On the eve of the National Holiday of Bulgaria, the Sofia Opera presented the premiere of the opera satire "Chatterers" by Lazar Nikolov based on Ivan Vazov’s novel of the same name!

Full hall, unceasing applause for the soloists, the chorus, the orchestra and the ballet of the Sofia Opera.

Participants:
Atanas Mladenov – HADJI SMION
Kostadin Andreev – IVANCHO YOTATA
Emil Pavlov – MIRONCHO
Atanas Yonkov – HADJI ATANASIY
Nikolay Pavlov – VARLAAM KOPRINARKATA THE TARILYOM 
Nikolay Petrov – IVAN SELYAMSAZ
Veselin Mihaylov – TEACHER GATYU
Ventseslav Anastasov – MISTER FRATYU
Biser Georgiev – OLD PRIEST STAVRI
Petar Buchkov, Angel Hristov – NIKOLAKI
Krasimir Dinev – MICHO BEZAYDETO
Rada Toteva – VARLAAM’S WIFE
Gergana Rusekova – SELYAMSAZ’S WIFE
Dimitar Stanchev – THE BEY
Nikolay Voynov – THE OWL
Angel Antonov – ASSISTANT TEACHER MIRONOVSKI
Reinaldo Droz, Daniel Ostretsov and Rosen Nenchev – CHURCH SINGERS
Stanislava Momekova, Alexandrina StoyanovaAndreeva, Vesela Yaneva – GOSSIPS
Georgi Danov, Daniel Ostretsov, Kalin Dushkov – MEDICAL STAFF
Malin Krastev – THE CONTEMPORARY
Mihail Bilalov – VOICE FROM HEAVEN

Production team:
CONDUCTORS – Zhorzh Dimitrov, Boris Spasov
STAGE DIRECTOR – Plamen Kartaloff
ASSISTANTDIRECTORS – Vera Petrovа, Vera Beleva
SET DESIGNER – Sven Jonke
ASSISTANT SET DESIGNER – Vanja Magić
COSTUME DESIGNER – Stanka Vauda
LIGHTING DESIGNER – Ivan Lushichich
MUSICAL TRAINING – Agnes Dankova
PLASTICS – Lzudmila Ilieva, Maria Zordanova
CHORUS MASTER – Violeta Dimitrova
REPETITEURS – Martin Stoyanov, Svetlana Ananievska
MULTIMEDIA ELEKTRICK.ME – Lora Runevska, Katrin Krasimirova, Vladimir Grancharov
PRODUCTION MANAGER – Vladimir Gorchakov

With the participation of children from Children’s Vocal and Theatrical Formation "TALASAMCHE" with director Dimitar Kostantsaliev

Orchestra, chorus and ballet of the Sofia Opera

Here is what our loyal spectators shared:

"Exceptionally current production! It was a pleasure for me to see something that is so close to our conception of the world! At the beginning of the spectacle, I had fun, but gradually it led us to serious thoughts, until by the end there was a feeling of anxiety that our reality is quite similar to the problems of a completely different time! This performance is something different, something new and definitely a must see! And let me acknowledge, I've never seen anything like it!"

Dimitria Bozova

"What we saw tonight was something wonderful for me! The artists played captivatingly! The messages of this production are more than relevant today! I thank the entire artistic team of the Sofia Opera for providing us with an unforgettable spiritual holiday!"

Hristina Barzanova

"This spectacle is fantastic! It was a wonderful interpretation of Vazov's "Chatterers"! This is a great achievement of the art of the opera! The findings and artistic means with which the folk psychology of the Bulgarian is presented are remarkable! Today we witnessed a wonderful artistic ensemble, and the orchestra did a brilliant job with a complex and unforgettable work that requires high professionalism!"

Hristo Valchev

"I am very excited! Wonderful production! The creative hits of maestro Plamen Kartaloff were incredible, as always! I am impressed with how much interest the audience watched the spectacle until the end! The satisfaction from this performance cannot be expressed in words! The artists captivated us with the spirit they put into their performances! The orchestra did an amazing job with such an unusual, complex and fascinating music work! The director's artistic ideas and staging decisions were phenomenal! Pass on my enthusiastic admiration to all participants for this unique artistic achievement!"

Iva Borovanska

"Great show! The events, manners and everyday routines of the Bulgarian were presented in a charmingly modern way! We saw an original production, perfectly constructed with a lot of dynamics, great ideas, emotional mise-en-scènes, filled with provoking symbolism sets, stylish costumes for the era, and all this subject to a bold and original direction! The show provokes spontaneous reflection on the permanence of the customs of the past and our present! I hope this amazing production lasts a long time, because it deserves to be seen by more spectators!"

Biserka Nikolova, Mariana Sevova and Ani Yankova

"The message of this spectacle sounds amazingly relevant! Maestro Kartaloff seems to be a prophet, because the concept and ideas that are woven into the artistic narrative, surprisingly exactly coincide with what is happening today in our country and around the world! This is how a harmonious combination was created between the authorial dimensions of Vazov from his time and the director’s visions, transferring the manners and customs of the past to the essence of our time! The spectacle requires a comprehensive reflection on the permanence of human aspirations and customs in our people's psychology!"

Nevyana Malcheva

" I would like to congratulate the wonderful artists who tonight gave a lot of heart and spirit in their performances! I have worked with many of them at the Faculty of Music and I know them well! We must also give credit to the repetiteurs, who have undoubtedly worked dedicatedly and intensively in the preparation of each role! The soloists we saw tonight also presented themselves as great actors! The chorus undoubtedly also gave their best! The direction has harmoniously combined the dramaturgical basis of Vazov's work with the musical ideas and the atmosphere corresponding to the musical matter of the composer! We are witnessing a wonderful combination of the message of this work with tomorrow's national holiday and let's appreciate the fact that placing this title on the Sofia stage is a worthy celebration of the centenary of the birth of the composer Lazar Nikolov and thus is achieved a kind of gesture to Bulgarian music! "

Galina Apostolova

"I am delighted by the phantasy of the director Plamen Kartaloff, his ability to combine the past with the present and the future! We saw today with what imagination and with what philosophy the classics can be presented with what we want Bulgaria to live with, for our country to survive and for peace to be preserved! This production is a very inspired message to our desire to preserve life on Earth and to live our Bulgaria!"

Magda Asenova, publicist

"For me, this is an unexpected, exceptionally original interpretation of Vazov's "Chatterers"! I appreciate very much the fact that the work on the spectacle started long before today's events and yet its message is more than relevant, given what is happening today! With this production maestro Plamen Kartaloff shows that he can always surprise us with his amazingly accurate findings and artistic messages! This production is a real cultural event!"

Dimitar Dereliev

" Today we enjoyed both the innovative music of the composer Lazar Nikolov, which is emblematic for its time, and the innovative ideas and artistic dimensions in the concept of maestro Plamen Kartaloff! What is contagious for the audience today was the enthusiasm and inspiration with which the artists performed their roles wonderfully and with which the orchestra handled this polyphonic and original work so brilliantly! Today we had the chance also to enjoy the original and so melodious speech of Vazov! This spectacle is an unforgettable experience that is worth seeing by every music connoisseur! I hope this unique spectacle stays on stage longer! Good luck, colleagues! I love you!"

Stanislav Pochekanski, President of the Union of Bulgarian Musicians and Dancers

"Exceptionally mature spectacle! Exceptional directorial work of maestro Plamen Kartaloff! The orchestra, chorus and soloists were at the highest possible level! This unique work by the composer Lazar Nikolov deserves to have a longer stage life, as we are witnessing original dramaturgy, great musical interpretation and the so inspired performance of all artists!"

Momchil Georgiev

"For a long time I have not enjoyed such an accurate, sharp and artistically motivated satire! To make a combination of a classical work by Ivan Vazov and the music by one of the most modern composers of our century, like Lazar Nikolov, and to obtain an exceptionally modern sounding and looking satire, is a great artistic achievement!"

Kin Stoyanov