22 february 2026 A brilliant "La Traviata" under the Baton of Stasie Gonikberg

An exceptionally strong emotional charge was created and conveyed to those present in the hall of State Opera Bourgas by the performance of Verdi's LA TRAVIATA under the baton of Maestra Stasie Gonikberg (Guest) on Sunday evening.
Congratulations to the wonderful sculptors of the exciting performance: conductor, soloists, musicians, artists from the choir, and the ballet of the Bourgas Opera, who created a brilliant and touching musical stage jewel!

"La Traviata" is an opera classic that invariably excites and carries a strong emotional charge, generated by the magnificent music of Giuseppe Verdi, containing a rich dramatic thread, and captivating with the eternal plot about the tragic love that went through fateful challenges and resists even the inexorability of death.

On Sunday evening - according to the best canons of opera art, a brilliant spectacle was created, in which the attendees had no time and space to take a breath, completely immersed in the story, organically recreated by the artists as a life period experienced by them - with the happy moments, the glamorous worldly events, the dramatic ending, the dilemmas, the choices, the sacrifices and the tragic end, which, despite the pain, is marked by love.

Beautiful, radiating class, backed up by unquestionable professionalism, were all the wonderful soloists on the Opera stage, telling the sad story of love and sacrifice, of concepts beyond the generally accepted scholastic morality, of worship through the eternal power of pure human feelings, which are stronger than the darkness of prejudice and doubt.

Guest conductor Stasie Gonikberg managed to capture the process of creating the musical score - in harmonious wholeness and in refined details, giving confidence to the musicians of the Bourgas Opera Orchestra to unfold in depth Verdi's characteristic melody, which tells stories through the musical line, and the solo instruments reflect the mental states of the characters.

Congratulations - for the dedication, the homogeneous integrity of the constructed images, the brilliant vocal argumentation and personal charm - to the superb Ilina Mihaylova and Reinaldo Droz - as Violetta Valery and her beloved Alfred Germont. The two artists were united by a single emotion that shook the audience, with the power of the recreated tragic story between the emblematic couple in the opera world.

The other soloists were also involved in the overall dramatic impact: Alexander Krunev - respectful and evoking diverse feelings in the image of Georges Germont, Alfred's father, going through different states of mind and overcoming his own principles and prejudices; the charming Joanna Kadiyska - impressive with posture, style, class, fully corresponding to the aristocratic role of the coquette from Parisian high society Flora Bervois; the unobtrusive gentle presence of Anina - Violetta's close maid, who is with her in joyful and tragic moments - performed by Stefka Hristozova; the strong characteristic male images from Alfred Germont's entourage: Milen Dinolov - as Viscount Gaston de Letorier, Kostadin Mechkov - in the image of Baron Dufault - Alfred's rival for the heart of Violetta Valerie; Andrey Yurkovsky - in the role of the Marquis d'Aubigny, who is the favorite of women at social events; Diman Panchev - as the noble Doctor Grenville, Miroslav Dimitrov - in the image of Joseph, Violetta's servant; Nikolay Nikolov - as Flora's Servant.

Admirations - both for the professional sound and brilliantly constructed dynamic nuances - of the musicians from the orchestra of the Burgas Opera, and of the artists from the choir and ballet ensemble, for the organic and vivid presence in the overall large-scale scenic picture - in the I and III acts of the opera.

Congratulations also to the specialists from the technical team of State Opera Bourgas for the wonderful overall vision of the spectacle!

At the end of the exciting performance, the traditional basket of flowers was presented on behalf of the Mayor of Burgas Municipality - Mr. Dimitar Nikolov.
The hall was also attended, as at the latest events of the Burgas Cultural Institute, after the signed Agreement for Cooperation with the Music School, and graduates of the National University of Music and Dramatic Arts "Prof. Pancho Vladigerov", Burgas.