Town in Bulgaria. It became an important cultural centre soon after the country’s liberation from Ottoman domination in 1878. Interest in visiting Italian troupes led to the foundation of a local singers’ society in 1896. The earliest attempts to create an opera theatre date from 1910. Ten years later a privately owned Khudozhestvena Opera (Artistic Opera) was organized, and in 1922 the Plovdivska Gradska Opera (Plovdiv City Opera) was formed by Russian immigrants; by 1944 the Plovdivska Oblastna Opera (Plovdiv District Opera) had been established. On 15 November 1953 the Plovdivska Narodna Opera (Plovdiv National Opera) had its official opening in the Naroden Teatar (National Theatre) with The Bartered Bride. From the very beginning the company’s profile was determined by its ensemble, which included the paired soloists Penka Koyeva and Aleksey Milkovski, Valentina Aleksandrova and Georgi Velchev, and by its varied repertory, from Die Zauberflöte, Les contes d’Hoffmann, L’heure espagnole and Adriana Lecouvreur to Kát'a Kabanová and Pipkov’s Antigona ’43. The conductors Russlan Raychev, Krasto Marev and Dimitar Manolov have also contributed to the company’s success. Opera performances alternate with drama, and are given chiefly on the stage of the Trade Union Culture House; there are three performances weekly, with three to four premières a year. The season lasts from September until July.
MAGDALENA MANOLOVA