Sofia Opera opened its new season with "Turandot"

The Sofia Opera opens its new season on 27 September with gala performances of "Turandot" by Giacomo Puccini,. It has been a long time since the poster of one performance has featured so many star names.

Daniel Oren is at the conductor's podium. The central part in the opera "Turandot" is performed for the first time in front of the Bulgarian audience by the Italian soprano Anna Pirozzi. She is partnered by the Spanish tenor Jorge de Leon, and another great international star - Rosa Feola - as Liu.

Music lovers will be ecstatic. It can't be otherwise when Plamen Kartalov's historic production of Turandot features so many guest singers whose names are in the posters of theatres such as the La Scala Opera house in Milan, Arena di Verona, the Metropolitan, and the Vienna State Opera. And this bouquet of astonishing voices will be under the baton of an exceptional opera conductor - Daniel Oren. Acknowledged as one of Puccini's finest connoisseurs, he is meticulous in every musical detail.

“I think Puccini was a composer who wrote everything he wanted. All the colours, all the nuances, down to the smallest he wrote them - from 5-6 times piano to 5-6 forte. He wrote everything he wanted, including giving instructions for the director. But many of us don't want to follow what Puccini wrote, everyone thinks they know better. One would say - there is nothing easier than conducting Puccini, because he wrote everything. He wrote everything he wanted, but he is one of the most difficult composers to conduct because the dimensions change," said Daniel Oren, conductor.

Italian soprano Anna Pirozzi is one of the best performers of the Turandot part in the world right now. This season alone she has already sung it in two very prestigious productions, at the Zurich Opera and at the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago. However, she is very excited just for her performance in Sofia, because this production will give her the opportunity to be close to her idol in opera.

"I love Gena Dimitrova very much. I'm her ardent fan. I studied the role of Abigaille by listening to Gena's voice. For me, she is a great singer. To be able to sing "Turandot" here in her homeland, in the same production in which she has sung many times, is a great thrill and honour for me. I cannot compare myself to her. No one can compare to her. Her voice was unique, worldwide. But I can learn from her expressiveness, how she thinks about the character. For sure at the performances Gena will be with me," Anna Pirozzi commented.

At the last minute, another famous name from the world opera elite joined the line-up - soprano Rosa Feola. Sofia audiences will hear her in the role of Liu just a month after she performed the same part at La Scala Opera house in Milan.