27 july 2022 Majestic Aida With Serbian Diva Sanja Anastasia

One of the most impressive productions of the State Opera - Burgas - "Aida" by Giuseppe Verdi, in the version directed by Prof. Pavel Gerdzhikov, will give unforgettable moments of contact with the popular opera to the admirers of the classical musical art - of August 2, Tuesday, from 8:30 p.m. on the stage of the Summer Theater in Burgas, the performance, which will recreate the atmosphere of ancient Egypt, will unfold its scenic beauty and impact under the masterful baton of maestro Ivan Kozhuharov, with a magnificent artistic cast. The performance of "Aida" is part of this year's fifteenth consecutive edition of the Burgas Music Festival "Emil Chakarov" opera festival.
In the role of the rival for the heart of Radames - the powerful pharaoh's daughter Amneris, the Burgas audience and guests of the city will have the privilege to enjoy the beautiful Serbian mezzo-soprano with a worldwide career, Sanja Anastasia, who impresses not only with a charismatic look but also with magnificent vocal capabilities and stage presence. During the current Opera Season 2021/2022, Sania Anastasia has engagements on prestigious stages in Germany, North Macedonia, Italy, Malta, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bulgaria, etc. Sanya Anastasia will interweave her artistry and strong femininity in the construction of the princess torn by doubts and jealousy, who keeps in her heart both passion and devotion, cruelty, and revenge, and a typical female badass that is devastating to her essence. Despair, impatience with the emotional loss of the beloved man, intertwined with the sincere suffering and pain in her purely human dimensions, give a special color to the image of Amneris.
In the role of Aida, the Burgas audience will have the pleasure of seeing and hearing the remarkable dramatic soprano Yoana Zhelezcheva. Her powerful and soft voice, which, however, also has gentle lyrical parameters, as well as exceptional spiritual power and effectiveness, helps to build the whole image of the enslaved Ethiopian princess. Ioana Zhelezcheva's Aida is marked by softness and strength at the same time, with an inner longing for love and an outer expression of the impossibility of it being realized, due to the tragic force of the circumstances. Yoana Zhelezcheva was irresistible a few days ago in the tragic-lyrical role of Liu in Giacomo Puccini's masterpiece "Turandot" on the stage of the Summer Theater in Burgas, under the baton of maestro Grigor Palikarov.
On the stage of the Summer Theater on August 2, the well-known tenor Valery Georgiev /guest/ will appear on the stage of the Summer Theater in Burgas - in the role of Radames, an Egyptian noble warrior, for whose love the beautiful Aida and Amneris are fighting - each with their own methods and emotional strength. The tenor is known for the rich range of his voice with the so-called Rossini heights that very few tenors in the world possess. The image of Radames is characterized by his heartfelt yearnings, contrary to logic and pragmatic choices, which are subordinated to his love for the Ethiopian captive Aida. The closing scene of the living Aida and Radames' taunting remains in the mind for a long time with the drama of the musical statement, characterized by a muffled plaintive tone. In it, however, it is not so much the despair of imminent death that stands out, but rather it sounds like the apotheosis of love and as one of the brightest symbols of immortality, embodied in the merging souls of two lovers, although doomed - here, in the earthly dimensions.
In the role of the Ethiopian king Amonasro, the baritone, who also sings on world stages, Krum Galabov, well-known to the Burgas audience from his role as Georges Germont in Verdi's "La Traviata" is a guest - the successful performance was part of the Burgas Music Festival "Emil Chakarov" 2021, in partnership with the wonderful young Serbian soprano Vesna Jurkovic in the role of Violeta Valery. Amonasro's stage presence achieves pathos and dignity by adhering to the force of the law, regardless of the excruciating pain caused to his daughter Amneris.
On August 2, the bass player Delyan Slavov, who a few days ago played a strong role as the exiled blind Tatar king Timur in Turandot by Puccini, will play the role of the high Egyptian priest Ramfis. The bass Kostadin Mechkov will perform as the Pharaoh of Egypt on the stage of the Summer Theater in Burgas, the Priestess will be the soprano Stefka Hristozova, and the Herald - the tenor Milen Dinolov, who made his successful debut as Pong in "Turandot" on July 22.
In the performance of "Aida", the choir under the direction of Nevena Mihailova is not only the background of the stage action but also an equal participant in the dramatic thread of the events. Prof. Mehmedov's choreography, performed by the ballet of the Burgas Opera with tutor Galina Kalcheva, is also wonderfully thematically inscribed. Maestro Ivan Kozhuharov manages to raise the orchestral accompaniment with concertmaster Hristo Belchev to a high-performance level and give it an additional dramatic nuance, beyond the professional routine.
The artist of the sets, recreating the majestic awe-inspiring setting of Egypt, with iconic artifacts, is the work of the artist Chavdar Chomakov, the choreography, which is also in sync with ancient Egyptian culture and specifics of costumes and movements, is by Prof. Hikmet Mehmedov.

The production of the State Opera House - Burgas of one of the most famous works of Giuseppe Verdi - "Aida", a monumental musical work, with a large-scale sound and scenography, is an event that lives a long stage life, reincarnating each time in different shades of performing art, as an individual singing naturalist. "Aida" is characterized by a polyphonic effect - from the masterful combination of the large-scale and artistic suggestions of Verdi's music. Every performance of one of the most staged operas in the world achieves what is the meaning of art – high-level communication between the audience and the sculptors of the imposing production – soloists, chorus, orchestra, and conductor. They interweave mastery and inspiration in the common pursuit of sculpting memorable images and leave viewers with a sense of completeness, completion, emotional cohesion, imprinting on the mind and memory of the musical suggestion.

Aida is one of Verdi's most performed and beloved operas. As one of Verdi's late works, it bears the characteristic features of creative maturity, the philosophical summation of fundamental life dilemmas, the crystallization of the image-conceptual hierarchy in the field of musical aesthetics, as well as deep psychology in the construction of images. "Aida" impresses with its multi-layeredness - both in the plot line and in revealing, unfolding, and contrasting the characters, the drama of the clash of feelings, interests, and the wrenching feeling of choosing between duty and love. The skillful and in-depth directorial work of Prof. Pavel Gerdzhikov fully fits into the overall impact of the work - both in harmony with the author's invested ideological and aesthetic charge and as a unique approach in the creative process of the birth of the performance. The director is an undoubted genius, as he manages to bring human relationships to the fore in the show, their drama, versatility, as well as the unearthly beautiful dimensions of love. There is a masterful moment of psychologizing the images, an in-depth interpretation of relationships, and not a search for superficial external brilliance. The combination of brilliant solo performances, ensembles, and choral performances, in sync with the virtuoso parts of the orchestral accompaniment, under the baton of maestro Ivan Kozhuharov, are performed with ease and professionalism, and the overall effect of the perception of the large-scale opera work is to achieve an artistic suggestion, bordering on aesthetic nirvana.

Summary of Aida:

The opera Aida is Giuseppe Verdi's most famous work. It has long been a myth that it was commissioned for the opening of the Suez Canal - in fact, this is not the case. The libretto was written by four authors, based on an Egyptian legend deciphered from papyrus.

Already at its premiere in Cairo, Egypt, the opera was an extraordinary success. A year later, he repeated his sensation at Milan's La Scala.

The action of the opera takes place in Memphis and Thebes during the conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia. Aida is an Ethiopian princess captured in Egypt. The Egyptian general Radames is in love with her, but duty condemns him to loyalty to the pharaoh. Amneris, the pharaoh's daughter, is in love with Radames. His military victory allowed him to beg for mercy for the Ethiopians. In return, however, he has to be betrothed to Amneris. He still manages to organize the escape of Aida and her compatriots, and for this purpose, he has to commit treason - to reveal the positions of his own troops. The warlord manages to save Aida from certain death, which condemns him to trial. The sentence is to be buried alive in a tomb. Even Amneris' efforts fail to save him. But his beloved Aida ends up in the tomb with him.