"The Italian Girl in Algiers" - at the National Theatre "Ivan Vazov"
News публикувана на: 03.10.2019
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At the opera at the National Theatre "Ivan Vazov"
Stara Zagora State Opera performs "The Italian in Algiers" in Sofia on 13 October
On Sunday, October 13, at 7 p.m. State Opera Stara Zagora will present its impressive production of Rossini's masterpiece "The Italian in Algiers" on the stage of the Ivan Vazov National Theatre. This year, State Opera Stara Zagora is visiting the stage of the Ivan Vazov National Theatre for the second time. On May 30 the opera-puppet performance of the opera "Turandot" experienced its triumph on the Sofia stage, and now it is the turn of a rarely staged work in the poster of the Bulgarian opera theatre, deeply connected with significant achievements of the great Bulgarian opera tradition.
In the performance of "The Italian in Algiers", the citizens of Sofia and the guests of the capital will meet with the funny and original recreation of the eternal themes of love and the challenged freedom of women and their right to choose. The action is transported to the first decades of the 20th century - the time of the new technological and fashion discoveries entering the world of the Orient. The original stage designs by the Italian set designer Martina Senia and costumes by Maria Pupuchevska, as well as the unique ideas and artistic approaches of the director Ursula Horner, promise an unforgettable experience for the Bulgarian audience with the characters of the classic opera-buffa by the inimitable master of comedy Rossini. There will be a lot of laughter, fun and real enjoyment from the virtuoso performances of the soloists-performers of the main roles Petya Petrova, Rodrigo Trosino /Italy/, Valery Turmanov, Ivaylo Djurov, Desi Stefanova, Emilia Djurova, Alexander Marulev and others, the choir and the orchestra of the Stara Zagora Opera under the direction of the chief conductor Ivaylo Krinchev.
"Come and watch The Italian in Algiers, because we are more fun than all the operettas put together " - this is how Ursula Horner, the director of the show, invites her audience. "With me there is no static standing and singing on stage. The staging follows the pace of the time we are in, and in that time there are several shots in one second. It is the 21st century and we are fast, colourful, cheerful." says Ursula Horner. "Our main director is Rossini. I can come up with mise-en-scenes, but they have to have a connection to his brilliant music. He leads, his tempo is most important. The music for me is the greatest director of the production," Ursula Horner is adamant .
"Ursula captivates us all on stage with the energy that gushes from her" - says the conductor of the production and chief conductor of the State Opera-Stara Zagora Ivaylo Krinchev. "In terms of contemporary expression, the music of this work is absolutely 'commercial' and this is probably the reason for its huge success at its premiere. It's an ensemble piece - it takes a perfect marriage of music, singing and acting. It's not often staged because the right voices are hard to find. Rossini in every new production is created anew. In this production, our goal is to play 100% of the notes he wrote, and that's a lot, a lot of notes, believe me," says Ivaylo Krinchev. He adds that it is extremely "hygienic" for any singer to sing Rossini and Donizetti in order to preserve his voice longer.
The idea for the realization of "The Italian in Algiers" is the director of the State Opera-Stara Zagora Ognyan Draganov. Knowing well the work of his talented colleague director Ursula Horner / known to the Bulgarian audience for her landmark production of the opera "Hoffmann's Tales", staged in Ruse and Plovdiv, for the production of the opera "Il Trovatore" - in Plovdiv, as well as for the opera "The Barber of Seville", with which the Macedonian Opera and Ballet was a guest last year at the 49th edition of the Festival of Opera and Ballet Art in Stara Zagora/, Draganov without hesitation chose the attractive and rarely staged in Bulgaria opera title from the Macedonian Opera and Ballet poster. Moreover, the Stara Zagora Opera has a magnificent soloist cast for each of the main roles. A real privilege is the participation in the role of Isabella of such a singer as the mezzo-soprano Petya Petrova, who reached her professional peaks precisely in the Rosinian repertoire. "This is the fourth Rossini opera in which I have participated - after The Barber of Seville, Cinderella and The Strange Misunderstanding. I can't get enough of singing Isabella again and again. There's so much character in The Italian Girl in Algiers - from beginning to end. And the direction of this show you are about to see is worthy of the music" - is Petya Petrova's opinion.
"Lindoro is an explosion of happiness despite being away and looking for his beloved. Lindoro's coloratura is Rossini's laughter, which also becomes the singer's laughter. The role is wonderful, I feel superb in the company of my colleagues at Stara Zagora Opera. This is where my journey as a performer in Bulgaria began and I am very happy" - says the Italian of Mexican origin Rodrigo Trosino.
"25 years ago I saw this opera at the Vienna State Opera, starring Veselina Katsarova. Since then, I have had the overwhelming desire to be part of a performance of The Italian in Algiers. Having lived in Libya for 3 years as a child, I know the mentality of people in Arab countries. My character, the white Mustafa, is an immature child who wants to prove himself all the time and control the situation " - says Ivaylo Jurov, whom the audience will see in the role of Mustafa.
The sets and costumes are by the Macedonian Opera and Ballet and this is the first joint project with the Stara Zagora State Opera. We remind that in December 2017 a Memorandum of Cooperation and Exchange was signed between the two cultural institutions. The performance of the opera "The Italian in Algiers" marks the beginning of a long-term professional partnership in the context of the Balkan Opera Network established in 2015.
The Italian in Algiers - video
On Opera with BNT2 - The Italian in Algiers
https://www.bnt.bg/bg/a/italiankata-v-alzhir
Tickets at the box office of the Ivan Vazov National Theatre,
online and in the networks of ipay it and iventim
