Standart News

The ambassador of Italy to Bulgaria His Excellency Stefano Benazzo treated his guests to selected Italian wines for the premiere of The Lady of the Camellias ballet performance, which is to be staged on November 13 and 14.
"Before choosing a diplomatic career, I worked as a journalist, photographer and camera man but I'm always excited over such events," the ambassador said and stressed on the role of Sofia Opera House's Director Plamen Kartalov and Ovanes Melik-Pashayev, head of Jocker Media, for the realization of this cultural project.
For a second year in a row the three men become the patrons of a performance: last year they joined efforts to stage Giacomo Puccini's opera based on David Belasco's play The Girl of the Golden West.
"This is my first visit to Sofia and I'm deeply impressed with the talent of the professionals in this country," commented French choreographer and director Irene Schneider.
"Despite that I use music from Giuseppe Verdi's best opera this is not La Traviata. The protagonist is "Marguerite Gautier" of the novel of the same name created by Alexandre Dumas, son, and first published in 1948," she explained.
The Lady of the Camellias is one of the most rarely staged performances on the world dance stages. It premiered at the Theatre du Vaudeville in Paris, France on February 2, 1852. An instant success, Giuseppe Verdi immediately set about to put the story to music. His work became the 1853 opera La Traviata with the female protagonist "Marguerite Gautier" renamed "Violetta Valery".
The Lady of the Camellias was last staged in Bulgaria 15 years ago.
Lyudmila Parvanova