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Culture
Sofia certainly takes culture seriously, although, during summer, its pre-eminence is closely rivalled by neighbouring Plovdiv or Varna. In keeping with European tradition, Sofians enjoy ballet, opera and theatre. These are of such high quality and low price, visitors are advised to have a look, despite language difficulties. The city’s official arts centre, Natsionalen Dvorets na Kulturata or National Palace of Culture (NDK), 1 Ploshtad Bulgaria, Yuzhen Park (tel: (02) 9166 2300; website: www.ndk.bg), is a colossal modern structure incorporating concert halls, exhibition spaces, congress facilities and the Lumière Cinema. Most major cultural events take place here. The box office is to the left of the main entrance.
Tickets to cultural events are available from the National Palace of Culture (NDK), for all major venues, or from the individual venue box offices. The English-language weekly Sofia Echo supplement, Culture Shock, and the monthly Sofia City Info Guide can provide details of ‘what’s on’.
Music: The Bulgaria Hall and Bulgaria Chamber Hall, 1 Aksakov Ulica (tel: (02) 987 7656), is the top venue symphonic concerts and boasts a showpiece pipe organ. The National Radio Orchestra is highly recommended. Sofia National Opera, 1 Vrabcha Ulica (tel: (02) 987 7011), hosts the main opera and ballet performances in one of Sofia’s most impressive buildings. The foyers, balconies and main hall are painted with scenes from various well known operas. Stefan Makedonski State Music Theatre, 3 Panayot Volov Ulica (tel: (02) 442 321), stages lighter operettas and musicals. Finally, Eastern Orthodox Church services offer a perfect opportunity to hear highly skilled choirs chanting amid incense and flickering candles.
Theatre: The theatre season runs from early October to late June. Naturally, plays are staged in Bulgarian but the high standard of the performances can make a visit to the theatre a memorable experience. Tickets cost Lv4-10. Naroden Teatar Ivan Vazov (Ivan Vazov National Theatre), 1A Vassil Levski Boulevard (tel: (02) 986 2252), is an impressive neo-classical building and home to the national theatre company. Works by eminent Bulgarians and classical writers are staged here. Sofia is famous for a sophisticated puppet tradition and it is not all geared for children – Kuklen Teatar (Central Puppet Theatre), 14 General Gurko Ulica (tel: (02) 987 3815), gives regular performances for all ages. NATFIZ (National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts), 108A Rakovski Ulica (tel: (02) 987 9862), puts on a range of experimental performances, including mime.
Dance: The Sofia National Opera, 1 Vrabcha Ulica (tel: (02) 987 7011), hosts ballet in Sofia. Arabesque is a highly regarded and excellent modern dance troupe, which usually performs at the NDK, 1 Ploshtad Bulgaria, Yuzhen Park (tel: (02) 9166 2300; website: www.ndk.bg).
Film: Sofia has a large film-going audience and has around 20 cinemas, most of which show recent foreign films, predominantly American, in their original version with Bulgarian subtitles. The best screen venue, however, is Kino Lumière, at the NDK, 1 Ploshtad Bulgaria, Yuzhen Park (tel: (02) 9166 2300; website: www.ndk.bg), and most film festival events take place here. Tickets cost about Lv5 – prices are often reduced for matinee performances. The best cinemas are Mir, 6 Denkoglu Ulica (tel: (02) 986 1135), the newly remodelled Levski, 28 Yanko Sakozov Boulevard (tel: (02) 443535), Serdika, 1 Yanjo Sakasov Ulica, close to Vassil Levski Monument (tel: (02) 431 797) and Europa Palace, 35 Alabin Ulica (tel: (02) 870 707). In addition, Dom na Kinoto, 37 Exarch Yossif Ulica (tel: (02) 980 7838), shows arthouse European films and Hollywood classics.
Cultural events: Sofia Music Weeks run through late May to late July. The programme features classical music, attracting international soloists and ensembles, as well as ballet. The International Jazz Festival takes place in November, attracting local musicians and performers from former-Yugoslavia and the ex-Soviet Union. The Music Evenings, in early-December, draw Bulgarian classical musicians. Further information on the above festivals is available from the NDK, 1 Ploshtad Bulgaria, Yuzhen Park (tel: (02) 9166 2300; website: www.ndk.bg).
Folklore festivals are popular throughout the country. Although there are no notable folk events in Sofia itself, in early August, the nearby town of Koprivshtitsa stages the Folk Music Festival, Bulgaria’s largest such event, attracting thousands of traditional singers and musicians from all over the country. Also in August, in Plovdiv, the International Folklore Festival takes place in the spectacular open-air Roman amphitheatre.
Literary Notes
Going back to ancient times, the Thracian world was best documented by the Greek author, Herodotus. In a famous passage, frequently quoted in museums throughout Bulgaria, he claimed that the Thracian population was ‘greater than that of any country in the world, except India’. Much later on, Voltaire mentions Sofia and Bulgaria in general in Candide (1759). Lamartine also cites Sofia in Le voyage a l'Orient (1832-33).
In modern literature, the central character of Julian Barnes’ political satire, The Porcupine (1992), was inspired by Bulgaria’s deposed Communist dictator, Todor Zhivkov. And Malcom Bradbury’s comic novels, Rates of Exchange (1983) and Why Come to Slaka? (1986), are based on life in Bulgaria under Communism. Written by Bulgarian intellectual, Maria Todorova, Imagining the Balkans (1997) examines the Balkans in general and what it means to live there.
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General
