The Sofia Opera hosts an International Opera Europe forum from March 22nd to March 24th. The Forum will gather in the opera 87 directors and various representatives of major opera theaters from Europe, America and Canada.

Nicholas Payne, Director of Opera Europe, writes about the forum in Sofia:

"Bulgaria is the President of the EU Council in the first six months of 2018. It is therefore very appropriate time for the first event of Opera Europe to be on the Bulgarian territory. The Sofia Opera under the stable and visionary leadership of Plamen Kartalov is a longtime member of our association and we are glad to accept the invitation to visit this wonderful capital.

This International United Forum offers the opportunity for four of our specialized groups to interact and share experiences and ideas on key issues related to the implementation of the change in the Opera Theater's leadership. We will also take advantage of their collective experience to refine our practice of setting goals for evaluating and achieving certain results.

On the last day there will be a special excursion to the magnificent historic Rila Monastery hidden in the mountainous area south of Sofia, where we will enjoy the proverbial hospitality of the monks who live there.

Collecting professionals from Business and Finance, Human Resources, Marketing and Communications and Technique and Production to discuss common issues and solutions, including the use of Benchmarking (Quality Assessment of Policies, Products, programs, strategies, etc. of an organization and comparing them with standard results or similar evaluations of other similar organizations) tools to promote public growth and revenue, productivity and collaboration.

Although we had successful joint meetings in Warsaw in 2008 and Seville in 2013, this is the first meeting involving four specialized forums: Business and Finance, Human Resources, Marketing and Communications, and Technique and Production. Their interaction allows a constructive dialogue on practical issues that affect most member organizations. This time the focus will be on "Change Management" and "Leadership", which will benefit everyone involved. "

The International Forum opens on March 22 with the most famous Bulgarian opera "The Younin Nine Brothers" by Lyubomir Pipkov, as the work combines many topical issues. Pipkov says, "With a mythological storyline amidst a medieval story, I solve modern tasks."

In May, our National Opera will perform on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow with the opera "The Yanini Nine Brothers".

On 23 March, the guests of the united forum "Opera Europe" will be able to enjoy the performance of the soloists of the opera "Lakmé" by Leo Delibes - a difficult and rarely performed opera on the world stage.