State Opera Stara Zagora

About

The State Opera Stara Zagora (Bulgarian: Държавна опера Стара Загора, Darzhavna opera Stara Zagora) is an opera and ballet theatre in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. Founded in 1925, it is the oldest opera theatre in Bulgaria outside Sofia and the second Bulgarian opera institution after the National Opera and Ballet in Sofia. Its theatre building, inaugurated in 1971, was the first building in Bulgaria constructed specifically for opera. The company presents opera, ballet, operetta, musical theatre, children's productions and concerts. It also organises and hosts the Festival of Opera and Ballet Arts in Stara Zagora, one of the long-standing specialised forums for opera and ballet in Bulgaria.

Stara Zagora had organised musical activity before the creation of the opera company. A town orchestra was established in 1860, and the Caval Music Society was founded in 1897. In the following decades, military bands, school choirs, orchestras and musical-theatre groups contributed to the city's musical life.

The opera company was founded in 1925. Its first performance took place on 1 July 1925 with the opera Gergana by Georgi Atanasov. The first production was prepared by a group of local artists and enthusiasts, including the directors Georgi Bakalov and Mara Shopova, with conductor Atanas Kovachev.

In 1928 the theatre became the District Opera – Stara Zagora, and in 1931 it was renamed the South Bulgarian Regional Opera. In 1934 it became the Stara Zagora Municipal Opera.

State institution and repertoire expansion

In 1946 the opera was established as a state cultural institute under the name National Opera – Stara Zagora. After 1946 the orchestra and artistic ensembles gradually expanded with professionally trained musicians, allowing the repertoire to include more demanding opera and ballet titles.

The postwar repertoire included works from the Russian, Italian, French, German and Bulgarian operatic traditions. The orchestra's early postwar productions included Dargomyzhsky's Rusalka in 1946, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci in 1949, and Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail in 1950.

Opera house building, fire and reopening

A new modern theatre building was inaugurated in 1971. It was the first building in Bulgaria constructed specifically for an opera theatre.

In 1991 the opera house was destroyed by fire, with scenery, costumes, stage equipment and interior elements lost in the disaster. The company continued to perform in other venues in the city during the years when the building was unusable. After restoration, the opera house reopened on 5 October 2010, the Day of Stara Zagora, with a performance of Bizet's Carmen.

Stara Zagora had organised musical activity before the creation of the opera company. A town orchestra was established in 1860, and the Caval Music Society was founded in 1897. In the following decades, military bands, school choirs, orchestras and musical-theatre groups contributed to the city's musical life.

The opera company was founded in 1925. Its first performance took place on 1 July 1925 with the opera Gergana by Georgi Atanasov. The first production was prepared by a group of local artists and enthusiasts, including the directors Georgi Bakalov and Mara Shopova, with conductor Atanas Kovachev.

In 1928 the theatre became the District Opera – Stara Zagora, and in 1931 it was renamed the South Bulgarian Regional Opera. In 1934 it became the Stara Zagora Municipal Opera.

In 1946 the opera was established as a state cultural institute under the name National Opera – Stara Zagora. After 1946 the orchestra and artistic ensembles gradually expanded with professionally trained musicians, allowing the repertoire to include more demanding opera and ballet titles.

The postwar repertoire included works from the Russian, Italian, French, German and Bulgarian operatic traditions. The orchestra's early postwar productions included Dargomyzhsky's Rusalka in 1946, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci in 1949, and Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail in 1950.

A new modern theatre building was inaugurated in 1971. It was the first building in Bulgaria constructed specifically for an opera theatre.

In 1991 the opera house was destroyed by fire, with scenery, costumes, stage equipment and interior elements lost in the disaster. The company continued to perform in other venues in the city during the years when the building was unusable. After restoration, the opera house reopened on 5 October 2010, the Day of Stara Zagora, with a performance of Bizet's Carmen.

The orchestra of the Stara Zagora Opera developed from the musical activity of the Caval Music Society and the city's early orchestral traditions. In the first years after 1925 it was led by Aleksandar Georgiev and included musicians from the military brass band as well as amateurs from the local community.

After the opera became a state institution in 1946, the orchestra was gradually strengthened by professionally trained musicians. Its conductors in the first decades included Boris Fetvedzhiev, Simeon Fetvedzhiev, Dimitar Hristov and Yosko Yosifov. Romeo Raychev, director and chief conductor from 1942 to 1954, played an important role in consolidating the orchestra. Later figures associated with the orchestra included Anastas Anastasov, Iliya Iliev, Ruslan Raychev, Dimitar Dimitrov, Veselin Nenov, Mihail Popov, Ivan Dimov, Nedyalko Nedyalkov, Bozhidar Bonev, Krasimir Kashev, Stefan Linev, Dian Chobanov, Luciano Di Martino, Ivaylo Krinchev, Vladimir Boshnakov and Dimitar Kosev.

The ballet troupe of the Stara Zagora Opera was established as part of the theatre's postwar development. Its first choreographer with specialised training was Anna Vorobyova, who staged the company's first ballet production, Bayer's The Fairy Doll, in 1949.