The Musical Evenings at St. Donatus Begin

With Mozart's overture to the opera "The Abduction from the Seraglio" and the Haffner Symphony, the highlight of the evening is the performance of Igor Kuljerić's Pop Concert, a recent project by the HRT Symphony Orchestra and their solo trumpeter Kocelj, who recorded this concert with conductor Zajcev and won the Porin award for it.

Igor Kuljerić belongs to the cultural circle of Zadar, but his inspirations range from local, deeply rooted Glagolitic echoes to contemporary performance practices – rock, jazz, and pop.

This year's program was designed by the new artistic director, Ivana Kuljerić, who aimed to combine other forms of art with music while emphasizing tradition.

"First and foremost, there is the strong tradition of these great ensembles performing at the festival – our Zadar Chamber Orchestra, which we need to nurture like a rare and delicate plant. I am so glad we found a way for the Zadar Chamber Orchestra to perform at the festival. There are also many chamber concerts with our best Croatian ensembles, who have a great reputation and tradition. This includes the Zagreb Quartet, the Croatian Guitar Quartet, and the soloists of the Zadar Chamber Orchestra will also perform in a very interesting chamber project," said director Kuljerić.

New this year are additional concerts at a later time, at 11 p.m., with a more relaxed theme.

"I decided to keep the audience with us in some way and extend a few concerts with an additional relaxed concert in the late hours so that the audience can spend the whole evening with us. These concerts are connected to the 9 p.m. concerts in a loose yet clear way, through the instrument, the performer, or the basic idea, offering a very diverse stylistic cross-section. There will be jazz, some world music, or various types of ethnic music," she announced.

A very interesting fact is that there will be three workshops for children called "Dream Factory," conducted by top musicians, with sessions in the morning.

Kuljerić also highlighted two early music concerts. La Lyra on July 8th in St. Donatus Church embodies the humanistic ideal. This is the name of the ensemble that brings together various projects, conceived and led by a kind of lute revolutionary, Bor Zuljan, whose original and rarely heard programs, infused with improvisation, combine a creative approach with exploration, enchanting the audience with their magic and vibrancy.

The second concert is by the renowned ensemble Gli Incogniti, a group of friends gathered around violinist Amandine Beyer.

The Musical Evenings will also host the famous Zagreb Quartet, as well as the Croatian Guitar Quartet, and one evening will be dedicated to both music and dance. Flutist Ana Batinica and dancer Matea Bilosnić will present the interplay between sound, movement, and light to the music of Marin Marais.

Also not to be missed is the concert of the Zadar Chamber Orchestra conducted by Ivan Repušić. Alongside Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony, the program on July 25th includes Beethoven's Triple Concerto for violin, cello, piano, and orchestra with three attractive soloists – violinist Roman Simović, concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra, who has left an indelible mark on the orchestra and the Zadar audience through his long-standing presence and work, pianist Katja Repušić, professor at the Academy of Arts in Split, and cellist Uladzimir Sinkevich, a member of the Berlin Philharmonic. This concert will undoubtedly be highly sought after.

Tickets can be purchased through the website kuzd.mojekarte.hr, at the info desk of Providur's Palace from Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and at the concert venue one hour before the program begins. On Mondays and Sundays, tickets are sold only at the concert location.

A 50% discount on tickets is available for retirees, students, pupils, people with disabilities, and children under 12. Discounted tickets can only be obtained at the physical sales point at the Providur's Palace info desk.

Tickets can also be purchased at Petrol and Crodux gas stations (tickets bought at gas stations are printed on standard POS receipt printers).