A gala concert conducted by maestro Pier Giorgio Morandi opened Opera Gala Week at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. A prelude to the upcoming Zagreb Opera Festival, with productions from Maribor, Belgrade, Warsaw and Mallorca, Opera Gala Week gives audiences a taste of what they can expect later in the year.
As a curtain-raiser, Pier Giorgio Morandi conducted renowned baritone Željko Lučić, soloists Lana Kos, Marija Kuhar Šoša, Sofija Petrović and Stjepan Franetović, as well as the HNK Opera Orchestra in Zagreb, for crowd-pleasing pieces from Madame Butterfly and Carmen, among others.
Opera Gala Week continues this Wednesday, June 12, with a free performance by scholars and soloists of the Opera Studio in the theatre foyer at 5pm.
Before this week’s event, Intendant of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, Iva Hraste-Sočo, represented Opera Europe at the World Opera Forum in Los Angeles. More than 500 participants from 33 countries on six continents – intendants, directors and producers – shared ideas on contemporary developments in the opera industry.
Opera Gala Week, Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, Trg Republike Hrvatske 15. Scholarship performance, 5pm, Wednesday, June 12. Admission free.