The rising of Festival’s flag on July 10th will mark the beginning of musical-scenic manifestation which will last for 47 days. This year too, VIPnet continues to be the Festival's general sponsor.This year’s first premiere is the drama ‘The Delivered’ (on July 31st) written by Tomislav Zajec and directed by Franka Perković, a director from Zagreb. The second premiere is ‘The Government Inspector’ (on August 28th), drama piece from Gogol directed by Slovenian director Jernej Lorenci.
 
'Tomislav Zajec's play The Delivered (2009) is the last part of the trilogy, which also comprises the plays Dorothy Gale (2007) and The Astronauts (2008). An assistant lecturer at the Zagreb Academy of Theatre Arts, Tomislav Zajec (Zagreb, 1972) has published three collections of poetry and four novels, and has written eight original plays. The Rescued is a story of nine people who initially meet at the moment of a car accident. Precisely a year after that, we see them facing the consequences of the accident, but also of that what they are. The play depicts a profoundly personal struggle of each individual for finding a rescue within the frame of his own life. It reveals the fact of how lonely we have been in this struggle, and of this struggle being nevertheless familiar to all of us, yet painfully the same in is essence. Franka Perković was chosen to stage this play particularly for her ability to give the crude realistic form a poetic expression, along with her well-known «gently cruel» direction style. She has also successfully directed a number of plays by younger Croatian playwrights such as Ivana Sajko and Dubravko Mihanović, and has staged several plays by Miroslav Krleža in a modern and engaged manner'.
 
The set design is done by Ivo Knezović, costumes by Marita Ćopo and music by Frano Đurović. Cast team gathers Aleksandra Stojaković, Silvio Vovk, Nataša Dangubić, Franjo Dijak, Milka Podrug Kokotović, Vlatko Dulić, Filip Juričić, Bojan Navojec and Nikša Butjer.
 
The Government Inspector by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, the founder of the modern Russian realism, is a satirical play dealing with human nature and negative instances, but it is also a comedy of characters and situations.
 
- 'Modernity is actually the main reason for including The Government Inspector in the Festival programme. In spite of the time that passed after the play's first performance, Gogol remained equally intriguing and actual ever since. He created characters that became the synonyms for human laziness, stupidity, selfishness, light-mindedness and corruption. A member of the Slovenian younger middle generation of theatre directors, Jernej Lorenci will undoubtedly explore the motifs and reasons why Gogol's characters have become «grotesque monsters» of the modern time. By exposing them, he will again reach the human core, on his deductive way from the outside towards the inside', claimed Dora Ruždjak Podolski.
 
The set design is done by Branko Hojnik, costumes by Belinda Radulović and music by Branko Rožman. Cast team gathers Vili Matula, Nina Violić, Karla Brbić, Jadranka Đokić, Sreten Mokrović, Doris Šarić – Kukuljica, Filip Nola, Robert Ugrina, Jan Kerekeš and Edvin Liverić .
 
The repeat performances will include the last year's premieres of Shakespeare's Hamlet, directed by Ivica Kunčević and Vojnović's one-act play On the Terrace, directed by Joško Juvančić, as well as the best performance in the Year of Marin Držić, The Miser, directed by Ivica Kunčević.
 
 The music program will represent the renown artists from all over the world. The program will commence with the concert of the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra and the Academic Choir 'Ivan Goran Kovačić' directed by Ivan Repušić.
On 11 July, they will perform one of the best -known classical cantatas Carmina Burana in the memory of Maestro Vjekoslav Šutej. Owing to the outstanding interpretation of this piece, Maestro Šutej became renowned worldwide. As the former Festival music programme director, Vjekoslav Šutej – who conducted Carmina Burana at the Dubrovnik Festival as well - wished the piece to become a standard Festival programme item.
Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra  and maestro  Repušić who will present Croatian soloist and guest Denis Kozuhkin, the winner of Queen Elisabeth in Belgia,  will perform the closing Festival concert on 25 August.
Among other highlights are the baroque concerts of Händel's and Vivaldi's arias with the brilliant Croatian counter-tenor Max Emanuel Cenčić – who will  make his Dubrovnik debut -, the piano recitals of Nikolai Lugansky and Boris pieces by Bellini and Puccini . Audience also expected chine  sopranos Hui He  which is performing with pianist Vesna Podrug.
 
Key music performances are also the violinist Gilles Apap with the Zagreb Soloists, an intriguing duo – Stefan Milenkovich and Edin Karamazov, the Cellomania Ensemble with Monika Leskovar and Giovanni Solima.
Maestro Repušić announced the continuation of the chamber opera tradition at the Festival, with Croatia's first class performers. The world renowned singer Giorgio Surian, the Orlando Prize winner Valentina Fijačko and the Varaždin Chamber Orchestra will perform Pergolesi's La Serva padrona and Telemann's comic cantata Der Schulmeister under the baton of Tomislav Fačini.
The other program of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival is also offering very interesting events. The Pula Film Festival will present 6 movies in corporation with Dubrovnik Cinematography. The entrance for the last movie Golden Arena Winner Film of the Pula Film Festival  is free. The visitors of Festival will be able to in joy in Painting exhibition of Josip Pino Trostmann, which is opening on July 13th in Sponza Palace Atrium.