This evening, the Sofia Opera joins the worldwide celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the creation of “Turandot. The special occasion demands the presence of special artists. The Sofia audience will hear a star-studded ensemble perform: Ekaterina Semenchuk, Jorge de Leon and Carolina Lopes Moreno, under the conductorship of maestro Daniel Oren.
What is love worth? This is what Puccini asks us near the end of his life and he answers: love is worth as much as a man is brave enough to put his life on the line and give the correct answers to these three riddles. It is exactly this that turns the opera “Turandot” into one of the greatest metaphors for love.
Prof. Plamen Kartaloff, director of the Sofia Opera and Ballet: “Love is a mystery. In this context, I would like to say that love is never predictable, especially during the finale of our performance which portrays the triumph of love through said mystery.”
Not everyone is capable of understanding Turandot’s motives of raising a wall between herself and love.
Daniel Oren, conductor: “Everyone hates Turandot but I don’t believe this should be the case. She is a woman who’s looking for love but has never found it. She’s a woman who’s prepared to share all her love, who seeks the object of her love and would give everything to find it.”
While the world celebrates the anniversary of the opera’s creation, Bulgaria has the chance to also honor the 85th anniversary of the birth of one of the greatest performers of this role.
Ekaterina Semenchuk: “This is Gena Dimitrova’s costume. This is her crown and I’m ready to kiss every single inch of this fabric and thank her for the opportunity to perform this evening at “Alexander Nevsky” square, together with the Sofia Opera, in this performance by Plamen Kartaloff which he has created for Gena Dimitrova. This is such an honor and I’m so happy I could swim through all the oceans of the world just to be here with you, wearing this costume.”
