Die Walküre - Festival diaries, Sofia Opera WAGNER Festival 2024

Sofia Opera WAGNER Festival - 13 - 23 june 2024
Die Walküre - Festival diaries

conductor - Evan-Alexis Christ
stage director - Plamen Kartaloff

English below:

Вълнуваща втора вечер на тетралогията „Пръстенът на нибелунга“ ❤️ „Валкюра“ възпламени публиката
„Валкюра“ е всичко! Тя е музика, театър, екстремни ситуации, сюблимни моменти, магична визия, изваяна режисура, съвършена интерпретация на солисти и оркестър.
Абсолютен триумф за солисти, оркестър, диригент и режисьор!
➡️ Научете повече от нашите Фестивални дневници: https://www.operasofia.bg/.../valnuva....
➡️ Последни билети за следващите спектакли: https://www.operasofia.bg/repertoire/...

A THRILLING SECOND NIGHT OF THE “DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN” TETRALOGY
„Die Walküre“ set the audience on fire

For the third time in a row, festive fanfares heralded the start of the Wagner evening at the Sofia Opera. Everybody was impatiently waiting to see „Die Walküre“.

Just a month ago, this performance left the audience in Skopje in awe while the beginning of the opera season in October the previous year was marked with the huge success at the Festival theater in Füssen where „Die Walküre“ was shown as well.

Wagnerians from Portugal were present in the hall again as well as special guests from Scotland, Brazil, USA and Croatia, music critics and journalists from foreign media.

„Die Walküre“ is Plamen Kartaloff’s masterpiece: a true creation of beauty, an expression of Kartalff’s love towards art and creating it. The director’s decisions present the story as if it’s shown in a movie theater and bring it to life while paying attention to the tiniest of details.

The enormous energy on stage spread throughout the entire hall and the magical feeling overcame the audience, from the first to the last row. A storm of passion and emotions exalted the viewers: an incredible spiritual ecstasy. The famous “Ride of the Valkyries” drew a huge admiration from the audience while the red horses were masterfully managed by specially prepared ballet dancers under the choreography of Riolina Topalova.

The orchestra and the conductor Evan-Alexis Christ were passionately applauded. They showed incredible mastery of their craft and were fully devoted to the performance. Orchestra and conductor formed a whole with the exceptional performance by lead singers Aris Argiris (Wotan), Tsvetana Bandalovska (Sieglinde), Martin Iliev (Siegmund), Gergana Rusekova (Brunhilde), Bjartni Thor Christinson (Hunding) and the eight Valkyries Stanislava Momekova, Silviya Teneva, Lyubov Metodieva, Ina Petrova, Elena Mehandjiyska, Vessela Yaneva, Tsveta Sarambelieva and Alexandrina Stoyanova-Andreeva.

Scenography was done by Hans Kudlich, costumes: by Hristiyana Zorbalieva, lighting was handled by Andrei Heidinyak and the new multimedia touches crafted by Elena Shopova made the stage look even more beautiful. Assistant-director Yuliya Krasteva’s enormous efforts must also be acknowledged: she was in charge of the long rehearsal process for the entire “Ring”, employing her inherent skill and precision.