Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

January 29 - the date of the first children's operetta performance in Bulgaria in 1882

Sliven Municipality
Photo: Stoyan Radev

On today's date, January 29, back in 1882, the first performance of a children's operetta in Bulgaria was shown in the town of Sliven, the Sliven-based library "Zora" announced. At that time, this musical genre was little known in Bulgaria. 

The idea came from Yosif Kalomati - a Bulgarian-French composer and pedagogue, the first music teacher with specialized music education at the Sliven Boys' High School. He chose the French operetta Royal Dindon by Luigi Bordese, a popular composer of children's music in the 19th century. The performance featured the choir and orchestra of the Men's High School.

The show passed "with great success, reaching the rank of a cultural event", the newspapers of that era wrote.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Bobby Ivanchev - ''Na Tvoya Strana''

We have known Bobby Ivanchev since the 1990s as part of Duet Avenue, which gave a number of music hits to contemporary Bulgarian music, such as "Zhiveli Li Sme Nyakoga Predi/Have We Ever Lived Before", "Byagstvo/Escape" and others. In addition to being..

published on 1/30/25 1:05 PM

"Saracta" - a dive into the mysticism of the Proto-Bulgarians

Today we go on a journey through time with Saracta - the daring musical adventure of producers Fabrizio Parisi and The Editor. This time a legendary name in Bulgarian music has joined the challenge - Gospodin Gospodinov-Geppy . With this project he..

published on 1/29/25 3:40 PM

Milen Kirov and his music – an exciting blend of classical music and “peasant funk”

“Where is my “at home”? seems to be a question the answer to which is only logical. “Where I was born.” But anyone can feel at home anywhere in the world – that is something pianist Milen Kirov has experienced himself. He has divided his time during..

published on 1/28/25 2:12 PM