NEWSPAPER “POLITIKA” – 22-28.09.2017, page 33
Students of the opera prima Raina Kabaivanska will present “Norma” by Bellini
Richard Wagner’s famous opera “Parsifal” will open the season at the Sofia Opera on 1 October. The choice wasn’t made by chance. Wagner’s last opera was shown for the first time in Bulgaria in July and passed with great success. To see Maestro Plamen Kartaloff’s production came connoisseurs of the operatic art from all over the world.
In front of the TV cameras and the reporter’s microphones, the spectators of all ages expressed moving and enthusiastic evaluations of the magical production and inspired music interpretation, of the brilliant performance of the orchestra and the chorus, and the achieved vocal tops of the soloists of the Sofia Opera and Ballet.
“Wagner’s repertoire of our first opera theatre developed a new interest and a new taste, a new audience and the most valuable – a new generation of excellent artists – interpreters, soloists, members of the orchestra and of the chorus. It gave world popularity of the theatre and made commeasurable the sense of the profession and of the labour in the field of operatic art with the one of artists from the stages of the biggest and with centuries old traditions opera theatres, capitals, countries”, said Maestro Kartaloff, Director of the Sofia Opera and Ballet.
In the spectacle “Parsifal” will take part Kostadin Andreev, Martin Iliev, Radostina Nikolaeva and others. Conductor is Ira Levin, and the set design is by Sven Jonke. The opera is performed in German with surtitles in Bulgarian and English.
Upcoming are also three spectacles of the opera “Norma” by Bellini, a production by Hugo de Ana, also at the Sofia Opera – on 13, 14 and 15 October, with soloists – the participants in the master classes of the opera prima Raina Kabaivanska at the New Bulgarian University, with who she has worked or continues working during the years.
On 12 September, Kabaivanska presented the participants in her present 17th master class, which will finish with a gala concert on 24 September at the Sofia Opera.
“I select my students according to their talent and kindness. I don’t support the impudent ones and the maniacs. I wasn’t disappointed from no one so far, maybe with quite few exceptions. They all are marvellous and this makes them brave in the choice of titles for the productions – neither “Turandot”, which we performed last year, and that with two casts, nor “Norma” are for beginning young singers, but we managed wonderfully”, said Kabaivanska, quoted by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency. Her aim is besides discovering and educating young talents, to present them on the international opera stage.
This year for the competition applied 65 singers from 22 countries and four continents – Asia, Africa, America and Europe. Now with Kabaivanska are working 15 of them from eight countries – Bulgaria, Venezuela, Greece, Italy, Korea, Lithuania, Serbia and Japan.