13 may 2025 "Rigoletto" - The Tragic Story Of Temptation And Sacrifice

A magnificent performance, combining Verdi's brilliant music, dramaturgy revealing the entire palette of human passions, the masterful direction of Prof. Dr. Alexander Tekeliev, exceptional singers who will experience every tone and phrase, weaving it into the overall sound of the tragic story, will be created on Thursday, May 15, at 7 p.m. in the hall of the State Opera - Burgas with the opera spectacle of one of the most beloved operas - "Rigoletto" by Giuseppe Verdi, under the baton of Ivan Kozhuharov. A few days ago, the eminent Bulgarian conductor with an impressive international career conducted the impressive symphony concert in the hall of the Opera, dedicated to May 9, Europe Day, at which the emblematic Ninth Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven was performed. The audience called him three times to bow to the stage. The audience's reaction to the stage performances is the surest barometer of the charge of an event and the strength of the messages it sends, as aesthetic and intellectual challenges.

The ever-current story of meanness, temptation, seduction, false hopes, insidious impulses, sin, curse, and sinister denouement, woven into the classic reading of one of Verdi's influential operas, will come to life on Thursday on the stage of the Burgas Opera. Through the means of syncretic opera art, the musical and stage story of the hunchbacked jester Rigoletto will be presented, the only joy in his simple life - his beautiful daughter Gilda, the conscienceless Duke, a unifying image of meanness, as well as all the heroes of the tragic tale of betrayed trust.

The soloist cast is also remarkable: each of them, with exceptional individual qualities and at the same time, has achieved remarkable cohesion on stage. All performers: soloists, orchestra, and choir, will build a memorable spectacle in dramatic unity, touching the senses, shaking and provoking deep reflection - about true values, about the variability of feelings, about the power of fateful cards, rearranging human destinies.

Considering the class and impressive creative biography of the soloists, it is expected that they will perform at an expected high level - both in terms of vocal mastery of the parts, which are some of the most impactful in opera literature, and in terms of stage presence and authenticity, recreating the tragedy of the plot - in gradation and depth.

On May 15, the image of the jester Rigoletto will be recreated by the remarkable baritone Maryan Jovanoski, soloist of the National Opera of North Macedonia and the State Opera - Burgas. Shaking - with his contradictory nature, conveyed in the most affecting way possible, the baritone will perform the role of the sad jester Rigoletto, who receives his fateful retribution and whose father's heart is broken, realizing the unbearable pain of the worst loss - of a beloved child. Maryan Jovanoski is exceptional in building the complex image, both in the muted register and in the emotional outbursts. His Rigoletto is not only affecting, but also awakening some questions from the moral and philosophical code.

The role of Gilda on Wednesday will be played by the charismatic soprano Ilina Mihaylova /guest/, soloist of the State Opera - Varna and the National Musical Theater "Stefan Makedonski", who in a few days - on May 20, will perform in a completely different artistic role - in the role of Ilzaiza Doolittle in the Broadway musical "My Fair Lady", also directed by Prof. Tekeliev, on the stage of the National Musical Theater "Stefan Makedonski", where the cast of the Burgas Opera will be a guest. On May 15, she will reincarnate again, with professionalism, a sense of character development, and vocal mastery, in the image of the naive girl living in her own little dreamy world, cut off from reality. Meeting a skilled seducer, in the person of the Duke, she falls into his demonic trap, which portends her certain doom. Ilina Mihaylova is Fine, ethereal, naturally beautiful, carrying vitality and at the same time - a sense of tragic doom, brilliant in vocal terms and as a presentation of the most characteristic of image of the gentle girl Gilda. She merges completely with the director's concept and the context of the production itself, as well as with the interaction with her other colleagues, at the highest professional level.

In the will of the Duke of Mantua, the smug, unscrupulous seducer and bon vivant, enters the tenor Valery Georgiev, soloist of the State Opera - Varna and the State Opera - Burgas, who was brilliant in the role of Canio in April this year on the stage of the Opera under the baton of maestro Viliana Valcheva, guest conductor of the State Opera - Ruse. The Duke's emblematic aria "La donna e mobile" in his exciting performance will certainly be enthusiastically received by the audience. Valeriy Georgiev completely merges with the emotional arc of the other characters in the sad story with a foreknown ending. Georgiev shows a beautiful cantilena timbre and brilliantly crafted phrases, as well as the height of artistic performance.

Martin Dimitrievski /guest/, a young bass from the Republic of North Macedonia, will be a respectable – both vocally and as a stage presence, in the role of the hired killer Sparafucile, for whom the value of a human life is nothing, compared to a few silver coins. The young, talented singer is known to the television audience from his participation in the "Voice of Bulgaria". Here is what he writes on his profile on social networks: "I am happy to share with you that on May 15 at the State Opera - Burgas I will debut in the role of Sparafucile from the opera "Rigoletto". Rigoletto himself will be the baritone Mariani Giovanni, with whom I will have the honor of sharing the same stage." The image of Sparafucchile inspires fear and horror, as befits the presented character of a hired killer who destroys human lives - without scruples, counting the silver coins in his purse. The bass timbre symbolically recreates the collapse of the human soul in the disastrous trap of the temptation to easily acquired money.

Bright, colorful, dizzying, charming and captivating the senses will be the beautiful - both in appearance and voice, Tereza Brakalova /guest/, mezzo-soprano, soloist of the State Opera - Stara Zagora, in the role of Madalena, Sparafucchile's sister, who, besides frivolity, hides goodness and compassion in her heart. State Opera. She is a laureate of the "Georgi Zlatev-Cherkin" singing competition, and is an assistant at the National Academy of Music "Prof. Pancho Vladigerov". The image of Maddalena is the embodiment of the seductress, who, however, hides compassion and mercy behind her glamorous appearance and frivolous behavior. She is expected to fit perfectly into the role and achieve a kind of emotional peak in one of the key arias of the opera "Rigoletto" - the ensemble at the end of Act IV, which is considered one of the most difficult parts of Verdi's work to perform.

The remaining soloists will also be impressive and completely united with the overall sound of the performance on stage on Thursday. At the performance on May 15, they are expected to build solid characters, carrying the tragedy of Verdi's score and psychologism beyond the petty issues of existence. Bass Kostadin Mechkov will take on the role of Count Monterone, who is disgraced because of the loss of his daughter's honor, and, in his powerlessness, casts a curse that, through the unknown paths of fateful interconnections, reaches those who caused the misfortune. Mezzo-soprano Kalina Popova will be affecting and feminine as Giovanna, Gilda's close maid, who empathizes with her mental torments and metamorphoses. Soprano Stefka Hristozova and bass Petar Tiholov will be aristocratic in the images of Countess and Count Ceprano - part of high society with its refined and at the same time cruel orders; Stefka Hristozova will also be in the role of the Page. Baritone Yordan Hristozov will portray the nobleman from the entourage around Duke Marulo, who lives in the intriguing world of high society, and who, although Rigoletto considers him a friend and begs him for mercy, turns away from him, being part of the overwhelming majority, laughing at the Jester's plight. Tenor Milen Dinolov will be in the role of Matteo Borsa, also part of the noble entourage.