Sofia, 07.10.2025 (BTA)
Our two premiere operas: “Cavalleria Rusticana” by Pietro Mascagni and “Pagliacci” by Ruggiero Leoncavallo are bound together by the great theater of passion”, acad. Plamen Kartaloff, director of the Sofia Opera, shared for BTA.
“What binds them together is the honest and emotional human experience of love, jealousy and hatred with a catastrophic ending: murder. The two operas’ dramaturgies are similar in this sense: in this theater of passion, relationships and characters are born, exceptionally strong and powerful; an explosion on stage in which all protagonists are involved”, Kartaloff shared.
Both performances have either two or three different ensembles. “I never turn down an artist who wishes to get involved. This time, we had a bit more artists turn up but they are our artists, after all”, the opera director said. “You know my passion is discovering promising artists, giving new names a chance and so I couldn’t turn down anyone who wished to be a part of this performance: even our colleagues who traditionally perform other pieces”, he added.
The 11th of October is the first premiere date. Conductor: Francesco Rosa; director: Plamen Kartaloff; scenography: Giacomo Andrico; costumes: Nela Stoyanova.
This is an international coproduction between opera theaters in Modena, Piacenza, Rimini and Sofia.
“It is well known that ever since their inception, “Cavalleria Rusticana” and “Pagliacci” are the two perhaps most often performed operas in the world and they are inevitably connected so that they’re performed together on one and the same evening, in all likelihood due to their strong connection to the Italian cultural movement of Verism which established itself between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century”, acad. Kartaloff shared.
Leading Sofia Opera soloists and famous guests will perform the main roles, with some singers taking part in both titles which is a usual practice, the Sofia Opera commented.
Starring in “Cavalleria Rusticana”: Gabriela Georgieva, Gergana Rusekova, Liliya Kehayova – Santutsa, Martin Iliev, Kostadin Andreev, Daniel Damyanov – Turidu; Ventseslav Anastasov, Veselin Mihailov – Alfio; Tsveta Sarambelieva, Ina Petrova – Lola; Vesela Yaneva – Mama Lucia.
Starring in “Pagliacci” which intertwines theater within theater: Zurab Zurabishvili, Kostadin Andreev, Martin Iliev – Canio; Stanislava Momekova, Mila Mihova, Marina Shahdinarova – Neda; Ventseslav Anastasov, Veselin Mihailov – Tonio; Emil Pavlov, Angel Antonov – Bepe; Atanas Mladenov, Anton Andreev – Silvio.