The 71st Split Summer Festival marks the 130th anniversary of the birth of two significant music figures from Split, Ivo Tijardović and Jakov Gotovac. The theme of questioning the idea of leadership and the cult of personality connects two major premieres: Tijardović's opera Diocletian and Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. The role of a writer in contemporary society is explored in another drama premiere, The Fox by Dubravka Ugrešić. At the same time, the dance program features two premieres: a neo-classical choreographic work by Denis Matvienko and a contemporary dance performance by Maša Kolar. The music program culminates with performances by five major orchestras. This edition of the Split Summer Festival will also promote a new stage venue in the very heart of the ancient city, near the eastern Silver Gate of Diocletian's Palace.
The festival opens with the premiere of Ivo Tijardović's opera Diocletian. Grandiose and magnificent, like the palace built by one of the most extraordinary Roman emperors, this opera has never been fully staged. Under the baton of Maestro Hari Zlodre and directed by Ivan Leo Lemo, the first three acts, depicting the founder of Split, will be performed at the Croatian National Theatre Split, concluding at Peristyle. We follow Diocletian from his early military days to his ascension to the imperial throne, his reign, and ultimately his retirement. The imperial square, a stage for numerous grand operatic and dramatic productions in the festival's history, will play "itself" for the first time.
The drama program presents two premieres. On a new stage near the Silver Gate of the palace of the great Roman emperor, acclaimed Albanian director Qëndrim Rijani will stage Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, a tale of political intrigue and moral dilemmas that paved the way for the end of the Roman Republic and the establishment of the Empire. Dubravka Ugrešić's novel The Fox, a complex story about storytelling, identity, and the writer's role in contemporary society, which explores the boundaries between fiction and reality, will come to life under the direction and dramatisation of Ivica Buljan.
The ballet premiere Chopiniana and Walpurgis Night by the Ballet of the Croatian National Theatre Split will enrich the stage at the Marjan cove Bene with the magic of ballet this summer. The gentle, lyrical music of Chopin and the passionate dance whirlwinds from Gounod's mystical Faust will come together in a unique ballet evening through the classical choreographic language of Denis Matvienko, accompanied by the Orchestra of the Croatian National Theatre Split under the direction of maestro Mihail Sinkevič. In the Cellars of Diocletian's Palace, choreographer Maša Kolar's Othello will transport us into worlds of unpredictable boundaries between dreams and nightmares, ideals and their fall, good and evil, and the internal and external struggles of its protagonists.
The most performed and beloved Croatian opera, Ero the Joker by Jakov Gotovac, will once again come to life at its "birthplace" in Vrlika and on the new, yet traditional, stage at Bene. Laughter and Tears of Old Split, the longest-running current festival play, will once again be performed by the Croatian National Theatre Split's drama ensemble at Sustipan, on "Juda’s meadow," where the characters of this unique drama are buried. Marulić's Judith will be seen again near the church of St. Jerome on the southern slopes of Marjan.
Peristyle will also host the reprise of Puccini's successful production of Tosca, conducted by maestro Sinkevič and directed by Goran Golovko. Performances by five major orchestras, including the Croatian National Theatre Split Orchestra, HRT Symphony Orchestra, Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, Macedonian National Jazz Orchestra, and the Orchestra of the Croatian Armed Forces, as well as the LADO ensemble and numerous smaller ensembles, will highlight the music program.
In addition, there will be numerous reprises and guest performances in the drama program, such as O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night, monodramas Records from Hard Times by Trpimir Jurkić, Snowdrop by Lana Barić, and The Rest of My Life by Lada Bonacci, along with Dalmatian Cuisine by Hrvoje Korbar and Shakespeare's Hamlet directed by Ivan Leo Lemo.
Visual art exhibitions, film screenings, and literary evenings will complement the offerings of the Split Summer Festival, which has been the central cultural event in Dalmatia for 71 years.