Sofia Opera and Ballet – Programme for children

The Sofia Opera
educates a new generation
of opera audience

Sofia,15 April /by Olia Al-Ahmed, Bulgarian Telegraph Agency/

The Sofia Opera educates a new generation of opera audience with the programmes for children “We are going to the opera and ballet” and “Concerts for Babies”. Plamen Kartaloff’s unique idea – the programme for children “We are going to the opera and ballet from 3 to 14”, arose in the winter of 2008, in February. During the years the initiative not only developed with tremendous tempos, confirmed by statistics, but also the interest of different children in different age categories grew. So far were performed 1388 spectacles for children, visited by 134 226 spectators, reported for the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency from the administration of the Sofia Opera and Ballet.
“We set a risky, but exceptionally successful beginning. The care of our first opera theatre is to grow and educate a future opera audience”, shared for the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency Academician Kartaloff.

The start was given with the adaptation of “Die Zauberflöte”, “Hänsel und Gretel” and “Petya and the Wolf”. The curtain was opened on 6 February 2008 and the miracles don’t stop up to this day. On the chamber stage were realized 32 premieres of operas, ballets and musicals for children and adaptations of big opera titles. Among them are: “The Golden Apple”, “Winnie-the-Pooh”, “The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids”, “Town Musicians of Bremen”, “The Three Piggies”, “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Cinderella”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “Little Ida’s Flowers”, “La fille mal guardée”, “Cunning Little Vixen”, “Das Rheingold for children”, “Il barbiere di Siviglia for children”, “L’enfant et les sortilèges”, “The Night Before Christmas”, “Amahl and the Night Visitors”, “Aladino e la lampada magica”, “Der Schulmeister”, “A Story with Ducks, Mecho and Lisa” and many others. The children fill in the hall, applaud joyfully and want the fairy-tale never to stop, marked the organizers.

In the present 2018-2019 season were performed two premieres – the family opera “The Cat” to the music of Massimiliano Matesic and the interactive spectacle – “Musical Alphabet” – music by Luisa Stanoeva. With them the titles become 34, added from the administration of the Sofia Opera and Ballet.

“The chamber stage offers the possibility to the children to communicate with the soloists, to express their sympathy to their favourite characters and become active participants in the theatrical action. After the spectacle, every child has the opportunity to keep its memories, get in touch with the sets, the props, its favourite character and feel itself an artist, explained Yulia Krasteva, stage director of the spectacles for children.

At the end of each season, the programme for children is performed in the open air – in the park of the Military Academy, which contributes still more to the good spirits of the children, who have the possibility to enjoy their favourite fairy-tales, vested in music and living characters and at that in the fresh open air in the park. There get transferred these titles, which allow to be performed in natural sets and then the fairy-tale really comes to life. The children’s audience becomes still more direct participant in the theatre action itself, pointed out the stage director.

The programme for children was guest also outside Sofia. “Strong impressions and emotions provoked the guest-performance of the Sofia Opera and Ballet in Vidin – at the Baba Vida Fortress with “Shegobishko on the Wonder Island”. Unforgettable remain the meetings with the audience in Velingrad, Pravets, Niš, Veliko Tarnovo, added the organizers. With the programme for children were celebrated also birthdays, which undoubtedly left unforgettable moments and emotions with the favourite singing characters.

“The theatre’s cares of the most little don’t stop. In 2017, with own financial means was made a special Armani equipment, in order to provide comfort for our little spectators”, reminded from the administration of the Sofia Opera and Ballet.

After Academician Plamen Kartaloff’s idea, in 2014 started a second branch of the programme for children. It is directed towards a still younger audience – at the age of 0 to 3. In 2019, the programme “Concerts for Babies” made 5 years. In a specially equipped hall, the kids make their first meetings with fragments from classical operas, favourite hit children’s songs, they get acquainted with a small part of the musical instruments.

The number of the babies in the hall increases. “The number of “Concerts for Babies” already exceeds 464, and the spectators up to the moment are 10 767, and for them the seats get sold out with the speed of lightning. From 2008 to 2018 inclusive, the total number of spectacles for children and “Concerts for Babies” is already 1852, and the spectators are 144 995. In the course of the years, we become witnesses how our audience grows, reported Yulia Krasteva, stage director of the opera spectacles for children and of the concerts for babies.

Besides the listed initiatives, the Sofia Opera and Ballet supported also the campaign “More little Bulgarians for Bulgaria”. Its final took place at the Sofia Opera and Ballet in the hall, where already for the fifth year take place the famous “Concerts for Babies”. “The event was visited by sponsors, representatives of foundations and by fans of the radio broadcast “Troyka na razsamvane” (“Three at Dawn”). In the hall were parents, as well as children, born thanks to the medical procedures from the campaign’s editions, told more Yulia Krasteva. This year the accent of the radio broadcast is paternity, added she.

Already entire 10 years we hold successfully the programme for children, having envisaged forthcoming 5 years of “Concerts for Babies”, added the stage director.
Academician Plamen Kartaloff pointed out that sometimes children teach their parents to go to the opera and ballet.

http://www.bta.bg/bg/c/BO/id/1993590

by Olia Al-Ahmed, Bulgarian Telegraph Agency