Mediterranean at the Roman Forum
CROATIAN RADIOTELEVISION SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Ivan Repušić, conductor
Nela Šarić, soprano
Marta Hut, soprano
Roman Simović, violin
Branimir Pustički, cello
program: F. von Suppè, M. Ravel, B. Bersa, G. Puccini, P. Dešpalj, E. Chabrier, A. Catalani, G. Verdi, L. Delibes, J. Massenet, P. I. Tchaikovsky
The 60th anniversary of the city’s oldest music festival, Musical Evenings, begins with a decades-long traditional gala concert at the Roman Forum in front of the Church of St Donatus, with a performance by the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra along with local artistic forces: Maestro Repušić, a native of Zadar, considered the most distinguished Croatian conductor of today, who made his first musical steps at this very festival, along with two Zadar sopranos of acclaimed international careers, Nela Šarić and Marta Hut, and the honorary concertmaster of the Zadar Chamber Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra - the brilliant Roman Simović.
The program evokes the spirit of the Mediterranean, honoring both the composers’ place of origin and the inspiration drawn by artists from the southern shores of the Old Continent. Some of them, such as Suppè, Bersa, Kuljerić, and the Evenings’ founder, Pavle Dešpalj, spent a significant portion of their lives in Zadar and always retained a strong connection to our city.