30 march 2023 A Magnificent Performance Of "Ball with Masks" On Thursday

Such evenings are remembered.
They remain in the most expensive shelves of emotional memory.
They continue to thrill with residual heat.
They give meaning to everyday life.
That was the evening today. In the hall of the Burgas State Opera, despite the noble competition of the opening of another significant cultural event - "Sofia Film Fest on the Shore", a large and enlightened audience was captivated by the beautiful melodic line and the dramatic plot of Verdi's opera BALL WITH MASKS / UN BALLO IN MASCHERA.
One of the most complex - in terms of meaning, ideas, as well as the richness of the score - operas by Giuseppe Verdi, presents a sad lyrical-dramatic story about the sanctity of pure feelings, about the sweeping power of the inner call of the heart, about the tearing search for balance between love and duty.
"Ball with Masks" is a tale for grown-ups - about love, jealousy, and redemption...
The soloists, the orchestra, the choir, and the ballet, under the baton of maestro Ivan Kozhuharov, were extremely impressive and united in a unity of music, drama, and text and conveyed emotion - he did not hide his smile at the end of the performance, and this is the surest indicator, that the performance was up to his highest standards.
And the thought is woven into every detail of the directorial decisions of Assoc. Dr. Alexander Tekeliev, and the overall balance between the components and the connecting links in a spectacle of a similar scale - everything was top-notch.
And as an added value - exciting and touching the senses in the most subtle way possible.
Conductor of the choir, which was at the traditional high performance and artistic level - was Nevena Mihailova, concertmaster of the orchestra - again at a height, as presented a few days ago in another popular opera title by Verdi - "Rigoletto" - Hristo Belchev.
The artistic cast of the "Masquerade Ball" tonight was also magnificent. The tenor Valery Georgiev - already a soloist of the State Opera - Burgas, sculpted an impressive image of the noble Count Ricardo, who, despite the strength of his feelings, does not follow moral dogmas and preserves the honor of his beloved Amelia. Lyrical-dramatic soprano Yoana Zhelezcheva built - with dramaturgical saturation and precision and brilliant dynamics, the image of Amelia, who does not deviate from moral dogmas, despite the gentle emotional urge towards Ricardo.
The baritone Marjan Jovanoski also played a strong role - vocally brilliant and respectable - as a presence in the role of Renato, who succumbed to a manipulative trap, disastrous for everyone...
The soprano Maria Tsvetkova-Madjarova was fresh and colorful in the role of Oscar, which is characterized by high technical difficulty and coloratura heights.
Memorable - both as a vision, as impressiveness, and as a vocal appeal, was the image of the fortuneteller Ulrika - a conduit of messages from the invisible world, presented by the mezzo-soprano Daniela Dyakova.
The two conspirators - Samuel and Tom, who in the plot confuse human destinies and doom them to death, had a strong artistic presence, performed by the basses Delyan Slavov and Diman Panchev.
The images of Silvano - performed by the baritone Valery Turmanov, of the Chief Judge - performed by the tenor Lyubomir Todorov, and Amelia's servant - Milen Dinolov, tenor - were successfully woven into the overall dramatic plot fabric.
Intriguing semantic and visual accents brought the symbolic solutions of shadows from the beyond, as well as the image of Death - performed by artists from the ballet ensemble of the Burgas Opera.
No less admiration is due to the employees of the technical services, who complemented the overall well-maintained look of the performance, the professional level of the special effects, lighting, wardrobe, props, make-up and wigs.
As always, as a sign of respect for the work and talent of the artists, flowers were presented on behalf of the Mayor of Burgas Municipality - Mr. Dimitar Nikolov.

Photos: State Opera - Burgas