a privilege for the audience of the Sofia Opera, is the newest offer for musical on the opera stage “My Father the Painter”, with its first stage version by Plamen Kartaloff. The stage director, who staged for the first time in Bulgaria the musicals “Fiddler on the Roof”, “Sunset Boulevard”, “The Phantom of the Opera”, “Mamma Mia!”, “Les Misérables” and others, gives now a chance not only new audience to be attracted at the Opera, but in a new way to be interpreted for stage one exceptional cinema dramaturgy of the Bulgarian musical “My Father the Painter” with Petar Stupel’s and Konstantinn Dregnev’s music, to the scenario by Vasil Tsonev. Orchestration by Angel Nikolov.

Specially for the production of “My Father the Painter” at the Sofia Opera was invited and was rehearsing with a special role Tatyana Lolova. Despite of her untimely loss, she will receive an honorary participation in the action aspects of the directing, in order to be, although for a short time, always in the spirit of the spectacle.

For the other lead roles are invited also very popular and great cinema and drama actors: the charismatic with his talent of a singer and actor Kalin Vrachanski in the role of the teacher Andreev, and Slavcho Peev, the legend of the Satirical Theatre, first performer of the role of the Rich Man from the film of the same name by the stage director Stefan Dimitrov.

All other roles in the new stage interpretation of “My Father the Painter” are performed by Angel Hristov, Gergana Rusekova, Krasimir Dinev, Dimitar Stanchev, Vesela Delcheva, Silvana Pravcheva, Biser Georgiev, Nikolay Petrov and others. The six boys are the talented soloists of the Talasamche Theatre with director Dimitar Konstantsaliev and a children’s vocal group with director Tanya Lazarova. Conductor is Svetoslav Lazarov. With the participation of the chorus and the orchestra of the Sofia Opera. Chorus master is Violeta Dimitrova. Choreographer is Riolina Topalova, set and costume designers are Nela and Kristian Stoyanovi.

The premiere was scheduled for the traditional New Year’s programme of the Sofia Opera, and namely on 31 December 2020, the exact date on which takes place the action according to the scenario. Because of the imposed security measures during the pandemic, the work of the artistic teams was interrupted many times, but already is announced the new date for the premiere, and it is on 8 May, Saturday. The next spectacles are on 9 May, Sunday, at 11.00 and 19.00 h, and on 10 May, Monday, at 19 h.