22 december 2025 A Wonderful End to the Year With 'The Nutcracker'

With the second performance of THE NUTCRACKER for the season, a brilliant coda was set to the passing of a rich and creative year for the Burgas State Opera.
Filled with spirited and beautifully dressed people - as befits a celebration of art, the Opera hall was subject to a solemnly elevated mood - under the sign of love for classical ballet art, delighted by the charming production of Prof. Hikmet Mehmedov, which has been performed with unchanging success on the Burgas stage and on tour for more than 20 years, and the undeniable performing mastery of all the wonderful artists, led by the rehearser Galina Kalcheva.
The overall stage idyll, completely in the Christmas style and theme, charged those present with a beautiful feeling of shared festivity, spiritual purification, and worship before the reviving power of beauty.
Congratulations to the wonderful multinational troupe of Opera Burgas for the consistent and unwavering pursuit of the best of established traditions and the search for new challenges!
The past year was extremely rich in events and creative flight for them, new occasions for proof and new portions of unconditional love, to and from the audience, are ahead.
Good luck in the new year 2026!
"Thank you, I love you, and I believe in the best of each of you! We will be together again next year with renewed strength," said Galina Kalcheva, the troupe's rehearser, after the successful last performance for 2025, and wished the artists to be irresistible in their stage performances in the upcoming 2026: "The Sleeping Cat" - a production by Prof. Hikmet Mehmedov, "The Badly Protected Girl" and "The Ballet at the Opera" - directed by Galina Kalcheva, whose glamorous premiere was at the Summer Theater this summer - as part of the Burgas Music Festival "Emil Chakarov".
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And last night, the fairy tale about Masha and the Nutcracker and their wonderful adventures in the magical world of dreams was recreated by the prima ballerina of the State Opera - Burgas, Daniela Turtumanova-Stoyanova, and the soloist of the ballet troupe, Teodor Tsakov, beautiful, stylish, and confident, who presented their images with scope and finesse.

The image of the Black Queen was a whirlwind and respectful with the presence of Yana Berduta. The role of Drosselmeyer was played by Kiril Filipov, and Fritz was played by Andrea Sotirova. Giulia Lezzi and Raphaela Kühl danced as Masha's friends on stage. Aneliya Ivanova played the role of Masha's mother.
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The attractive ensembles included: Spanish dance – Laia Ramon and Patrick Gill; Oriental dance – Raya Chakarova, Raya Stanislavova, Gergana Georgieva, Naiden Naidenov; Chinese dance – Nanako Sato and Daniel Tichkov; Russian dance – Gergana Kozarova, Gery Kozarova, Maria Gabarova, Anna Pasello, Shun Kawafune. The roles of Parents were: Bianca Helen Giovannelli, Ivana Milanova Fialkovska, Polina Pasha, Gergana Kozarova, Naiden Naydenov, Francesco Russo, Stoyan Fartunov, and Patrick Gil. The images of the Black Forces appeared on the stage: Naiden Naydenov, Patrick Gil, Francesco Russo, and Shun Kawafune. Graceful "Snowflakes", woven into the overall festive extravaganza on stage, were: Laya Ramon, Raya Chakarova, Julia Letzi, Nanako Sato, Rafaela-Maria Küll, Gergana Georgieva, Gergana Kozarova, Bianca-Helen Giovanelli, Polina Pasha, and Maria Gabarova. Participants in the graceful "Pink Waltz" were the ballet artists: Laya Ramon, Raya Chakarova, Rafaela-Maria Küll, Nanako Sato, Patrick Gill, Haru Nakagawa, Francesco Russo, Shun Kavafune, Bianca-Helen Giovanelli, Gergana Georgieva, Gergana Kozarova, Maria Gabarova, Julia Letzi, and Anna Pasello.
At the end of the performance, amidst applause from the audience, who were sent to their feet, the traditional basket of flowers was presented on behalf of the Mayor of Burgas Municipality - Mr. Dimitar Nikolov.
The ovation after the performance:
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All events at the State Opera - Burgas are under the sign of Burgas' candidacy for European Capital of Culture in 2032.
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December 22, 7 p.m., Burgas Opera Hall
✨❄️ THE NUTCRACKER
BALLET TO THE MUSIC OF P. I. TCHAIKOVSKY
Choreography and direction - Prof. Hikmet Mehmedov
Scenography and costumes - Radostin Chomakov
Set design, ballet tutor - Galina Kalcheva
Assistant director - Petar Tiholov Petar Tiholov
Make-up and wigs - Kalina Popova
Wardrobe: Kicka Grozeva, Pepa Ruseva, Nedka Ivanova, Rositsa Atanasova
Soloists and codeballet to the State Opera – Burgas
✨❄️The ballet extravaganza “The Nutcracker” is considered a traditional ballet performance at Christmas. The popular story based on the fairy tale by E.T. Hoffmann, “The Nutcracker”, on which Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky created his immortal ballet work of the same name, will be presented in all its stage brilliance in the production of the State Opera – Burgas.