Opera Plovdiv and the Municipality of Plovdiv invite the citizens of Plovdiv and the guests of the city to the festive gala concert "The City Celebrates the Opera" on June 16 (Sunday) at Central Square with the special participation of virtuoso violinist Vasko Vassilev.

The event with free admission is the culminating finale of the celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the musical institute. The concert, featuring soloists, choir, and orchestra of Opera Plovdiv, will be conducted by Jacopo Sipari di Pescasseroli from Italy and Maestro Dian Chobanov, the director of the Opera.

The musical celebration will start at 7 PM at the Kamenitza stairs with the concert "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" performed by the children from Mrs. Opera's Academy. At 7:30 PM, from the Roman Stadium, where the photo exhibition "The Opera is Here" is located, an artistic procession of choristers, ballet dancers, and child artists will proceed to the main stage at the overpass on Gladstone Street, where the Gala concert with Vasko Vassilev will begin at 8:30 PM. Immediately after its end, the audience will also witness a dance performance by the ballet of Opera Plovdiv with excerpts from the shows "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Tomorrow After Today." All guests of the concert will be able to purchase tickets for the OPERA OPEN festival on-site with a special festive discount!

The event is modeled after numerous major European cities, where free concerts by local orchestras and opera theaters become city-wide cultural events. It is part of the annual open-air concerts "Classic Open Air" by Opera Plovdiv from the Cultural Calendar of the Municipality of Plovdiv.