Sofia Opera and Ballet
The Sofia Opera and Ballet boasts a remarkable ensemble for the four pre-Christmas performances of “La Traviata” on the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th of December: one of Giuseppe Verdi’s most beloved operas.
The Sofia Opera and Ballet pre-Christmas performances of “La Traviata” await the Sofia audience.
The Sofia Opera and Ballet boasts a remarkable ensemble for the four pre-Christmas performances of “La Traviata” on the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th of December: one of Giuseppe Verdi’s most beloved operas.
In Plamen Kartaloff’s historic production, under the conductorship of Grigor Palikarov, the audience will applaud the Opera’s beloved artists as well as guests from abroad. The role of Violetta Valery will be performed by Mila Mihova, Karoline Podolak and Alexandrina Mihailova. Emil Pavlov and Reinaldo Droz will perform as Alfred Germont and his father: Giorgio Germont, will be portrayed by Veselin Mihailov, Caner Akgün and Ventseslav Anastasov. With the participation of the Sofia Opera orchestra, choir, ballet and lead singers; choir conductor: Violeta Dimitrova.
Mila Mihova/ Photo: The Sofia Opera and Ballet
All three performers of Violetta’s role have already played it before on the Sofia Opera stage.
In addition to playing Violetta, Karoline Podolak visited the Sofia Opera not long ago with the role of Norina from “Don Pasquale”. She is one of the young Canadian opera ambassadors who just recently received the award for “Exceptional contribution of a young Pole in Canada”.
Alexandrina Mihailova’s career takes her to prestigious stages and her performances receive wonderful reviews. She receives more and more invitations to perform as Violetta, with the last ones being for the performances in Savigliano in November. “Her qualities are unquestionable… her stage presence is excellent, her timbre is beautiful and vibrant…”, critics wrote.
During the last two years, Mila Mihova has made several impressive debuts at the Sofia Opera. After playing Violetta in “La Traviata”, she portrayed Alice in “Falstaff” and during this season she took on the role of Neda in the premiere of the opera “Pagliacci” by Leoncavallo.
In the Sofia Opera production, Reinaldo Droz will portray Alfred for the first time. Recently, he performed wonderfully as Ernesto in “Don Pasquale” by Donizetti.
The famous baritone Caner Akgün will debut as Giorgio Germont. He is the laureate of prestigious international singer contests, an Istanbul opera lead singer and its artistic director.
The other two performers of the role of Giorgio Germont: Veselin Mihailov and Ventseslav Anastasov are one of the leading soloists applauded for their wonderful performances in Sofia Opera repertoire titles.
The current production of “La Traviata” first premiered in December 2013 and is a recreation of a legendary performance directed by Plamen Kartaloff at the Russe opera in 1983. Critics especially note its contemporariness as well as the director’s decisions, the scenography and artist Ivan Savov’s costumes.
Karoline Podolak / Photo: The Sofia Opera and Ballet
“The production remains really exquisite to this day, aesthetically sound, with a functional décor that’s easy on the eye… “La Traviata” is a piece which can and must always be a part of an opera house’s repertoire, especially in Bulgaria where Italian opera has a cult following. This production will enjoy success among viewers…”
“A new “La Traviata” was reborn on the Sofia Opera stage: so true to the original, it’s as if Verdi has written it especially for our opera; it’s so touching you feel the passion of Alexandre Dumas himself, immortalized in “La Dame aux camélias”. The audience is enchanted: the decors and costumes elegantly take you to the Paris halls near the end of the 19th century. Violetta, with her look of sorrow, her Bayron-like paleness and her gentle complexion is a true martyr in her love towards Alfred.”
Alexandrina Mihailova / Photo: The Sofia Opera and Ballet
For 170 years, “La Traviata” has been one of the most performed operas worldwide. Different specialized magazines and websites rank it at seventh place.
“After fifty years, nobody is going to remember my “La Dame aux camélias” but Verdi has immortalized it”, Alexandre Dumas fils said after having watched the opera.
The world premiere of “La Traviata” took place on the 6th of March, 1853, in Venice.
Olya Al-Ahmed