Today at the Sofia Opera took place a press conference on the occasion of the premiere of the opera "Medea" by Luigi Cherubini.

With the staging of "Medea" the Sofia Opera continues the tradition of presenting for the first time unperformed works, which is also part of the theatre's repertoire policy. The premiere is on 23 February, and the next performances are on 24 and 25 February. The production is dedicated to the 110^th anniversary of the birth of the remarkable Bulgarian bass Boris Christoff and the 100^th anniversary of the birth of Maria Callas. The two starred in a memorial production of "Medea" at the Rome Opera in 1955.

The press conference was attended by director Marco Gandini and set designer Andrea Tocchio, conductor Francesco Rosa, choreographer Lyudmila Ilieva, as well as soloists Lilia Kehayova, Diana Lamar, who will play the role of Medea, Violeta Radomirska, Tsveta Sarambelyeva, who will be Néris, Stefan Vladimirov and Petar Naydenov, preparing the role of Créon. The youngest participant was 7-year-old Victoria, who will play the role of one of Medea's children.

Marco Gandini shared his joy at the opportunity to realise "Medea" in Sofia, because for years he has been captivated by Bulgarian operatic voices. He noted his work with Ghena Dimitrova and Nicolai Ghiaurov, with Raina Kabaivanska and Nicola Ghiuzelev. A pupil and assistant of Franco Zeffirelli, Marco Gandini spoke highly of his work with the soloists of the Sofia Opera.

Set designer Andrea Tocchio said that his inspiration was deeply rooted in ancient Greek mythology and that he created a realistic picture of the ancient world.

Francesco Rosa noted that he was pleased with his work with the orchestra and said that the score of "Medea" required almost soloistic musicianship from the orchestra, which was different from previous titles he had conducted in Sofia.

Marco Gandini apologized for the absence of the costume designer – fashion designer Mario Dice. Mario is currently putting the finishing touches to the costumes in his ateliers in Italy and at the same time preparing the presentation of his new collection at Milan Fashion Week, which will take place on 20 February.

All the soloists expressed their great joy of their participation in "Medea" and their gratitude to the director Marco Gandini for the inspiring preparation of the premiere performances.

There are only three performances of "Medea" – on 23, 24 and 25 February.

We look forward to sharing with you the first performance of "Medea" in Bulgaria with incredible soloists and a superb production team.