THE FULFILLED OPERA OPEN 2020

For the 7th time in a row, the Ancient Theater came to life with the Opera Open program to continue the ten-year tradition of opera performances and concerts on the centuries-old stage in Plovdiv.

After the Great Year 2019, it was the turn of the Significant 2020!

In the conditions of "Art in Silence," the team of Opera Plovdiv managed to create a new, different program of the festival - twelve evenings filled with their messages. A program prepared in less than a month, on the site of planned and cancelled international projects, which managed to gather thousands of audiences on the ancient stage.

OPERA OPEN 2020 focused on the big Bulgarian names in opera - guests of the festival were four generations of performers who glorified Bulgaria on the biggest opera stages in the world - Sonya Yoncheva, Raina Kabaivanska, Mariana Pencheva, Kiril Manolov, Kamen Chanev, Vesko Eshkenazi, maestro Pavel Balev, maestro Naiden Todorov, violinist Zornitsa Ilarionova, ballet dancers Marta Petkova and Nikola Hadjitanev.
The performances of Opera Plovdiv were again greeted with enthusiasm by our inspired audience and covered in many national and international media, and the concert - Symphony N7 Leningrad was watched live by over 30,000 spectators around the world.

G AL A  C O N C E R T
RETURN - Gala concert of Sonya Yoncheva
20. 08. 2020
The return of the native Plovdiv stage of the primate SONYA YONCHEVA was stellar, emotional and shared with an excited audience from all over the country! The star of the big opera stages returned to his native Plovdiv for a "very personal concert" with the participation of Marin Yonchev, 26-year-old bass Bozhidar Bozhkilov, conductor Naiden Todorov and the Plovdiv Opera Orchestra - a proud host of the gala concert of the opera prima!
   "Only a person who has seen New York or Moscow, strewn with billboards and posters with the face of a Bulgarian artist of similar size, could imagine the excitement of the audience at the Ancient Theater, facing the great talent and courage of Sonya Yoncheva." - Nelly Delcheva, Free Europe

OPERA
"MADAM BUTTERFLY" - Puccini
04. 09. 2020
"MADAM BUTTERFLY" gathered RAINA KABAIVANSKA and her student VICTORIA YEO on the stage of the Ancient Theater. The exquisite performance of the director NINA NAYDENOVA marked the 20th anniversary of the International Master Class at the New Bulgarian University of the world-famous Bulgarian prima, which the audience welcomed on their feet and applauded for a long time. So far, more than 200 performers from Europe have been trained in the masterclasses,
USA, South America, Australia, Asia and Africa. In the upcoming opera season, artists from the Kabaivanska School are engaged in over 60 opera houses around the world, including the most prestigious stages of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, La Scala in Milan, the Vienna Opera, the National Opera in Paris, Teatro Real in Madrid, Rome Opera, Bayrish State Opera, the Zurich Opera and many others, among which the stage of the Plovdiv Opera occupies a worthy place.

"It was an incredibly strong and influential performance. And in the most dramatic and key moments towards the end, a very strong wind blew, even in specific places of the libretto, which tripled the suggestions. It was as if nature was sitting at the Ancient Theater and empathizing with Puccini's magic. "- Dobromir Rusev, Facebook

FALSTAFF - Verdi
28. 08. 2020
"For fun", we turned the Ancient Theater into a hotel from the era of Bella Italia, where the Shakespearean comedy about Sir John Falstaff and the merry Windsors took place, retold through the magnificent music of Verdi. The performance features the world-famous Kiril Manolov, who was named "Musician of the Year 2019" after this role, on the stage, he is partnered by mezzo-soprano Mariana Pencheva, with a long career in the largest European opera houses, including La Scala.
  
“A remarkable spectacle! To Verdi's liberated creative imagination he adds the free laughter of a talented team of musicians, who made great efforts to present the swan song of the opera genius with inspiration and with visible pleasure. ”- Ekaterina Docheva, decrescendo.net

FESTIVAL PREMIERE
THE GATES OF DREAM
10 and 11.07. 2020
A dream spectacle that reflects the spirit of the unusual circumstances in which we live and work today. Breaking the silence and at the same time paying homage to it. Stylish, controlled, out of cliché ... With a visionary look that unites artists and audience through musical aesthetics, and with respect for the energy of the ancient stage in Plovdiv.
The Theater of Dreams opened its gates to ask us, "What is the world we dream and what is the dream we live?"
  "It was exciting, fabulous, purifying, soothing, exciting, magical, real, captivating, purifying, nostalgic, healing, trembling, magical ... it was so Plovdiv, so #OperaOpen" - Georgi Kumanov - Facebook
"A wonderful experience, exciting, captivating and invigorating show." - Mariana Komisarova, Facebook
 "Without a doubt, this was an exceptional spectacle. And even more impressive is that you have managed to do this against the background of everything that is happening (not only) in recent months in Bulgaria. Thanks for the special and beautiful experience! Congratulations to the whole team made this show. All participants - those on and off stage - performed wonderfully "- Valentin Shekerov, Facebook

POETS AND MUSIC
Sometimes I will come to your dream…
17 and 18.07. 2020
Music and poetry were ones again - as then, at birth. There, in the auditorium of the Ancient Theater, voices, rhythms, feelings and spaces intertwined in a superb way to lift hearts and honour muses!
We welcomed some of the most beloved Bulgarian actors - Vlado Penev, Zahari Baharov, Julian Vergov, Malin Krastev, Boyko Krastanov, Ivan Burnev and Teodora Duhovnikova.
The timeless love lyrics of the Bulgarian poets were combined with the music of the Bulgarian composers in order to protect our Bulgarian spirit!
* Conceptual design of Opera Plovdiv and the platform "The Interview"
 
"It was a shocking, universal, huge ... and at the same time very heartfelt and personal experience! :) Admiration for the work and the inspiration of the team. ”- Niki Stoyanova, Facebook
 "Thank you for the words, the music, the smiles and the tears! You are my island of Love, Warmth and Hope "- Marinela Delova, Facebook

B A L ET
"GISELLE" by Adolf Adam
Legend at your fingertips…
22.07. 2020

"GISEL" - for another year the classic ballet title from the OPERA OPEN program filled the Ancient Theater with romance and elegance. We welcomed the stars of the Bulgarian ballet MARTA PETKOVA - a welcome guest soloist on the big world stages and NIKOLA HADJITANEV - prime soloist of the Sofia Opera and Ballet, with the Ballet Troupe and the Plovdiv Opera Orchestra, and with the special participation of Vesa Tonova.

 
The Giselle Ballet conquered the Ancient Theater! The Plovdiv Opera offered a ballet extravaganza to the thirsty audience. The international troupe, which rehearsed in quarantine conditions for five months and did not know until the end whether it would be played, conquered the ancient marble stage "- plovdiv24.com

OPERETTA
VIVA L'OPERETTA
Operettas of Vienna, Budapest and Paris
25.07. 2020
The gala show from the annual series VIVA L'OPERETTA captivates the audience with enchanting waltzes, glamorous champagne and good mood!
 
"Wonderful evening in Plovdiv! The music excerpts were woven into an inspiring and unforgettable performance. Soloists, choir, ballet, orchestra, organization - all at an excellent level. Thank you, talented and dedicated people! ”- Veronika Tsoneva, Facebook

CONCERTS

LENINGRAD SYMPHONY N7 - Shostakovich
Music of peace
August 22, 2020
Symphony N7, Op. 60 by Dmitry Shostakovich. A symphony related both to overcoming the specific historical, evil and to the strengthening and upliftment of the human spirit. Remarkably, masterfully interpreted by the musicians of the Plovdiv Orchestra led by Dian Chobanov, she met her thirsty, focused and grateful audience.
The Leningrad Symphony was presented as part of the Music of Peace project in collaboration with the Joker Media, which provided for the simultaneous performance of the work in 5 cities in Russia, Germany, Austria and Bulgaria. In Plovdiv, 95 musicians began training in April on their own in isolation, later in separate small groups, to finally gather at the Ancient Theater, where the power of music prevails despite the extraordinary circumstances. The Plovdiv Opera Orchestra is the only one that managed to perform the work live, as originally planned. The concert was watched by over 30,000 people on international air and covered on Russian national television.

"Giving Shostakovich music is like giving the universe" - תאו אנאו, Facebook
"Brilliant music, extremely good performance, it was very, very exciting!" Svetlana Vasileva, Facebook

VESKO ESHKENAZI presents the Seasons of Vivaldi and Piazzolla
20.08. 2020
The emblematic Bulgarian violinist Vesko Eshkenazi and the Plovdiv Opera Orchestra with conductor Konstantin Dobroykov and concertmaster Vieslav Novak presented the Seasons by Vivaldi and Piazzolla in an exciting poetic concert filled with light, passion and a lot of love.

  "THANK YOU FOR THE EXPERIENCE! You give me peace, beauty, harmony elevation ..! It was great ..! Julia Savakchieva, Facebook

NINTH SYMPHONY - Beethoven / SURVIVAL OF WARSAW - SCHOENBERG
12.09.2020
For Opera Plovdiv 2020 passes under the sign of two significant anniversaries: 250 years since the birth of Beethoven and 75 years since the establishment of the Plovdiv Philharmonic, whose successor today is the Plovdiv Opera Orchestra. We celebrated them with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony - probably the most powerful musical utopia that mankind knows and the musical testimony "The Survivor of Warsaw" - the most terrible anti-utopia. Two choral hymns to the Deity, coming from the very depths of the hearts.
We combined these two polar works with the idea of ​​delineating the boundaries of the human today.
We shared with the audience this double celebration with the final event of OPERA OPEN 2020!
"Wonderful! I would call them today's awakeners, because of their faith, their steadfastness to play without a hall, to carry in themselves the source of us, the audience - the joy of listening to them! ”- Tanya Mihaylova, Facebook

Opera Open 2020 has once again proved that Opera Plovdiv has been and will be a guarantor of high professionalism, an institution needed by its audience with its mission to create a spiritual climate of its city and to be a cause of pride for its fellow citizens.
With this faith, we Artists share our art on our Ancient Stage!
With great gratitude to all the artists, our loyal audience and our unconditionally supportive supporters!

Until new meetings in 2021!