STA, 23 April 2019 - The Slovenian capital will host music greats yet again this summer as the Ljubljana Festival opens its doors on 2 July. The biggest names in the line-up include Zubin Mehta, Sergei Krylov and Svetlana Zakharovna.
Before the official start, tenor Placido Domingo will conduct Verdi's momentous Requiem on 17 June. The performance will feature solos by soprano Elvira Hasanagić, tenor Arturo Chacon-Cruz and basso Roberto Tagliavini. They will be accompanied by the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra and the Chorus of the SNG Opera and Ballet Ljubljana.
A performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida, one of the most well-known and most often performed operas in history, will officially open the festival. It will be a co-production between the Ljubljana Festival, the Croatian National Theatre in Split, the Slovenian Philharmonic and the SNG Maribor. Director Dražen Siriščević is said to have included several Lipizzaners in the performance.
Special emphasis focus will be on orchestras, of which the most notable will be the closing concert of the festival by the Israeli Philharmonic, conducted by the famed Zubin Mehta, the organisers told the press on Tuesday.
Other guests include Russian prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharovna, Italian contemporary dance company Arterballetto, Turin's Teatro Regio Theatre performing Verdi's Traviata, the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra featuring Day Lin, the Seongnam Philharmonic Orchestra featuring Sergei Krylov on violin, the Munich Radio Orchestra, and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ivan Repušić.
There will be no shortage of solo performances, including by violinists Massimo Quarto and Alen Baev, flautist Massimo Mercelli and pianist Vadim Kolodenko.
The full programme, along with details of how to buy tickets, can be found on the related website, while a 132-page PDF version, in Slovene and English, can be seen or downloaded here
