Rousse State Opera
Encyclopedia
History
Founded in 1949, the Rousse (or Ruse) Opera Theatre is the inheritor of the Rousse Opera Society (created in 1914), which makes it one of the oldest state cultural institutions in BulgariaBulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. The staff of schooled singers, the monolithic choir, the ballet, and the instrumental culture of the orchestra have a professional interpretative maturity in different styles. The house repertoire ranges from the classics — Mozart through Verdi and Puccini — to Stravinsky and Shostakovich, and in all encompasses 195 different works for the stage, some of them having received their Bulgarian premieres in Ruse.
Over the years numerous famous singers have sung on the Ruse opera stage: Elena Nikolai, Todor Mazarov, Nicolai Ghiaurov
Nicolai Ghiaurov
Nicolai Ghiaurov was a Bulgarian opera singer and one of the most famous bass singers of the postwar period. He was admired for his powerful, sumptuous voice, and was particularly associated with roles of Verdi.Ghiaurov married the Italian soprano Mirella Freni in 1978...
, Raina Kabaivanska
Raina Kabaivanska
Raina Kabaivanska is a Bulgarian opera singer, one of the leading lyrico-spinto sopranos of her generation, particularly associated with Verdi and Puccini, although she sang a wide range of roles....
, Nicola Giuselev, Anna Tomowa-Sintow
Anna Tomowa-Sintow
Anna Tomowa-Sintow is a Bulgarian soprano who has sung to great acclaim in all the major opera houses around the world in a repertoire that includes Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, and Strauss. She enjoyed a particularly close professional relationship with conductor Herbert von Karajan...
, Ghena Dimitrova
Ghena Dimitrova
Ghena Dimitrova was a Bulgarian operatic soprano. Her voice was known for its power and extension used in operatic roles such as Turandot in a career spanning four decades.-Early career:...
, Stefka Evstatieva
Stefka Evstatieva
Stefka Evstatieva is a Bulgarian operatic soprano. Born in Ruse, she studied voice at the State Academy of Music in Sofia with Elena Kisselova. She began her career with the Ruse Opera where she made her debut as Amelia in Un ballo in maschera and sang there from 1971 to 1979...
, Orlin Anastassov, Valerie Popova, Gloria Lind, Alexandrina Milcheva, Vladimir Atlantov, Stefan Dimitrov
Stefan Dimitrov
Stefan Dimitrov was a basso opera singer. Born in the Black Sea town of Burgas, Bulgaria, he was of Greek origin. He won four international singing competitions at the very beginning of his career: those in Toulouse, the "Erkel" in Budapest, the "s’Hertogenbosch" in the Netherlands, and the...
, Ivan Konsulov, Ava Cooper, Peter Glossop, Zinaida Pali, Silvia Shash, Kaludi Kaludov, Mariana Zvetkova, Nicolae Herlia and many others. Since 1956, the company has toured in Romania and Italy, Spain, Holland, France, Ukraine, Greece, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Cyprus and Rhodes islands. Rousse Opera Theatre has also recorded a number of performances for Bulgarian Radio and for separate CD compilations.
Repertoire
- Rossini - La Gazza Ladra
- Rossini - L`Italiana in Algeri
- Rossini - Il Barbiere di Siviglia
- Puccini - Tosca
- Puccini - La Bohème
- Puccini - Madama Butterfly
- Puccini - Turandot
- Verdi - Aida
- Verdi - Ottelo
- Verdi - Nabucco
- Verdi - Rigoletto
- Verdi - Stiffelio
- Verdi - Il Trovatore
- Verdi - La Traviata
- Verdi - Un Ballo in Maschera
- Gounod - Faust
- Bizet - Carmen
- Beethoven - Fidelio
- Glinka - Ivan Sussanin
- Mozart - Don Giovanni
- Mozart - Le Nozze di Figaro
- Mozart - Bastien and Bastiena
- Mozart - Magic Flute
- Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana
- Moussorgski - Boris Godunoff
- Tschaikowski - Eugeni Onegin
- Smetana - Prodana Nevesta
- Gershwin - Blue Monday
- Gershwin - Porghi and Bess
- Saint-Saens - Samson & Dalila
- Stravinsky - Oedipus Rex
Ballet
Choreographers, such as Asen GavrilovAsen Gavrilov
Asen Gavrilov was a famous Bulgarian ballet dancer and choreographer.He was renowned by his roles in Swan Lake, Giselle and The Dragon and Yana, and by his choreography of Aida and Prince Igor. He received the award of People's Artist by his contributions to Bulgarian culture....
, Asen Manolov, Peter Loukanov, Mercedes Pavelich, Kalina Bogoeva, Antal Fodor, Giancarlo Vantagio, Alain Bernard, Oleg Danovski, Kalina Bogoeva worked here.
Opera & Philharmonic Society
Opera & Philharmonic Society Rousse was established in 1999 joining the Rousse Opera Theatre and Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra. It presents opera, ballet as well as symphony works.The Opera & Philharmonic Society has at its disposal two halls – a concert one equipped with a record studio and an Opera House. Both halls have more than 600 seats each.
The Opera & Philharmonic Society possesses technical means for producing theatrical sceneries.
General Music Director
The General Music Director of the Rousse Opera Theatre and the Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra Nayden TodorovNayden Todorov
Nayden Todorov is a Bulgarian conductor.- Positions :*Plovdiv Youth Orchestra *Vratza Philharmonic Orchestra *Sofia Festival Orchestra...
studied with Karl Osterreicher and Uros Lajovic
Uroš Lajovic
-Education:Uroš Lajovic graduated composition and conducting from the Music Academy of Ljubljana and received his master’s degree at the Music Academy in Vienna where he studied under the tuition of Hans Swarowsky. Lajovic also attended master classes at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, where he...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. He conducted major orchestras across Europe and America, as well as in Israel.
Maestro Todorov was a resident conductor of the Israel Northern Symphony in Haifa. In 1997 he organized the First festival "Thracia Summer".
Nayden Todorov
Nayden Todorov
Nayden Todorov is a Bulgarian conductor.- Positions :*Plovdiv Youth Orchestra *Vratza Philharmonic Orchestra *Sofia Festival Orchestra...
has recorded over a hundred compact discs for Naxos Records
Naxos Records
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
, Balkanton, RENT Music, MMO, Danacord, IMI and Hungaroton and has also created several music productions for various radio and TV stations. In addition he is the Principal Guest Conductor of the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra.