On 27, 28, 30 and 31 July the guest stars from the Sofia Opera and Ballet Marta Petkova and Nikola Hadjitanev presented the fatal love of Carmen and Don José. Joining them on stage were Yuriko Nishihara and Michele Morelli in the roles of Micaëla and Escamillo, as well as the Palermo theatre's corps de ballet led by Jean-Sébastien Colau. Mikhail Sinkevich conducted the music of Georges Bizet, arranged by Rodion Shchedrin. Choreographer Leo Mujić has enriched the score by inserting parts of Bizet's "L'Arlésienne" and the Overture in А-Minor to heighten the dramatic intensity of the production.

The two Bulgarian premier soloists were also invited for the premiere of the ballet "Carmen", which was in July 2023.

The neoclassical dance spectacle, choreographed by Leo Mujić, reinterprets with great success the symbol of female freedom created by Prosper Mérimée, embodied in the image of the beautiful gypsy woman, an icon of sensuality. According to Jean-Sébastien Colau, director of the Teatro Massimo Ballet Company, "His neoclassical dance style is clean, structured, clear and energetic; it is a narrative style based on classical technique taken to the extreme. His rigour in the dance hall makes his language very personal and his choreographies extremely detailed."

"We feel very comfortable in this theatre and we can't wait to meet the audience again," said Marta Petkova and Nikola Hadjitanev excitedly before the performances.

"Such guest appearances bring prestige to our theatre and the interest in the Sofia Opera is growing from both dancers and choreographers from abroad. These meetings are always remembered because I am not only defending myself, but also the country and the theatre where I work!" said Marta Petkova, who is the Aartistic director of the Sofia Opera Ballet.

Leo Mujić is already well known to Bulgarian audience, who enthusiastically applauds his productions on the stage of the Sofia Opera and Ballet – "Anna Karenina" and "The Great Gatsby". With the last ballet premiere of the past season "The Great Gatsby" will open the new ballet season in Sofia. The performances are on 15 and 17 September.

On 7 November the premiere for the new season of the ballet company of the Sofia Opera will take place – "Roméo et Juliette" by Sergei Prokofieff, and the choreography will be done by Kristian Kaloyanov, a long-time premier soloist of the Norwegian National Ballet and today its balletmaster.