About the challenges and the pleasure of being Rosina and Figaro – share Vera Girginova and Ventseslav Anastasov
On 4 and 5 March the Sofia Opera will present the premiere performances of "Il barbiere di Siviglia" by Gioachino Rossini, which is a co-production with the State Opera in Plovdiv. Director is Nina Naydenova.
"The production is full of life, with gushing humour. This time no one dies on stage, the audience will be entertained by Rossini's music. They will see the fight of the firemen against the musicians, there are such jokes with life in Bulgaria," Vera Girginova, who plays the role of Rosina, said in the studio of "Bulgaria sutrin".
"There is antagonism between the poor cultural musicians and the rich, powerful of the day, some money is going around between people. Figaro's main occupation is to earn money from here and there – like any normal man in Bulgaria, who has to work in several places," added Ventseslav Anastasov, who performs the role of Figaro.
Both are adamant that "Il barbiere di Siviglia" is the number one comic opera, the favourite of the Bulgarian audience.
"All the arias are exceptionally popular, hit after hit. It's something positive that doesn't take from you, but gives to you. You can't go on stage if you don't get excited, we turn into adrenaline junkies, we need this thing," Vera Girginova said.
The rehearsals lasted 5 weeks, and before that each of the artists had personal preparation of their parts.
"In other comic operas I've done, one thing, whether it's the music or the story itself, always comes at the expense of the other. We have an opera with brilliant music, but the plot is more naive. And here we have a perfect fusion between dramaturgy, plot and music," said Ventseslav Anastasov.
Watch the full conversation in the video.