Zadar in the sign of music: Don't miss the grand opening of the 66th Musical Evenings at St Donatus
The start of Zadar's most significant and oldest cultural manifestation is approaching, which is also one of the longest-running musical events of its kind in Croatia - the 66th Musical Evenings at St Donatus. The grand opening will take place on Sunday, July 5th, starting at 9 PM, and will be accompanied by a live broadcast on the Third Program of the Croatian Radiotelevision.
For decades, the manifestation has successfully blended the city's historical architecture with top-tier musical performances, attracting a numerous domestic and foreign audience. The theme of this year's festival is inspired by planets, celestial phenomena, and the universe as symbols of the infinite power of human imagination. As per tradition, the open-air festival will begin at the Forum in front of Zadar's most famous symbol - the Church of St Donatus. The program will feature Planets by Gustav Holst and the first movement of John Williams' Star Wars orchestral suite, performed by the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra and the Ladies' Choir under the baton of Tomislav Fačini, alongside young actors Rita Belančić, Roza Kasalo, Luna Milanja, Riva Miočić, Ana Stilinović, Goa Šoletić, and Olivia Vukoša, who will bring the timeless thoughts from The Little Prince to life. Admission to the opening ceremony is free.
The festival will feature numerous eminent artists such as the Zagreb Soloists, Monika Leskovar and Martina Filjak, Roman Simović, Danijel Detoni in a trio with Lucija Stilinović and Yevhen Churikov, Melita Ivković and Edin Karamazov, Marco Genero and Marija Grazio, Kajana Pačko, Airi Suzuki and Boris Kusnezow, as well as the winners of the Città di Palmanova and Ferdo Livadić competitions. The early music cycle follows the idea of its vitality through contemporary interpretations by the instrumental ensemble Into the Winds, featuring a whole palette of Renaissance wind instruments, and the vocal ensemble Cappella Pratensis. The concerts titled CODA will showcase performers operating at the intersections of styles and arts. In this sense, the performance of the HRT Tamburica Orchestra will be almost historic, while the original projects A Piece of Sky by the band Mangroove and Another Sun by Maja Rivić's quintet also symbolically fit into the festival's thematic core. The festival program will be further enriched by three Dream Factory workshops dedicated to the tamburica, horn, and voice, as well as a photography exhibition by Marko Lorenzo Blaslov, which offers a retrospective of the most powerful moments from last year's festival edition.
Tickets and subscription packages (10 concerts of your own choice) are available for online purchase via the link: https://kuzd.mojekarte.hr/
Physical sales take place from Monday to Saturday at the info desk of the Providur's Palace from 11 AM to 1 PM, and at the pop-up info desk on the People's Square (Narodni trg) from 7 PM to 9 PM, until August 6th when the festival ends.
