Wednesday January 17, 2007
Bulgarian State Opera: Puccini's Turandot
Wednesday, January 17, 2007 / 8 p.m. / Kenan Auditorium
Reserved Seating: $45 General Public / $20 Student
For Tickets & Information: Call the Kenan Auditorium Box Office Mon.-Fri., 10am-6pm at 910.962.3500 or 800.732.3643.
Program Details:
The Wilmington Concert Association presents the Bulgarian State Opera's production of Giacomo Puccini's Turandot.
Composed by Giacomo Puccini, Turandot is an opera in three acts based on the play, of the same title, by Carlo Gozzi. At the time of Puccini's death in 1924 the work was still unfinished. Franco Alfano soon completed the final two acts, however when Toscanini premiered the the opera at the Teatro alla Scala, in Milan, on April 25, 1926, he included only Puccini's music and not Alfano's additions. When the performance progressed to the last measures that Puccini himself completed and orchestrated, the orchestra stopped, the performers froze in position, and Toscanini turned to the audience and said: "Here the opera finishes, because at this point the Maestro died". Only in 2001 an official new completion was made by Luciano Berio. The Italian libretto was written by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.
The Bulgarian State Opera
Established in 1996 by Ivan Kyurkchiev, the Bulgarian State Opera is based on the great traditions of the art of opera in Bulgaria and presents unique productions combining the best of the opera worlds of Bulgaria and all of Europe. The performances of Bulgarian State Opera are co-productions of the major opera houses of Bulgaria, theatres where many eminent singers have started their world careers, including Gena Dimitrova, Stefka Evstatieva, Vesselina Katsarova, Nikolay Gyaurov and many others. It speaks for itself that the world-renowned singers including Orlin Anastassov and Dario Volonte made their debuts in the productions of the Bulgarian State Opera, productions, which were later presented throughout Europe on tour. The company collaborates not only with Bulgarian opera theatres and symphony orchestras (among which are the Sofia National Opera, Sofia Radio Orchestra and Mixed Choir, Sofia Symphony Orchestra, Plovdiv Opera and Philharmonic Society, Varna Opera and Philharmonic Society, Burgas Opera and Philharmonic Society, and the Stara Zagora Opera Theater), but also with opera houses from Bucharest (Romania), Budapest (Hungary), Chisinau (Moldovia), Kiev (Ukraine), Theatre Nemirovich-Danchenko (Russia) and many others.
The rapid artistic and professional development of the company was mostly due to the direction from the beginning of such distinguished conductors as Metodi Matakiev, Luciano di Martino, Hristo Ignatov; stage directors including Kuzman Popov, Pavel Gerdjikov and choreographers Krzyzstof Pastor and Craig Revel Horwood.
The Bulgarian State Opera’s roster of distinguished singers, its impressive choir, ballet and orchestra has obtained an interpretive maturity in many different styles. The members of the orchestra, choir and ballet were carefully selected from among the best Bulgarian musicians, singers and dancers.
Rich in its genre, the repertoire of the Bulgarian State Opera includes a wide spectrum of opera works: Otello, Nabucco, Aida, Turandot, Il Trovatore, Tosca, La Boheme, Rigoletto, Gioconda, Carmina Burana (in a staged production), Don Carlo, La Traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, Un Ballo in Maschera and productions of the Mozart and Verdi Requiems, among other works.
The international stature of the Bulgarian State Opera is demonstrated by the company’s participation in the thrilling “super-productions” of La Traviata at the München Olympiahalle in December 2001, Carmen in Arnhem, Nabucco and Rigoletto in Rotterdam and Aida at the Arena auf Schalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, as well as acclaimed productions at the Stade de France in Paris in
September 2001, and the Grosse Festspielehalle in Salzburg in January 2002.
The open-air performances given by the Bulgarian State Opera across Europe deserve special mention among the company’s activities. Most memorable was the presentation of Aida at the unique natural stage of Castelgrande (“The Great Castle”) in Bellinzona, Switzerland during its Third Opera Festival. The performance took place with the participation of the State Philharmonic Orchestra and the massive choir of the Opera House of Plovdiv under the baton of Italian maestro Luciano di Martino and featuring soloists Orlin Anastassov, Bojko Tsvetanov and Emilia Boteva.
The creative achievements of the Bulgarian State Opera have also gained international recognition on many more of the world’s most prestigious opera stages, including Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Solingen, Remscheid and Schweinfurt (Germany), Salzburg (Austria), Zurich (Switzerland), Lisbon and Oporto (Portugal), Madrid and Valencia (Spain).
Photo of the Bulgarian State Opera's performance of Turandot.
Brought to you by Kenan Auditorium.
