ISTANBUL

Over 2,000 people applauded a performance of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca staged by the Sofia Opera and Ballet at the Ataturk Cultural Centre in Istanbul on Saturday.

The event was a highlight of the Sofia Opera and Ballet's gala tour, themed "Bulgaria Congratulates Türkiye: Happy Centenary of the Republic!" Bulgarian News Agency reported.

The Bulgarian and Turkish national anthems played in unison as the performance began amid cheering by the attendees of the event.

Türkiye's Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said in a statement that he "wholeheartedly congratulates the team of the Sofia Opera and Ballet, who made the production a reality."

Notable attendees included business representatives such as Chairman of Türkiye-Bulgaria Business Council Zeki Saribekir, Chairman of the Bulgarian Turkish Chamber of Commerce and Industry Governing Board Burhan Nemutlu, members of the Bulgarian community led by Dimitar Yotef, and Consul General of Bulgaria in Istanbul Vassil Valchev.

Bulgarian Ambassador to Türkiye Angel Cholakov welcomed the guests and noted that the selection of this opera is connected to the founder of the Republic of Türkiye, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Cholakov described Ataturk as a "great statesman, visionary, reformer, and friend of Bulgaria, who also had a deep appreciation for opera."

The money earned from the event will go to those affected by the Feb. 6 earthquakes, called the "Disaster of the Century," with Kahramanmaras as the epicenter.

The tour, under the auspices of the first ladies of Bulgaria and Türkiye, Desislava Radeva and Emine Erdogan, respectively, is a symbolic journey through time, following Ataturk's cultural legacy in Sofia.

One of Ataturk’s favorite operas

"Floria Tosca" role was performed by Radostina Nikolaeva, "Mario Cavaradossi" by Kostadin Andreev, and "Baron Scarpia" by Ionut Pascu in the opera directed by Plamen Kartalov.

The opera's musical direction is led by Sunay Muratov, a dual citizen of Bulgaria and Türkiye.

Tosca, one of Ataturk's favorite operas, was frequently attended by him during his tenure as a military attache in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, from 1913 to 1915.