State Opera Bourgas
Black Sea opera company staging opera, ballet, operetta and symphony concerts in its own hall.
Opera in Burgas began with an amateur staging of Verdi's La traviata on 25 June 1955, mounted by local musicians and actors. After thirty-six further productions of opera, operetta and ballet the company was taken into state ownership in 1972 under its first director, Lilyana Zhablenska. It later merged with the city's symphony orchestra, an institution that had held state status since 1947, so that the house today combines an opera and ballet company with a full symphonic ensemble.
The company performs in the Opera Hall on Kliment Ohridski Street, with chamber concerts in the foyer, and tours widely to other Bulgarian towns and to the Black Sea resorts in summer. Its repertoire covers the standard Italian and French operas, operetta, classical ballet, musicals and a regular strand of works for children. The orchestra also gives symphony concerts of its own, and the opera takes part in Burgas festivals including the Emil Tchakarov cycle.
Highlights
- Opera, ballet, operetta and symphony concerts under one roof
- Company traced to an amateur La traviata staged in 1955
- Regular children's matinees and chamber concerts in the foyer
- Touring programme across Bulgaria and the Black Sea coast
