Opera Verdi Europa, a young Bulgarian company fast gaining an impressive international reputation, will take the stage in Verdi's classic "La Traviata" on Friday, Feb. 4, at 8 p.m. at Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. A pre-concert Art to Heart discussion with Howard Kissel, the New York Daily News chief drama critic, will take place from 7 to 7:40 p.m.

A tragic tale of star-crossed lovers Violetta and Alfredo, "La Traviata" is one of the world's most famous and beloved operas. With soaring arias, precise choreography and exquisite costumes, Opera Verdi Europa will whisk audience members back to the regal salons and ballrooms of 18th-century Paris in this full-staged production. The performance will take place in the original Italian with supertitles on a screen above the stage.

Established in 1996 by Ivan Kyurkchiev, Opera Verdi is based on the great traditions of the art of opera in Bulgaria and presents unique productions combining the best of the opera worlds of its homeland and all of Europe. Performances have been co-produced by the major opera houses of Bulgaria, including the Sofia National Opera, Sofia Radio Orchestra and Mixed Choir, Plovdiv Opera and Philharmonic Society and the Stara Zagora Opera Theater, all of which have launched world-renowned opera singers. Opera Verdi has also brought its lavish productions to top venues in Bucharest, Romania; Budapest, Hungary; Chisinau, Moldavia; and Kiev, Ukraine.

A long list of distinguished conductors and choreographers - from Metodi Matakiev and Luciano di Martino and Krzyzstof Pastor and Craig Revel Horwood - is credited with the rapid artistic and professional development of the company. Its principal singers, choir, ballet and orchestra have quickly attained an interpretive maturity in many different styles.

Kyurkchiev, who directs the company through about 70 international performances a year, studied at the Teatro alla Scalla, Milan, under the legendary Giulieta Simeonato and Giuseppe di Stefano. In 1984, he became a laureate of the International Tenor Competition "Enrico Caruso" in Milan, and he has performed in such stellar venues as the Arena di Verona, the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Carnegie Hall in New York City and Teatro La Fenice in Venice.

Opera Verdi's varied repertoire reflects its excellence and versatility. Its current works feature "Otello," "Aida," "Tosca," "Rigoletto," "La Boheme" and productions of the Mozart and Verdi requiems. The company has wowed audiences with its dazzling "super-production" of "La Traviata" at the Munich Olympiahalle and a memorable open-air production of "Aida" at the unique natural stage at Castelgrande in Bellinzona, Switzerland.

Tickets are $50, $45, $40. For tickets, call the Quick Center box office at (203) 254-4010 or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396. For more information, visit www.quickcenter.com.

Posted On: 01-08-2005 10:01 AM

Volume: 37 Number: 133