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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.



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