I love the opera and have been lucky enough to see opera in a lot of different places around the world. I was looking for an opera in a new country and my research led me to Opera on the Sanctuary at Beglik Tash in Bulgaria.
I didn’t have many countries in Europe left to visit, but Bulgaria was one of them, so I started to look at options for the opera there. Initially I looked at the capital, Sofia, but then I came across something a little bit different, Opera on the Sanctuary.
I have attended open air theatre events before, but never an open air opera, so here was the chance for me to experience something new.
Opera on the Sanctuary takes place at Beglik Tash on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. It is a relatively new event, this was the 6th Opera on the Sanctuary Festival with the performance of a different opera every Saturday in August. I hadn’t seen Rigoletto for more than 25 years, so I decided that would be a good opera to get a ticket for.
My first challenge had been to buy a ticket. Beglik Tash is near the resort of Primorsko and this is a Black Sea resort that mainly receives local tourists, the overseas tourists tend to go further up the coast. Certainly, I could not find any packages that included a hotel in Primorsko. This meant that they don’t generally expect foreign tourists to attend the opera festival at Beglik Tash and so it’s difficult to buy a ticket if you’re not Bulgarian.
I emailed the opera house in Burgas who organise the event to see if there was any way I could get a ticket and luckily one of the staff said she would reserve a ticket for me. I wasn’t entirely sure that this would work, but I emailed again a week before the performance and was told the ticket had been reserved for me to collect on the evening of the performance.
Beglik Tash is about 5km north of Primorsko on the wooded Maslen Cape at Strandzha Mountain. Beglik Tash is a megalithic rock Thracian Sanctuary, the largest sanctuary left by the Thracians on the southern Black Sea coast in Bulgaria. Archaeologists believe it was built in the 14th century BC. This sanctuary comprises of stones arranged in a circle on a rock surface and was likely used as a sundial, a calendar and a temple. The sanctuary was believed to be magical, where the ancient Thracians paid their respects to their god, the Sun and their goddess, the Mother.
I got a taxi to Beglik Tash well ahead of time so that I could explore the sanctuary before the performance began. I hate getting taxis, but it’s difficult to walk to Beglik Tash, not only does it take almost an hour and a half from Primorsko, it’s along a narrow road first through the sand dunes and then through the wood with no pavement to walk on. Not an ideal hike.
The taxi driver dropped me at the gate and told me I had to walk. It took me a good 20 minutes to walk through the woods to get to the site of Beglik Tash.
The chairs were already set out for the opera, but the site of Beglik Tash was still officially open to the public to look around, so I went to explore.
Beglik Tash is located in forest territory which was part of the hunting residence of the former communist head of state until 1989 and wasn’t discovered by archaeologists until 2003.
The rocks and stones of various sizes have been arranged into a labyrinth of rock corridors. A person with a pure and intact soul is able to pass through this labyrinth, known as the Path of Trial. I walked around the sanctuary without a problem, although I’m not entirely sure that I followed the correct path.
The rocks representing the Sun and the Mother have carved grooves on them where the Thracians would pour the ritual liquids of wine, milk, olive oil and water.
I came to one part of the sanctuary where it said the stones were aligned so that sunlight could pass through at midday and there was also a set of stones arranged in a circle to represent a sun clock.
After my exploration I headed back to the seating area and tried to work out how to get my ticket. The entrance booth remained closed, so I took a seat and waited for it to open. I was spotted by staff who asked me for my ticket and I tried to explain that I didn’t have a ticket, but I had reserved one by email from England. The lady asked me my name and recognised it because she had been emailing me and they had reserved me a seat on the front row right in the middle.
I was thrilled with my seat. I had a great view. Despite the heat during the day, it was a lot cooler at night, so I was pleased I had brought a cardigan to cover my arms, it made it much more comfortable for me.
The light was now fading, the orchestra took their place, the opera was about to begin. There was a screen set up to the side of the stage for subtitles, but they were only in Bulgarian. However, I wasn’t too concerned about that, I knew the story of Rigoletto and the fact that the subtitles were in a language I didn’t understand and in the Cyrillic alphabet which I can’t read very well, meant that I had no distractions taking my eyes away from the stage.
There was a stage on the rocks where the first act took place. The rocks behind the stage were lit up with a projection of windows against them, so that it looked like the performers were in a palace. I was very impressed.
I settled into the opera, enjoying the music, taking the occasional sip of wine. I loved the open air performance and the mystical venue really added to the atmosphere.
If the lighting for the first act was impressive, there were audible gasps as the stage lit up for the second act. This time the performers had moved away from the stage and were performing on an area on the rocks themselves. One of the rocks was lit up to look like a cottage, it was very clever.
There was a short interval and then the opera continued. The third act took place back on the built stage in the palace.
Then came the final act on the flat area of rocks. The scene had changed and the rocks were lit up to represent another house and a woodland stream. Together with the sublime performance, it was mesmerising.
I hadn’t seen Rigoletto for more than 25 years, so I don’t remember much about that performance, but this one was amazing. The orchestra were very good and the opera singers who took the main parts were all excellent. What really set this apart was the open air setting at Beglik Tash, the performers amongst the mysterious rocks, hauntingly lit to represent the scene especially in the second and final acts. It had been well worth attending.
Now I had to try and get back to my hotel. I had toyed with the idea of walking back, even if it was going to take me over an hour, but I decided it would be too dangerous because it was a narrow road with no footpaths. There would be a lot of cars driving along it after the opera and I was worried I might get run over in the dark. I rang for a taxi, but I wasn’t sure when it would turn up.
One of the parking attendants was very nice to me, told me where to stand to wait for my taxi, out of the way of all the cars as they drove off the sanctuary. As I watched the cars departing, a vehicle pulled up with two ladies in it. The driver spoke English and asked if I would like a lift back to Primorsko. I gratefully accepted her offer.
She explained that she lived in London, but was from Bulgaria and came back every summer with her son. She said that she and her friends had got the last four tickets for the opera tonight and they had thoroughly enjoyed it too. Two of her friends had stayed behind with the cast, but she and her companion in the car were going to a club somewhere outside Primorsko. She invited me along, but I declined, I didn’t want to be even further away from my hotel than I had been at the sanctuary.
As the road from Beglik Tash comes into Primorsko, my hotel was located just around the corner, so I asked to be dropped off there, although I would have been happy with anywhere in Primorsko.
The road from the sanctuary is narrow and we didn’t pass a taxi as we drove back to Primorsko, so I suspect the taxi company never sent one for me. As a last resort, I could have walked, but as I said my goodbyes to the ladies who had given me a lift, I was very thankful for the kindness of strangers.
If you enjoy opera, want to try something a little bit different and are up for an adventure, I would thoroughly recommend Opera on the Sanctuary. I’m sure there will be another set of operas performed in August 2026 on the mystical rocks at Strandzha Mountain.
I travelled to Beglik Tash in August 2025.
Beglik Tash is located near Primorsko on the Black Sea Coast of Bulgaria.
Tickets for the performance of Rigoletto at Opera on the Sanctuary cost 60 Bulgarian leva, approximately £25. You can reserve a ticket by emailing Burgas Opera House if you do not have a Bulgarian mobile number.
I stayed at the Plamena Palace at the northern end of Primorsko near the sand dunes. I booked my room through Booking.com. A double room with a balcony and breakfast included cost £83 per night.
I travelled to Primorsko by bus from Sofia Central Bus Station. The bus journey takes around 6 hours with one stop. I travelled to Primorsko with the coach company Union Ivkoni. I booked my ticket direct online. The return ticket cost £34.
I travelled to Sofia in Bulgaria with Lufthansa via Germany. I booked direct with Lufthansa. The flight cost £283 including hold luggage.
I stayed at the excellent Art Hotel 158 in Sofia. I booked through Hotels.com. A double room costs £46 per night.
