site.btaSofia Opera and Ballet to Stage Strauss's Elektra in South Korea

Sofia Opera and Ballet (SOB) is going on tour in South Korea with Richard Strauss's opera Elektra during the Daegu International Opera Festival, the SOB said on Thursday. The opera, directed by Plamen Kartalov, will be staged on October 20 and 21.

The cast includes Gergana Rusekova, Mariana Tsvetkova, Liliya Kehayova, Diana Lamar, Radostina Nikolaeva, Tsvetana Bandalovska, Daniel Ostretsov, Atanas Mladenov and Vesselin Mihailov. They will be joined by Korean singers. The conductor of the opera is Evan-Alexis Christ. The set design is done by Sven Jonke.

"It is a great honour for the Sofia Opera and Ballet to present one of its productions on the stage of the Daegu Opera House as part of the programme of this prestigious opera festival, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary”, Kartalov said. He added that this is SOB’s third production in collaboration with artist Sven Jonke, following Percival by Richard Wagner and Yana’s Nine Brothers by Lyubomir Pipkov. Kartalov pointed out that an innovative approach has been used once again, which gave him the opportunity to make the most of the set and create an impactful performance.

A collaboration between the Sofia Opera and Ballet and the Daegu Opera House began in 2022 when Plamen Kartalov was invited to stage Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot in Daegu. In 2023, a Korean production team premiered Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly at the Opera of the Peaks - Belogradchik Rocks Festival, the SOB recalled. This cultural exchange will continue with the premiere of Madama Butterfly on November 17 in Sofia.

On December 15, 16, and 17, young Korean singers will perform in Puccini’s opera La Boheme in Sofia.