18 november 2024 "Madame Butterfly" - Remarkable Cast&Distinguished Conducter

On Tuesday, November 19, at 7 p.m., the Burgas Opera will present the iconic opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini "Madame Butterfly", directed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alexander Tekeliev. Under the baton of the renowned Bulgarian conductor with an enviable international career Ivan Kozhuharov, the wonderful soprano Joanna Zhelezcheva - in the role of Madame Butterfly, the brilliant tenor Georgi Dinev /guest/ - Pinkerton, the renowned baritone Alexander Krunev - in the role of Sharpless, the charismatic mezzo-soprano Joanna Kadiyska, together with the other wonderful soloists, orchestra and choir, will tell through the means of musical and stage art the tragic story of a woman in love and the devastatingly strong feelings of a woman's heart devoted to the end. A sad story from the East will be presented - about strong emotions, long waiting, disappointment, withered hopes, heartbreak, pain, and death. The event is the latest in a series of events by the Burgas Cultural Institute to mark the 100th anniversary of the death of the brilliant Italian composer Giacomo Puccini.

Those present in the Opera Hall on Tuesday will have the privilege of following with bated breath the drama of Cho-Cho-san, whose soul experiences a tragic metamorphosis – from the tender ecstasy of shared love with the US Navy Lieutenant Pinkerton to the wrenching inner choice that leads her to conscious self-sacrifice. As Madame Butterfly, opera prima Joana Zhelezcheva will perform on the Opera stage on November 19, and she was irresistible in the complex role, requiring brilliant vocal technique and fitness, as well as a specific acting approach, on the open stage of the Thracian sanctuary of Begliktash in the summer of 2022 during the “Opera of the Sanctuary” festival. Tickets for the performance under the starry dome of Strandzha Mountain were sold out long before the performance date. The eminent soprano performed brilliantly in the role during the Burgas Opera's tour in Shumen in February of this year. Zhelezcheva's lyrical timbre completely impressed the emotionality and naturalness of the Japanese Cho-Cho-san. The image of the US Navy Lieutenant Pinkerton will be presented by the tenor Georgi Dinev /guest/, whose brilliant performance the Burgas audience had the pleasure of witnessing in the role of Don José in the opera "Carmen" by Georges Bizet - in March 2022, as well as in the performance of "Madame Butterfly", dedicated to World Opera Day - October 25, 2023, on the stage of the Opera. Dinev plays the role of Cho-Cho-san's beloved - Pinkerton, whom she trusts with all the devotion of her feminine essence, but pays a high price for her sincerity. The eminent Bulgarian baritone plays the role of the American consul in Nagasaki Sharpless, but with an enviable artistic biography, Alexander Krunev, presents the complex image with vocal mastery and psychological skill. The image of Madame Butterfly Suzuki's trusted maid will be performed by the exquisite mezzo-soprano Joanna Kadiyska, she is a gentle Suzuki, with the cultivated restraint typical of Japanese culture, under whose surface lies an agitated sea of ​​emotions. Fitting into the overall picture of the Eastern fairy tale will also be Kalina Popova, mezzo-soprano – as Kate Pinkerton – the wife of US Navy Lieutenant Pinkerton, Yani Nikolov, tenor–Goro, Lyubomir Todorov, tenor – Prince Yamadori, Kostadin Mechkov, bass – Uncle Bonzo, Ivan Grozev, bass – as the Imperial Commissioner and Notary, Cho-Cho-San’s Mother – Blagovesta Beleva, soprano, Cho-Cho-San’s Cousin – soprano Stefka Hristozova. All artists from the remarkable cast convey the touching story with the cultivated restraint typical of Japanese culture, under whose surface lies an agitated sea of ​​emotions and reveal in an inimitable way the essence of art – to shake, purify, and bring to the surface of our essence the transformed pain of empathy with a tragic human story from the East.

Connoisseurs are eagerly awaiting the vocal and artistic partnership of Yoana Zhelezcheva with Georgi Dinev, who will certainly touch the emotional world of those present – ​​both with their gentle timbre nuances and the powerful outburst of their rich voices.

The scenography of “Madame Butterfly”, designed in the minimalist oriental style, is by Boris Stoynov, the designer of the exquisite costumes is Tsvetanka Petkova-Stoynova. The choir with conductor Alexander Chepanov achieved an enviable balance, purity, and grace – like a feeling of a leisurely walk in a beautiful Japanese cherry orchard. Stability and construction of the dramaturgical line – in an incomparable Pucciniian way, conveying the true charge of the musical text – as thought, emotion, and feelings generated, as the power of empathy, as construction and dynamics, is also demonstrated by the orchestra with concertmaster Hristo Belchev. The assistant directors of the production are Lina Peeva and Petar Tiholov, and the accompanist is Iliana Todorova.

The beautiful – in terms of vision, music, and messages, the production also features the orchestra and choir of the State Opera – Burgas.

The action of “Madame Butterfly” takes place at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries in Nagasaki. The story is about the young geisha, Cho-Cho-san, who is named “Butterfly” because of her beauty and grace. The geisha is in love with the lieutenant of the American Navy, Pinkerton. The sense of fatefulness of feelings and her inner urge is so strong that she opposes the traditions of her people and marries him. The heart in love does not allow its rhythm, accelerated by love, to diverge from the calculation and inconsistency of its chosen one…

The story of Madame Butterfly is the tragedy of the collision of two worlds: Western and Eastern, male and female, extroverted and introverted. And the paradox is that a civilized person turns out to be a barbarian, in terms of attitude, refusal of responsibility, inconstancy of feelings and desires, failure to keep a man's promise, and denial of the sanctity of words that doom two souls to each other. But for the young Japanese woman, the commandments of ancient traditions, which seem quite “wild” and archaic to Western thinking, the concepts of “sacred union”, “loyalty”, “devotion”, and “love” have a weight greater than even the price of life itself.

Cho-cho-san is a beautiful woman, bearing the typical characteristic features of the Eastern psyche. But despite its apparent fragility, "The Butterfly" shows unexpected resilience, following its principles until the end of its earthly path, marked by tragic self-sacrifice.