30 october 2025 Boryana Petrova and Emil Yordanov Shine in "Swan Lake"

The performance of the “ballet of ballets” to the immortal music of P. I. Tchaikovsky – “Swan Lake” will give fans of fine arts incomparable moments of experiencing art of the highest class on Monday, November 3, at 7:00 p.m. on the stage of the State Opera – Burgas. The main roles of Odette/Odile and Prince Siegfried are played by the prima ballerina of the Sofia Opera and Ballet, Boryana Petrova, and Emil Yordanov, premier ballet dancer of the National Cultural Institute and the State Opera – Burgas. The remarkable performance is the bearer of the best of classical ballet traditions – staging, direction, and choreography by Prof. Hikmet Mehmedov /after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov/.

From the end of 2023 to the summer of 2025, the extremely successful tour of "Swan Lake" took place in over 25 Bulgarian cities, with the artists of the ballet troupe of the Burgas Opera being welcomed and sent off with unceasing ovations from the full halls. In November 2023, as well as in August 2024, the performances of the ballet masterpiece were presented on the stage of the Summer Theater, also with full halls, with Boryana Petrova and Emil Yordanov also in the main roles.

The production of Prof. Hikmet Mehmedov bears the characteristics of an aesthetic product of the highest standard - intelligently presented, backed up with psychological depth, with implicit philosophical interpretations, and brilliantly implemented directorial ideas. It is an undeniable fact that the presence of "Swan Lake" in the creative poster is a certification of the level of any ballet troupe. The magnificent performance will be presented with its full brilliance and conceptual completeness, as emotional underpinning and scope, again on the stage of the Burgas Opera on Monday. The audience will see – once again – that Prof. Mehmedov’s production is an aesthetic jewel, which contains within itself the entire spectrum of the characteristics of the best of classical ballet art – conceptual completeness, emotional depth, philosophical references, large-scale thinking, and a synchronous combination of all elements – in the final stage realization. The assistant director of the magnificent production is the prima ballerina Vesa Tonova, who danced at the memorable premiere performance of “Swan Lake” in May 2016 in the crowded hall of the Burgas Opera. The ballet troupe of "Swan Lake" is rehearsed by Galina Kalcheva, a long-time prima ballerina of the Burgas Opera, who manages to maintain high levels of emotional intensity, motivation, and professionalism among the artists, and the assistant director is Petar Tiholov. The exquisite costumes are the fruit of the creative scope of the late Tsvetanka Petkova-Stoynova, who took care of the hand-attaching of each of the Swarovski stones on the aesthetically pleasing stage costumes of the ballet dancers. The impressive scenography, which transports the audience to the magnificent royal court and the mystical scenes by the lake, is the work of the award-winning master of scenography Ivan Tokadzhiev. It is no coincidence that "Swan Lake" by Prof. Mehmedov is considered the most beautiful production of the immortal ballet classic on the Bulgarian stage. Blue was chosen as the main color of the decor, in various shades. Multimedia is also used in some of the scenes, which is an additional emotional and meaningful element of the overall impression.

The two superb soloists – Boryana Petrova and Emil Iordanov – will once again be beautiful and irresistible in their pursuit of Perfection in the most exquisite art. They will once again be completely united in stage unity, recreating the beautiful, dramatic story with a happy ending. Alongside the characters of the White and Black Swans /Odette and Odile/, in which the prima ballerina of the Sofia Opera and Ballet Boryana Petrova, graceful and subtle as a statuette, enters, the image of Prince Siegfried, who falls fatally in love with Odette, noticing her on the shore of the lake, also comes to life – the brilliant premier ballet dancer of the National Opera Theater and the Burgas Opera Emil Yordanov enters the inspired stage incarnation of the image.

The characteristic role – super-dynamic and emotional, with exceptional charge and technical training- is performed by the Japanese ballet dancer, who is part of the troupe of the State Opera – Burgas – Shun Kawafune. The image of the evil magician Rothbart, who cursed Odette and her friends with a cruel curse to turn into noble beautiful birds during the day, and only after sunset do they again assume human form, is presented by the soloist of the ballet troupe of the State Opera – Burgas Teodor Tsakov, who was convincing and impressive in his debut in the role of Siegfried in the performances of “Swan Lake” in the national tour, together with Daniela Turtumanova-Stoyanova – as Odette/Odile. The role of the Queen, Siegfried’s mother, will be performed by Anelia Ivanova, who presents the character with its characteristic dignity and aristocracy, while Bozhidar Komitov will perform as Wolfgang.

Also taking part in the large-scale performance are: Little Swans – Kalina Nedelcheva, Rafaela-Maria Küll, and Nanako Sato. Julia Letsi; Big Swans – Laya Ramon, Ilina Konstantinova, Gergana Kozarova, Raya Chakarova.

In the temperamental Spanish Dance, the audience in the Opera Hall will see: Raya Chakarova and Haru Nakagawa, in the Neapolitan Dance – Ilina Konstantinova and Kiril Filipov, in the Hungarian Dance – Kalina Nedelcheva, Julia Letsi, Patrick Gil, and Stoyan Furtunov. As the elegant Brides on stage come: Laia Ramon, Polina Pasha, Rafaela-Maria Küll, and Gergana Kozarova. Impressive - in terms of choreography and performance of the artists, all the emotional ballet scenes between Odette/Odile and Siegfried, as well as the large-scale Waltz in Act I, and the fabulous "white scenes", in which sixteen swans were in sync as one, recreating the enchanting mystical picture of the enchanted lake.

The impressive ballet performance also features the artists from the corps de ballet of the State Opera – Burgas, who build the large-scale common scenes with professional flair, enviable synchrony, and a holistic thought, transformed into a beautiful trajectory of the bodies. All artists will tell on November 3, through the means of the exquisite art of ballet, the exciting tale of the power of true love, overcoming obstacles, temptations, misfortune, and pain.

Tchaikovsky’s immortal classic in four acts, “Swan Lake,” is considered to be a must-see at least once in a lifetime. The fabulous plot, exciting music, and stunning costumes manage to keep the attention of even the youngest spectators – the performance is received extremely warmly by the audience in the widest age range. Since the ballet work has been reworked over the years, the ending is performed in different ways, with the denouement being either happy or dramatic. In one of the versions, the lake swallows the lovers on their way to the afterlife, and in the second, the ending is happy – Siegfried defeats the evil sorcerer and frees his beloved Odette from the spell. In the interpretation of Prof. Mehmedov, Good reigns in the finale.

Tickets - at the Opera box office, "Clock" box office /opens all week/, on site - before the performance, after 6:30 p.m. - at the Burgas Open Air Theatre box office, as well as in the Grabo network - https://grabo.bg/burgas/lebedovo-ezero-0rfr7

and Eventim - https://www.eventim.bg/bg/bileti/lebedovo-ezero-burgas-drzhavna-opera-685779/event.html?co=bgr

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