Miglena Stoicheva, BNT
After the Sofia Opera opened its new season abroad with its participation at the international opera festival in Zagreb, this night the same will happen but this time: for the Bulgarian audience. What’s more, the season opening at the Sofia Opera is comparable to the season openings at the biggest opera theaters because today three opera stars with an international career will appear on stage. They will perform the main roles in “Tosca” by Giacomo Puccini, with the legendary Daniel Oren conducting.
The Sofia Opera opens its new season with star glamor. Maria Jose Siri, Stefan Pop and Claudio Sgura are big poster names and they perform on famous opera stages. This night, they will make the Bulgarian audience happy with their performance of “Tosca”.
Stefan Pop: “The opening of a new season is the most challenging performance of the year for any singer because people are eager for the season to start after a long vacation. The audience is impatient to return to the theater and because of this for us this is no ordinary performance, it’s something much more: we know very well we need to be perfect.”
These elite singers were invited to Bulgaria by Plamen Kartaloff who has the ambition to offer the audience a season like no other so far. None other than conductor Daniel Oren is in charge of music quality.
Daniel Oren, conductor: “Everything in this opera is very dramatic; at the same time, there is so much lyrism and poetry in this score. It’s astounding how the composer achieved both great dramatism and great poetry. As a conductor, I like painting with millions of colors just like an artist; with Puccini, you really do have millions of colors to work with because Puccini is all about colors and emotion. It’s an opera which greatly resonates in my heart.”
“Tosca” is a piece many sopranos dream of performing in. Even though Maria Jose Siri has performed the main role for years, she hasn’t lost interested towards her heroine because the genius Puccini has created a many-layered character.
Maria Jose Siri: “In the opera’s three acts, Tosca is a different woman who undergoes development and goes from a theatrical to an increasingly realistic character. It’s like a movie: maestro Puccini has written the separate scenes as if it’s a film script. I always say “Tosca” is the first thriller I’ve sung in because it truly is the case.”
The three singers’ visit on the Sofia Opera stage is just the beginning. Expect more thrilling performances filled with the art of world-famous artists.