12 august 2024 Wonderful Artists Present "Countess Maritsa" On Tuesday

One of the masterpieces of operetta classics - "Countess Maritsa" by the Hungarian composer Imre Kalman, will delight lovers of the genre on Friday evening. Whirling gypsy dances, temperamental chardash, artistic mastery, and stage brilliance await the audience on August 13, from 8:30 p.m. on the stage of the Summer Theater - Burgas. The event is the next in the program of the Burgas Music Festivals "Emil Chakarov", carried out for the seventeenth time in a row by the State Opera - Burgas and the Municipality of Burgas. The attractive performance, which, after a five-year absence from the bill, was presented on June 21 this year with great success and a large audience in the hall of the Burgas Opera House, is directed by the acclaimed master of the genre, Mario Nikolov, winner of the prestigious "Emil Chakarov" award " for 2023, will bring together some of the best interpreters of the images: the eminent singers, for whom the roles of Countess Maritsa and Count Tassilo Andriodi-Witemberg are emblematic - the leading soloists of the National Music Theater "Stefan Makedonski" - the soprano Dobrina Ikonomova and the tenor Peño Pirozov, who recently returned from Italy, where he performed the role of Turidou in the opera "Peasant Honor" by Mascani, as well as the wonderful soloists of the Burgas Opera - the sopranos Maria Tsvetkova-Madjarova - Lisa, and Lyudmila Mihailova - Manya, the baritone Yordan Hristozov – Baron Koloman Zupan and others. In the other roles, each of which is important for the intriguing and dynamic stage action, on Tuesday will be: Petar Tiholov - as Prince Moritz Dragomir Populescu, Nikolay Nikolov - Baron Carl Stefan Liebenberg, Valio Totev - Cheko, Srebrina Slavova - Princess Bozhena Hudenstein, Alexander Perperiev – Panichek.

Behind the conductor's desk stands the young maestro Dimitar Kosev, chief conductor of the State Opera - Ruse, who is well known to the Burgas public and is a frequent and welcome guest - both on the Burgas stage and tour. The concertmaster will be Hristo Belchev.

The scenography of "Countess Maritsa" is by a distinguished artist who knows how to capture the most essential of the spirit of the production and touches every element in detail - Ivan Tokadzhiev. He was also the scenographer of the magnificent premiere production of the ballet "Corsair" - at the beginning of June. on the stage of the Burgas Opera House, at the premiere performance of the musical "My Fair Lady" - on August 2, which will be presented at the official closing of the BMP "Emil Chakarov", as well as at several successful productions - both in opera and the operetta genre, the ballet, as well as in performances for children. The designer of the wonderful costumes, which give an additional color accent and impress the plot and the characters of the characters, is Chavdar Chomakov, the conductor of the choir is Alexander Chepanov, the choreography is by Galina Kalcheva, the assistant directors of the production are Lina Peeva and Petar Tikholov—tutor of the international ballet troupe - Maria Zmeeva-Markova.

A curious fact related to the ancestry of the soloist of the Musical Theater in Sofia, Dobrina Ikonomova, gives an even more tangible aristocratic shine to the performance. Here's what the magnificent prima, who exudes undeniable class, has to say:

"I want to dedicate the upcoming performance to the heir of Countess Maritza's prototype. Count Miklós Seichen is her nephew, and he is married to Shinka, whose father is Dimanov, who had Burgas roots - from where our acquaintance with the count family comes. Unfortunately, soon both of them passed away, but we were lucky enough to have my family touch and contact real aristocrats. In June of this year, after 30 years, I stepped on the Burgas stage /after my debut in "La Traviata"/ with a performance, and to Maritsa!"

"Many passions, love vicissitudes, intriguing twists, and Kalman's wonderful music are in this operetta. I am very impressed by the ballet of the Burgas Opera, which has so many young people of different nationalities. My fellow soloists are also wonderful. The conductor Dimitar Kosev, who also is a guest of the Ruse Opera, with a sense of humor, but also a lot of demands, managed to unite the orchestra, choir, and soloists to create a wonderful show!" says the operetta prima in an interview with BNR.

The magnificent vocal mastery and dignified stage presence of truly great artists will once again present the guest soloists from the "Stefan Makedonski" National Music Theater - Dobrina Ikonomova and Peño Pirozov - undisputed - both as an aristocratic presence, and as artistry, and as bravura singing, and as artistic construction of the image of noblemen in love. The soloists of the Burgas Opera will also be at an extremely high level: the soprano Maria Tsvetkova-Madjarova - in the role of the charming coquette Lisa - vital, funny, evoking exceptional sympathies with her brilliant stage incarnation and exquisite singing ; Lyudmila Mihailova, in the image of the gypsy woman in love, who heralds the love of Countess Maritsa and her lover - Count Tasilo - with a fiery temperament and impressive vocal performance; the baritone Yordan Hristozov - causing whirlwind emotions and sincere laughter with his role of Baron Koloman Župan, the basses Petar Tiholov and Nikolay Nikolov - in the images of Prince Moritz Dragomir Populescu Baron Carl Stefan Liebenberg - funny and irrevocably fitting into the verbal-stage puns in which chardash, wine, love and intrigues are present; the dignified Srebrina Slavova, mezzo-soprano - with the aristocratic air of a true noblewoman-benefactor of her beloved nephew Tasilo; Valyo Totev and Alexander Perperiev - with a memorable artistic presence, in sync with the overall mood of the show - romantic-nostalgic-funny-sad-brilliant. We expect each of the artists to rebuild not just another successful stage role, but to give their best, weaving their creative charge into unforgettable images.

A delightful combination of melodious and sensual music, temperamental gypsy dances containing the whole spectrum of passion, whirling Hungarian chardash, exquisite Viennese waltz, stage charisma, and that invisible element that makes a performance unforgettable, is expected to be present tomorrow night in "Countess Maritsa" on the stage of the Summer Theater in Burgas. At the high level - both professionally and as a charge - will be the artists from the choir, ballet, and orchestra of the State Opera - Burgas, under the baton of the youngest chief conductor in Bulgaria - Maestro Dimitar Kosev.

About the work: The operetta "Countess Maritza" by Kalman is known as a beautiful tale of love. In the libretto, the beautiful rich aristocrat Maritza, bored and disappointed by her many gold-digging suitors, invents a fiance. This is Baron Koloman Zupan - the character of another king of operettas, Johann Strauss - from the work "Gypsy Baron". Somehow, the real Baron Coloman Zupan has learned of his supposed engagement to the Countess and arrives at her mansion to find out exactly how he ended up in the situation. The kind, handsome, rich, and slightly crazy young man immediately falls in love with the Countess, who, however, does not share his feelings... She is secretly in love with her new butler, not knowing that he is the bankrupt Count Tassilo. After countless twists and turns of fate, everything falls into place and love wins, with not one but two weddings. And most importantly, true love is not subject to money, that is why it brings together rich people with poorer people, but with dignity and a value system.