Annals

Publication публикувана на: 24.09.2025

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1860 A town orchestra is established.

1897 The Caval Music Society is founded.

1898-1912 Military brass band, school choirs, orchestras and musical theatre groups are established.

1925 With the premiere of the opera "Gergana" by Maestro Georgi Atanasov, the only surviving and permanently active opera company outside the capital of Bulgaria is founded.

1928 The theatre grows into the District Opera - Stara Zagora with a circuit from Plovdiv to Burgas and from Veliko Tarnovo to Haskovo.

1931 The theatre is renamed the South Bulgarian Regional Opera.

1934 The troupe is renamed Stara Zagora Municipal Opera.

1942 The Municipality provides the former building of Radio Stara Zagora, opposite the City Garden (today the Department Store), for the Opera's rehearsals.

1946 The Opera House is established as a state cultural institute, the National Opera - Stara Zagora, under the direct direction and funding of the Ministry of Information and Arts.

1946-1970 The repertoire is enriched with new titles of world classics and national and world premieres of new works. "The Bartered Bride" by Al. "Carmen" by Al. Bizet, "Bohemian" by J. Alvarez, "La Carmen" by Allegro, "La Figaro" by G. A. Puccini, "Prince Igor" by Al. Borodin, "The Magic Archer" by Weber, "Masked Ball", "Don Carlos" and "Simone Bocanegra" by G. A. Borodin. Verdi, etc.

1949 A ballet troupe is formed, which also performs independent works.

1967 The December Music Days festival is launched.

1971 The new modern building of the opera house is opened. The improved technical capabilities of the stage allow the presentation of the entire wealth of opera and ballet repertoire, including visiting theatres from home and abroad.

1974 December Music Days has grown into a Festival of Opera and Ballet Art, with a National Review of Bulgarian Opera Theatres held every five years.

1971-1991 Positive reviews and awards are won by productions of Aida and Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi, The Flying Dutchman by Richard Wagner, A Midsummer Night's Dream by Benjamin Britten, Cola Brugnion by Dmitri Kabalevsky, and The Masters by Parashkev Khadzhiev, "The Nine Brothers of Janina by Lyubomir Pipkov, Ivaylo and Thracian Idols by Marin Goleminov, Tsar Kaloyan by Pancho Vladigerov and Khan Krum Yuvigi by Alexander Yossifov, the ballets The Creation of the World by Andrei Petrov, Abraxas by Werner Egk, etc.

1991 A fire burned down the auditorium and most of the Opera House foyer.

1991-1993 Performance activity is transferred to the stage of neighbouring towns and to the hall of the Syndicate House.

1993-1997 Performances are staged in the Railwayman's House.

1997-2010 Creative activity is transferred to the renovated hall of the Drama Theatre.

1999 With the performance of the opera Ernani by Giuseppe Verdi, a new open-air stage is opened - the Antique Forum Augusta Traiana.

2010 On 5 October, Stara Zagora Day, the opera house reopens with a production of Carmen.

2013 The 200th anniversary of Giuseppe Verdi's birth is celebrated with the rarely performed opera "A King for a Day".

2016 Together with the Football Club "Beroe" the "Opera at the Stadium" is launched.

2018 Together with the Puppet Theatre - Stara Zagora the project "Opera with puppets" is launched.

2018 Together with Academic Circus "Balkanski" the project "Opera in the Circus" is realized with "Pagliacci" by Ruggiero Leoncavallo.

2019 In a co-production with Deutsche Oper Berlin, the opera The African Girl by Giacomo Meyerbeer is presented.

2022-2024 Successful tours of the ballet and orchestra to prestigious venues in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium with rave reviews