Bulgaria Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana & Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci: Soloists, Children’s Choir of Bulgaria Radio, Chorus and Orchestra of Sofia Opera / Daniel Oren (conductor). Opera on the Square, Sofia, 15.7.2026. (GT)
This is the third year of Sofia Opera’s enormously popular festival ‘Opera on the Square’ in front of the spectacular Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. The festival has staged popular operatic repertoire alongside musicals such as Les Misérables and Mamma Mia!, as well as Beethoven’s Choral Symphony and the contemporary opera The Hermit of Rila. This year’s event runs from 9th of July through 9th of August, closing with Turandot marking the 100th anniversary of its premiere and the 85th birthday of Ghena Dimitrova – one of the great interpreters of the role on the world stage.
Setting the popular Italian operas of Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci as a double bill seemed ideal for this summer night. For Plamen Kartalov’s Cavalleria rusticana Giacomo Andrico’s sets portrayed a great turreted castle on the left, while on the right an Italian mountain village with steps leading to the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in the centre. The village idiom has tables and chairs to complete this rural scene. The central space opened the passage to the cathedral behind; the entries and exits by the villagers created a spectacular image, most notably by the organ and choral singing in the cathedral, enhanced by lighting designed by Stefano Mazzanti.
In Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana, the most outstanding portrayal was the Santuzza of Gerghana Rusekova in her magnificent singing and acting, especially her ‘Voi lo sapete, o mamma’ and the moving Easter Hymn as the chorus left the church. Her portrayal was equalled by the Mama Lucia of Vesela Yaneva, realizing another triumph for this young singer who was very impressive as Fricka in the recent Wagner’s Ring cycle in Sofia. Her acting was remarkable and memorable, and her incredible makeup transformed this young woman into a venerable old woman – she dominated all her scenes.
The Turridu must, however, be outstanding if this opera is to be successful. On this evening, the Turridu of Jorge de Leon was magnificent, especially in the drinking song ‘Viva il vino spumeggiante’ and his second-act ‘Addio alla madre’, as he has excelled in this role elsewhere; the Spaniard embodied great singing with acting on this evening. The duet with Santuzza was phenomenal, both dramatically and vocally. Another star performance was the Russian baritone Roman Burdenko in a his wonderfully toned voiced and his acting as Alfio. The Lola of Tsveta Sarambelieva was excellent in her albeit limited, though important role; the scarlet red dress epitomized her part as the lover breaking the relationship at the heart of the plot. In her first scene with Alfio, she seemed subdued, but her singing was magnificent throughout. Nella Stoyanova’s costumes marvelously suited the time of the period and enhanced the personality and role of each of the performers. The Sofia Opera chorus was magnificent in the villagers gathering in the square, in the Easter Hymn and the intensely moving procession from the church, proving that the chorus is one of the great musical gems of Bulgaria, admirably led by Voleta Dimitrova. A sign of the future was in the marvelous singing of the Children’s Choir of Bulgarian Radio, and among the highlights of the whole evening.
For Plamen Kartalov’s second episode of this double bill of verismo operas, the sets of Pagliacci were dominated by the setting of several framework structures upon which the circus tent would hang and recreate the clowns’ dressing room. The finest singing of the whole evening, as it was in the first opera, was the Canio of Jorge de Leon, whose ‘Vesti la giubba’ was outstanding in its emotional sensitivity. This was matched by his ‘La commedia è finita!’ at the close. His singing was equalled by the superb characterization and singing of the Georgian soprano Nino Machaidze – she was Nedda – performing as if the role belonged to her, her exquisite beauty of tone in ‘Stridono lassu’ was enhanced gracefully by the accompanying birdsong from the surrounding garden. She was awe-inspiring in the impassioned duet with the Silvio of Atanas Mladenov, in a passage gracefully accompanied by a cello. The opening prologo, ‘Si puo? Si puo? …Signore! Signore! …Un nido di memorie’ by Mladenov presented another complete portrayal. As he was in the first opera earlier, Burdenko gave an excellent portrayal of Tonio in assuming this complex role. The Beppe of Giuseppe Infantino was another highlight of the show.
The orchestra played in the space in front of the stage though behind a pathway which brought the audience close to the action. Led by Daniel Oren, the orchestral playing was magnificent, especially in the quieter passages, allowing the sensitive emotions of the opera to be heard. In any open-air venue, there are interruptions from bird calls around the cathedral and occasional traffic nearby, but they had no effect on the enjoyment of the opera, and at times, in the case of the birdsong, it embellished the singing. This production was a joint project with the opera theatres of Modena, Piacenza, and Rimini. It was supported by the Sofia Municipality, and it was good to see the Mayor of Sofia, Mr. Vasil Terziev, attend the performance – something that doesn’t always happen in European theatres. This was a tremendous evening well supported by the Sofia public. The Opera on the Square event runs concurrently with the festival Muses on the Water at Pancherovo Lake outside the city.
Gregor Tassie
Featured Image: Plamen Kartalov’s Opera of the Square Cavalleria rusticana
Production:
Director – Plamen Kartalov
Scenographer – Giacomo Andrico
Costume designer – Nella Stoyanova
Lighting designer – Stefano Mazzanti
Assistant director – Vera Beleva
Chorus director – Violeta Dimitrova
Children’s Chorus director – Veneza Karamanova, Michaela Koteva
Sound- Plamen Yordanov
Cavalleria rusticana
Santuzza – Gerghana Rusekova
Mama Lucia – Vesela Yaneva
Alfio – Roman Burdenko
Turridu – Jorge de Leon
Lola – Tsveta Sarambelieva
Pagliacci
Canio – Jorge de Leon
Tonio – Roman Burdenko
Silvio – Atanas Mladenov
Nedda – Nino Machaidze
Beppe – Giuseppe Infantino