site.btaAcad. Plamen Kartalov in BTA Interview: Bulgarian Opera Is Comparable to European Peaks

Bulgarian opera deserves to be elevated even higher because, with its talents, it is comparable to the peak achievements of the long European tradition, said Director of the Sofia Opera and Ballet Acad. Plamen Kartalov, who turns 75 on Friday.

In addition to his birthday on a personal level, he said that professionally he is celebrating the result of an untiring creative drive, which has provided spiritual joy and exhilaration to the audience. "This is a special moment. You draw the line to see whether the long and steep path of total commitment has been justified," Acad. Kartalov said.

According to him, there must be a clear and uncompromising vision of the role of opera art - to create new paths with unconventional ideas that are far from the routine, but also to respect the rules so as not to ruin the healthy traditions.

Acad. Kartalov pointed out that his boldest project so far has been the creation of the Wagner Festival in Bulgaria with the Sofia Opera and Ballet this summer. "We received the recognition that Bulgaria occupies a worthy place on the musical map of the world," the opera director said. He added that the festival included seven of the most significant and difficult works in the panorama of the world opera heritage.

On his birthday, the Director of the Sofia Opera and Ballet says he hopes to continue working with talented professionals fully dedicated to the art. "Personal dreams, when they take hold, become even bolder," he said.

Plamen Kartalov was born on September 15, 1948 in Dobrich, in the north-east. He graduated from the Bulgarian State Conservatory, then specialized in opera direction at the Staatsoper Dresden and at the Komische Oper Berlin, and in film direction at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts. In 1988-1990, together with opera singer Boris Christoff, he founded the Academy of Vocal Arts in Rome, where he taught acting to graduate opera singers.

Acad. Kartalov’s first term as Director of the Sofia Opera and Ballet was from 1994 to 2001. In 2007, he was reappointed, and in 2018 he was re-elected for a third consecutive term. As an opera director he has staged over 180 productions. He is also a member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

On his initiative, large-scale open-air opera productions were realized in Bulgaria - Ivaylo by Marin Goleminov and Tsar Kaloyan by Pancho Vladigerov, set on the Stage of the Ages at the historical fortress of Tsarevets in Veliko Tarnovo, the very place where the plot unfolds. In 2009 he staged for the first time on Bulgarian stage the opera Don Quixote by Massenet. Kartalov also included Concerts for Babies in the repertoire of the Sofia Opera in 2014 as a form of introducing the youngest children and their parents to the art of opera.

Acad. Plamen Kartalov's creative biography includes work with theatres in Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Serbia, Croatia, Romania, Egypt, the USA, Latin America and Australia. From 2000 to 2018, under his leadership, the Sofia Opera and Ballet toured Japan seven times.

"One of our most important tasks is to make sure the theatre is always full of audience," says Acad. Plamen Kartalov, who continues to create and implement his ideas on seven stages, three in the opera house and four outdoor festival spaces.