On the 15th of September, 6pm, Plamen Kartaloff’s production will be performed on the Croatian national theater stage. This visit is a prime example of cultural diplomacy. Just the week before, the opera “Lennon” by Ivo Josipovic, performed by the Zagreb opera, enjoyed a wonderful reception in Sofia.
In recent years, “Die Walküre” is the piece the Sofia Opera has been performing the most often abroad, always in full halls and boasting brilliant reviews in the international press. “Die Walküre” was fervently applauded at the “Königswinkel” festival in Füssen, Germany, at the “May Music Nights” festival in Skopje, North Macedonia Republic, and at Teatro “Verdi” in Salerno, Italy.
The production lead by director Plamen Kartaloff and conductor Evan-Alexis Christ is praised not just because of the artists’ performance but also because of the director’s vision and its overall musical conception.
Starring Olafur Sigurdarson as Wotan; Liliya Kehayova as Frika (debut); Martin Iliev as Siegmund; Bjartni Thor Kristinson as Hunding; Gergana Rusekova as Brunhilde, Alma-Lisa Bandalovska as Sieglinde and the eight Valkyries: Stanislava Momekova, Silvia Teneva, Lyubov Metodieva, Ina Petrova, Elena Mehandzhiyska, Tsveta Sarambelieva, Alexandrina Stoyanova-Andreeva, Vesela Yaneva as well as the Sofia Opera orchestra and ballet.
Scenography by Hans Kudlich; costumes by Hristiana Mihaleva-Zorbalieva; choreography by Riolina Topalova; artistic lighting by Andrew Haidinyak; digital scenography by Elena Shopova.
The Sofia Opera and Ballet’s visit with “Die Walküre” in Zagreb is of great significance to maintaining the excellent relationship between the two theaters and the Sofia Opera’s tour solidifies its authority as a leading theater in Central and Eastern Europe.
