The team of the Sofia Opera and Ballet already has a whole list of musicals that have been performed on various stages with great success – "Mamma Mia", "Les Misérables", "Shrek".
And now the Sofia Opera and Ballet is boiling with work because on January 9 is the Bulgarian premiere of the famous Broadway musical "The Sound of Music". This is a story inspired by the story of the Trapp family singers, recreated by the creative inspiration of musician Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, based on the book of the same name by Howard Lindsay and Russell Krauss.
Director West Hyler, costume designer Whitney Locher and lighting designer Zach Blaine are back in Sofia for a new production of the hit musical "The Sound of Music". In 2020, they staged "Shrek", based on the animated film and book by William Page, with music by Jeanine Tesori.
The plot is based on Maria von Trapp's 1949 memoirs "The Story of the Trapp Family Singers".
The action is set in Austria, on the eve of the Anschluss in 1938.
The musical tells the story of Maria, who takes a job as a governess in a large family while deciding whether to become a nun. She falls in love with the children and eventually their widowed father, Captain von Trapp. He is ordered to accept service in the German navy, but he resists the Nazis. He and Maria decide to flee Austria with the children.
Many songs from the musical became standards, including "Do-Re-Mi", "My Favorite Things", "Edelweiss", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" and the title song "The Sound of Music".
"The Sound of Music" premieres 9 January with subsequent dates 10, 16, 17, 30 and 31 January. The roles of the seven von Trapp children are performed by the young singers of Dimitar Kostantsaliev's vocal group "Talasamche". The conductors are Igor Bogdanov and Svetoslav Lazarov.
The director West Hyler and the soloist Vesela Delcheva, who is entrusted with the role of the main character Maria, talk about the musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein in the preview at the Sofia Opera and Ballet.
The original Broadway production, starring Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel, opened in 1959 and won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, from nine nominations. The first London production was at the Palace Theatre in 1961. Since then, the musical has enjoyed numerous productions around the world. The 1965 film adaptation starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. "The Sound of Music" was also the last musical by the tandem of Rodgers and Hammerstein, as Hammerstein died nine months after the Broadway premiere. The two created more than 10 musicals, including "Oklahoma", "South Pacific", "The King and I", and "Cinderella". For their works, the two won 37 Tony Awards, 15 Academy Awards, 2 Pulitzer Prizes, 2 Emmy Awards and 2 Grammy Awards.
Photos – Sofia Opera and Ballet
Оn this publication worked: Milena Ochipalska
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