The first of three performances of “The Rila Hermit” in front of the “St. Alexander Nevsky” cathedral ended with a ten-minute long applause and “Bravo!” shouts. The Sofia Opera and Ballet musical poem will be performed on three consecutive days: the 11^th, 12^th and 13^th of July, in front of the “St. Alexander Nevsky” cathedral.

These open stage performances are dedicated to the 1160^th anniversary of the Bulgarian nation’s christening. Director: acad. Plamen Kartaloff; script by Tihomir Pavlov; score by Father Kiril Popov.

Dobrin Dosev debuted in the role of St. Ivan Rilski and portrayed the last years of the saint’s life. As soon as he first appeared, the popular actor faced a professional challenge: his microphone was off; however, he brilliantly dealt with the situation, as viewers commented for BTA. Baritone Atanas Mladenov portrayed the role of the young hermit.

“This is my third time seeing “The Hermit of Rila”: I first saw its premiere at the Sofia Opera then I saw it last year at the square and now again, here. I dare say, this performance is still evolving: with the new changes and faces on stage it looks even better, both visuals and score. “Despite microphones cutting out from time to time, the score was perfect”, another viewer commented. According to more observant viewers, this title’s runtime has significantly been reduced which they consider a plus.

“As a director, I tried to adapt these genius and wonderful verses on stage along with Father Kiril Popov so that they truly come to life on stage. We created a dramaturgy out of these verses which reveals many significant scenes from the life of this great Bulgarian. Thus, the performance is especially created for this stage so that it vibes with all the senses of dramaturgy, of the script and score. This is all done in order for the audience to experience this vibe and truly immerse itself in the emotion of this grand performance, just like in a Shakespeare drama performed in a great theater”, acad. Plamen Kartaloff commented for BTA regarding the first open stage performances.

As BTA wrote, “The Rila Hermit” first premiered in May 2023. It was created in 1937 by Tihomir Pavlov: writer, poet, publicist and public figure (1880-1937). The performance team includes: Georgi Strezov (orchestration); conductors Zhorzh Dimitrov and Stara Zagora bishop Cyprian; choir conductor Violeta Dimitrova; scenography by Nela Stoyanova; consultants prof. Pavel Pavlov and Belogradchik bishop Polycarp. Translation from Church Slavonic: prof. dr. Ivan Zhelev. Dimitar Kostantsaliev: director of the performing children’s vocal-theatrical formation. Costumes by Marta Mironska. Starring: Angel Hristov, Dimitar Stanchev, Nikolay Petrov, Biser Georgiev, Stefan Vladimirov, Ivan Alexandrov, Velislav Ninov, Angel Antonov, Alexandar Georgiev, Rosen Nenov, Nikolay Pavlov, Georgi Dzhanov, Krasimir Dinev, Nikolay Voinov, Kiril Konstantinov, Yuliana Todorova, Evgenii Dimitrov, Nikolay Milev.