26 february 2024 Viennese taste, To The Rhythm Of Waltz With "Die Fledermaus"
The atmosphere in the hall of the Burgas Opera on Tuesday will be festive. The sparkling mood - like sparkling champagne from Prince Orlovsky's ball - is guaranteed on February 27 at 7 pm - with the performance of one of Johann Strauss's most popular operettas - "The Bat". The Opera House will be subject to the Viennese taste for aristocratic life, to the rhythm of the waltz, polka, quadrille, and can-can-a. Attendees will enjoy the vital staging and Strauss's wonderful music that invigorates, aesthetically delights and harmonizes.
The three-act operetta appeals to connoisseurs and the general public alike, with glamorous music that carries the aristocratic flair, finesse, and lightness of the Viennese waltz. Strauss' works are characterized by their life-affirming messages, creating a feeling of being transported to another reality - of refined manners, glamor, and elegance.
Behind the conductor's desk on Tuesday stands the young Dimitar Kosev, chief conductor of the State Opera - Ruse. He has an impressive creative biography, he is the recipient of the prestigious award for contribution to Bulgarian culture and art "Golden Feather" for 2019. He is also the recipient of the "Young Musician of the Year" award for 2020, awarded by the BNR, as well as several prestigious international and national awards. The Burgas audience knows maestro Kosev from the concert of Mariana Popova with the orchestra of the State Opera - Burgas - during the Burgas Music Festival 2021. In November 2023, the young conductor was memorable behind the desk in Mozart's masterpiece "Don Giovanni". After the performance, the musicians admitted that despite the three-hour playing of the difficult score, they did not feel tired, as the orchestra sounded extremely balanced, with dynamics adequate to the action.
In the remarkable artistic cast of "The Bat" on Tuesday is the opera prima Edelina Kaneva /guest/, who from the end of 2022 is also the director of the National Music Theater - DMBC "Stefan Makedonski" - in the role of Rosalinda, /a few days ago she, together with another beloved Bulgarian performer - Orlin Goranov, filled the hall in Pleven at the concert performance "A Tale for Two", with the orchestra of the Opera, under the baton of Deyan Pavlov/. Tenor Marcho Apostolov /guest/ appears on the Burgas stage as Gabriel von Eisenstein, soloist of the Musical Theater. Guest soloists Edelina Kaneva and Marcho Apostolov will again be /at the end of November, in the same production, on the same stage/ the usual magnificent stage tandem. They didn't just play their roles, they empathized with every moment of the stage action, of course, backed by brilliant vocal qualities, presented convincingly - with mood, attitude to the audience, and self-confidence backed by the corresponding qualities.
As the playful beauty Adela, the Burgas audience will have the opportunity to see the soprano Maria Tsvetkova-Madjarova. She performs the bravura part with finesse and ease and brilliantly portrays the image of the soubrette character in the operetta – the ambitious trickster who is a maid in the home of Rosalind and Eisenstein. Coloratura heights as well as charming presence, playfulness, and artistry on stage are characteristic of the soprano.
The rest of the roles, each of which has an important function in the entertaining plot, characterized by funny twists, complicated situations and "adult lessons", ie. for grown-up children who have failed to learn some life lessons, are entrusted to the wonderful artists of the Burgas Opera: the mezzo-soprano Lina Peeva, in the role of Ida - Adela's sister, who is an actress in Doctor Falke's theater, where Adela dreams to play "the biggest role for the smallest fee"/; Yani Nikolov, tenor - as Alfred, who is madly in love with Rosalind and because of his infatuation, is wrongly imprisoned - instead of Eisenstein/; Yordan Hristozov, baritone, in the role of Doctor Falke - director of the theater, infatuated with Adela, who presents herself as Olga at Prince Orlovsky's ball; Miroslav Dimitrov, tenor – in the humorous and satirical image of the lawyer Doctor Blind; Kostadin Mechkov, bass, as Frank – prison director; Shmilena Sultanova, soprano – in the role of Prince Orlovsky, who organizes glamorous social events; and Petar Tikholov, as Frosch, a prison guard who prefers to "read" Slivowitz in a bottle instead of the Old Testament.
The production of "The Bat", bearing the characteristic innovative features and trends in modern stage techniques, including multimedia, and simpler sets that allow emphasizing the acting and the messages of the musical motifs, is the work of Hans Nieuwenhuis from the Netherlands. The libretto of "The Bat" is by Carl Hafner and Richard Genet. The direction is by Darina Glavanakova-Bakerdzhieva, and the scenography and costumes are by Madis Nyurms. The conductor of the choir of the Burgas Opera is Alexander Chepanov, the dances are by Nedko Georgiev, the tutor of the ballet ensemble is Marina Zmeeva-Markova, and the concertmaster is Hristo Belchev. The artistic ensembles of the choir and the ballet of the State Opera-Burgas take part in the spectacular production.
The mood for the audience is guaranteed, and the famous themes of the operetta, which have long lived their own independent life in the musical space, will immerse them in the unique atmosphere and sophistication of the Viennese lifestyle, thinking, and European culture. Attendees in the Opera House will enjoy the vital production and Strauss's wonderful music, which energizes, brings hope, purifies, and harmonizes.
And perhaps it is precisely the comic line, funny plot puns, and happy educational ending - for all participants in the entertaining story with an aristocratic flavor, garnished with beautiful outfits, polka, cancan, champagne, and lots of smiles, that are so necessary today.
To give us a brighter perspective. And the hope for a good ending - like in the good old operetta, when everything ends happily because that's what tradition dictates - is omnipresent. And this is the mission of the Artist - to give it to the audience, to recreate a good fairy tale on stage!