site.btaTwo Italian Operas Directed by Plamen Kartaloff Achieve Great Success in Modena

Two shows directed by Plamen Kartaloff had very successful premieres at Teatro Comunale Pavarotti-Freni in the Italian city of Modena on Thursday night, the Sofia Opera and Ballet House (SOBH) reported.

After more than 10 years of absence from the programme of the theatre in Modena, Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, the most popular pair of operatic verismo, returned as a new international co-production of SOBH with the opera theatres in Modena, Piacenza and Rimini. The two operas are directed by SOBH Manager Plamen Kartaloff. The project also involves conductor Aldo Sisillo, set designer Giacomo Andrico, costume designer Nela Stoyanova and assistant director Vera Beleva. The shows were performed with Orchestra dell'Emilia-Romagna Arturo Toscanini and the Modena opera choir.

The two one-act operas feature international soloists. The list includes Teresa Romano, Valentina Boi, Fabian Veloz, Ernesto Petti, Angelo Villari, Amadi Lagha, Eleonora Filipponi, Francesca Cucuzza, Daniela Schillaci, Marina Shakhdinarova, Giuseppe Infantino and Hae Kang.

Franco Silvestri, President of ARIACS, the association of Italian agents of concert and opera artists, said after the double premiere that Director Kartaloff's concept presents the Italian regions of Calabria and Sicily in an authentic way and captures the spirit of the two verismo operas. Brightness, which is a good way to present Southern Italy, finally came to Italian theatres after many dark productions, Silvestri commented. It was a great success crowned by 10 minutes of applause and ovation, he added.

Raina Kabaivanska, the Bulgarian opera star of Milan's La Scala who turned 90 last December, was in the theatre and expressed her joy with the shows. Giuseppe Infantino and Hae Kang, who sing in the two operas, are her students.

Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci will be performed in Modena again over the weekend, March 22-23. The international co-production of the two operas will be presented in Sofia in the 2025/2026 season.