Metropolitan Cyprian will conduct the Roman Catholic hymn “Stabat Mater”

For the second time, His Eminence Metropolitan Kyprian of Stara Zagora will conduct “Stabat Mater” by Gioacchino Rossini – on April 25 at 7 p.m. in the Opera House. The soloists Emilia Terzieva/soprano/, Petya Petrova/mezzo-soprano/, Ivaylo Yovchev/tenor/, Ivaylo Dzhurov/bass/, the choir and orchestra of the State Opera – Stara Zagora, will together present the story of suffering, grief and faith that love and beauty they always find their way to our hearts. Before the performance, there will be an Easter bazaar at the “St. St. Cosmas and Damian” Day Center in the lobby of the Opera House.

Healthy and fruitful cooperation connects the bishop and the staff of the State Opera – Stara Zagora. The pre-Easter concert of the Staro Zagora Opera in 2017 was conducted precisely by Metropolitan Cyprian – “Requiem” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and a little later it was also performed in the city of Kazanlak. On July 30, 2017, at the “Augusta Traiana” Ancient Forum, the Bishop also conducted the Festive Concert of the State Opera – Stara Zagora, dedicated to 140 years of the battles for Stara Zagora during the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation /1877-1978./ At the end of the same year, His Holiness the Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan Neophyte of Sofia was among the guests at the concert dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the enthronement of the late Metropolitan Pancratius of Stara Zagora.

In 2018, Metropolitan Cyprian also stood at the conductor’s desk for “Prayer for Stara Zagora” – a performance dedicated to 141 years of the epic battles for the city during the Russo-Turkish War and 140 years of the Liberation of Bulgaria, held at the Memorial Complex “The members of Ctapa Zagopa”.

On the great Christian feast of the Assumption – August 28, 2020, at the Ancient Forum “Augusta Traiana”, the bishop conducted the oratorio “Passion by Matthew” by Metropolitan Hilarion, for which in 2021 the Choir of the Stara Zagora Opera was awarded the “Crystal Lyre” of the Union of the Bulgarian music and dance performers in the “Choir Art” category.

September 3, 2022 was the last concert of the Staro Zagora Opera from the program of the Feasts of the Thracian Kings. The place was again on the shore of the “Koprinka” dam, near the ancient capital of the Thracians – Sevtopolis. There, Metropolitan Kyprian of Stara Zagora conducted the oratorio “Supplication” and solemn overture 1812 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

On Holy Wednesday – March 12, 2023, His Eminence Metropolitan Kyprian of Stara Zagora conducted “Stabat Mater” by Gioacchino Rossini at the State Opera-Stara Zagora.
The musical poem “The Hermit of Rila” in two acts and ten paintings was shown on May 10 and 23, 2023 on the stage of the Sofia Opera and Ballet, marking 70 years since the restoration of the Bulgarian Patriarchate. The conductor was Metropolitan Cyprian of Stara Zagora. This new large-scale spiritual work has text by Tihomir Pavlov (1937), music by the staurophorian butler Kiril Popov and orchestration by Georgi Strezov. The stage adaptation is by academician Prof. Plamen Kartalov and Vera Petrova, with the participation of a large artistic cast.

About Stabat Mater:
The Roman Catholic hymn “Stabat Mater” was created on the text of a medieval Latin poem, singing the sufferings of the Mother of Christ at the cross of the Savior. Through the numerous musical works written on the church text, the “Stabat Mater” gained wide popularity.

While traveling in Spain in 1831, Gioachino Rossini received a commission from the Councilor of State Fernandez Varela for music to the church sequence “Stabat Mater”. The following year, part of the work was ready, but health problems prevented Rossini from completing it. That’s why he also asked his friend Giovanni Tadolini to compose the remaining parts, presenting Varela the finished work. It premiered on Holy Saturday in 1833 at the Church of San Felipe el Real in Madrid. After that, this version was never performed.

After Varela’s death, the work was sold to a Parisian publisher, who published it. Rossini sought his rights to the edition and renounced this version because it also contained music by Tadolini. In the dispute that broke out, the publisher prepared a performance of “Stabat Mater” on October 31, 1841, on which, however, only the six parts written by Rossini were performed.

Meanwhile, Rossini has already sold the publishing rights. However, at the end of 1841 Rossini completed the work by replacing the parts written by Tadolini with his own music.
The Stabat Mater in its final version was first performed in Paris at the Théâtre-Italien’s Salle Ventadour on January 7, 1842. The publisher Escudier wrote: “Rossini’s name was constantly chanted along with the applause. The entire work was extremely liked by the audience, its triumph was complete. Three numbers had to be repeated… and the audience left the theater excited and filled with admiration, which soon took over all Paris”.

The Italian premiere of the work was in March in Bologna, conducted by Gaetano Donizetti. It also passes with great success. Donizetti tells of the audience’s reaction: “It is impossible to describe this enthusiasm. Even after the last rehearsal, in which Rossini himself participated, he was escorted home in the middle of the day by the rapturous cheers of more than 500 people. The same thing happened in the evening, under his window, until he reappeared before the crowd.’