Bourgas Opera prima ballerina Daniela Turtumanova-Stoyanova makes her debut as Kitri in the ballet "Don Quixote" today, Monday 26 October, at 7pm, the State Opera in Bourgas said. Principal dancer Daniel Tichkov partners her as Basil.

"Don Quixote" is rarely staged in Bourgas. The Opera says it needs many performers and is technically hard.

Galina Kalcheva directs the production, with choreography by Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky. Lina Peeva and Petar Tiholov are assistant directors. Ivan Tokadzhiev's sets have a Spanish look and colours. Yana Dvoretska designed the costumes, and the Opera's wardrobe staff sewed 82 original costumes for the premiere.

Petar Tiholov also plays Don Quixote, and Francesco Pio Russo is Sancho Panza, the pair from the novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Teodor Tsakov and Raya Chakarova play Espada and Mercedes. Laya Ramon is the Queen of the Dryads, and Giulia Lezzi is Cupid.

Yana Berduta and Nanako Sato play Kitri's friends. Stoyan Fartunov is Gamache, the nobleman who tries and fails to win Kitri. Penyo Garbov is the innkeeper and Sofia Lovdzhieva the landlady. Kiril Filipov, Nayden Naydenov, Patrick Gil and Hristo Trifonov appear as toreadors. Kalina Nedelcheva and Shun Kawafune dance the Gypsy dance.

Dozens of performers are on stage. Pupils from the ballet classes of the Prof. Pancho Vladigerov National School of Music and Performing Arts in Bourgas join the Opera's ballet company in the dryad scenes and other large ensembles.

Also in the cast are Aneliya Ivanova, Ilina Konstantinova, Gergana Kozarova, Sofia Ryazanova, Ivana Fialkovska, Vasilena Todorova, Bianca-Helen Giovanelli, Haru Nakagawa, Gergana Georgieva, Polina Pasha, Maria Gabarova and Tiana Velikova. They dance in the women's ensemble with the toreadors, in the Seguidilla, in the dryads' dream in the forest, in the entrée and in the Spanish dance.

The Opera says its company is now multinational and has added new dancers, mostly men. This lets the theatre stage works with more male roles, such as "Don Quixote" and "Le Corsaire". "Le Corsaire" opened this year's Emil Chakarov summer music festival.

"Don Quixote" ran three times in summer 2022. In 2024 it opened the second Sara-Nora Prima International Ballet Competition, with winners of the 2023 contest dancing in the show. After a break of more than two years, the full ballet returned to the Summer Theatre stage in August.

The Opera says the general view of the production is that it combines passion, dynamism and emotion, with idea, music and performance in harmony. The theatre says the sets and special effects keep pace with current world trends in stage art.

Tickets for the Bourgas show are on sale at the Opera box office, at the "Chasovnika" box office, and through Grabo and Eventim.

The State Opera in Bourgas staged "The Csárdás Princess" on 20 October, with Petar Tiholov and Maria Yurkovskaya in the cast. Ivan Tokadzhiev designed the sets and Yana Dvoretska the costumes.

The Bourgas company will also take "Don Quixote" to Pleven on 29 October, at 7pm, at the Ivan Radoev Drama and Puppet Theatre.