site.btaSofia Opera Presents Upcoming Visit by North Macedonia's National Opera and Ballet

The Sofia Opera and Ballet presented Wednesday to the press the upcoming Sofia tour of the National Opera and Ballet of the Republic of North Macedonia. The Skopje troupe will perform Verdi's Nabucco on Friday.

The contract for artistic cooperation between the National Opera Theatres of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia is an example of fruitful exchange of ideas, projects and expansion of the repertoire access for the audiences, thanks to an exchange of visiting performers, said an address by Academician Plamen Kartalov, Director of the Sofia Opera and Ballet, that was read out during the event.

The Deputy Director of the Sofia Opera, Boris Borisov, said that the visit is the result of "the tireless efforts and wonderful relations" between Plamen Kartalov and the former director of the Skopje Opera, Vaso Ristov, who is now director of the Cultural Information Centre of the Republic of North Macedonia in Sofia. "They have built this bridge between our two theatres and we deeply hope for future joint projects, and we are confident in the success of our venture to continue the tradition of good cooperation and raising the level of operatic art in the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia", said Borisov.

"This example is a wonderful testimony of the bridge that is being created through the figures of culture of the two countries," said Agneza Rusi Popovska, Ambassador of the Republic of North Macedonia in Bulgaria.

"We are very happy to be performing in the Sofia Opera. For us, in Macedonia, the Sofia Opera is a top-notch establishment", said Oliver Arsovski, Director of the National Opera and Ballet in Skopje.

The production of Nabucco is by an Italian team, including director Renato Bonajuto, set design by Flavio Arbetti and costumes by Artemio Cabassi.