Mere days remain until the premiere of “Adriana Lecouvreur” at the Sofia Opera and Ballet. An opera about love, jealousy and the consequences thereof based on real events which happened in France during the 18th century.
“The protagonists in this opera are based on real historical figures. Prima donna Adriana Lecouvreur was born in 1762 and passes away at only 37 years old. Experts claim she had been poisoned. The other version is she had died of dysentery. This has never been proven because during her time artists were frowned upon by the church and she didn’t receive a proper burial. It was a challenge setting this production because “Adriana is charismatic and forces her own style”, Yuliya Krasteva, director of the performance, said on the “Bulgaria sutrin” show.
She added that in an opera, the main conflict must be clearly visible.
Adriana Lecouvreur’s doomed love
“Adriana initially falls in love with count Mauricio without knowing he is a count. Much later, she finds out he’s a nobleman even though he is the illegal son of the Polish king. At that moment, their love is doomed because of the differences between the normal class and the aristocratic class”, Krasteva added.
Singer Gabriela Georgieva revealed on air at Bulgaria ON AIR that the role was a challenge for her.
“The role is complex because you need to portray the character with maturity, not just through singing and emotion. It was a great pleasure for me to dive into this role, it’s much different than anything else I’ve done. It’s a whole other world. I wanted to really get into the creativity, spirituality and the light of this incredibly powerful women. This opera’s message is one must fight for love and never give up on it”, she commented.
The opera is Italian and its premiere is on the 29th of November.
“Every hero has his motive. Adriana’s true love is count Mauricio, to the very end. She even sells her own jewels in order to help him pay off his debts, Krasteva revealed.
You can watch the entire interview in the video below: