Tickets for the programs of the 76th Festival are on sale, local sales are also open
10.02.2025.
The 76th Dubrovnik Summer Festival will be held in various site-specific locations in Dubrovnik from 10 July to 25 August. During the 47 festival days, over 70 theatre, dance, folklore and other programs will be presented to domestic and foreign audiences.
This year's exceptionally rich and varied theater program includes three big premieres, performances of successful productions from previous seasons, and further development of dynamic co-productions and site-specific concepts through various collaborations and revitalization of neglected festival venues.
The first theater premiere will be a co-production of Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Marin Držić Theatre and Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb – Goldoni's cult Le Baruffe Chiozzotte in the translation and adaptation of Morana Čale into the Dubrovnik dialect, which will be staged at the new festival location by director Krešimir Dolenčić. At the Festival, Le Baruffe Chiozzotte has already premiered in the Old City Port. Although the plot is set in a precise historical context, the focus is on the everyday lives and love relationships of fishermen and their wives, filled with jealousy, gossip and arguments. Through witty dialogues and temperamental arguments, Goldoni faithfully depicts the mentality and passions of ordinary people. The second premiere title by Steven Stone and Herta Müller, Medea, brings a contemporary and provocative reinterpretation of the ancient myth, exploring the themes of exile, revenge and social condemnation through powerful visual and emotional expression, directed by Martin Kušej. The play is a co-production of Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Croatian National Theatre in Varaždin and Slovenian National Theatre Maribor, and will be premiered at the Lovrjenac Fortress. The third premiere title, The Seagull by A.P. Chekhov, focuses on unfulfilled dreams, longing for love and conflicts between generations. The work of the famous Russian writer is entrusted to the direction of the Polish director Janusz Kica, it is set in the ambient of the island of Lokrum, and the characters will be embodied by the Festival Drama Ensemble.
Festival successes will be repeated this summer as well. Goldoni's La Bottega del Caffè, directed by Paolo Tišljarić, returns to Držić's Square, focusing on topicality, the vitality of comedy, irony, sharpness, manipulation of information... Last year's premiere blockbuster Vojnović's Equinox, directed by Krešimir Dolenčić, skillfully connects the past of individuals with the present of the collective, their memories with premonitions of the future. Shakespeare's The Thempest, directed by Slovenian director Vito Taufer, returns to the island of Lokrum, in which a vision of a new era is foreshadowed. This festival season will not be without everyone's favorite gossips from Kazerma, because Mara and Kata, an original project by Saša Božić and drama artists Nataša Dangubić and Doris Šarić Kukuljica, will feature as many as five performances. The youngest audience will have the opportunity to enjoy on the terrace of the Revelin Fortress the magical world of the play Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, one of the most famous fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, directed by Ivana Čoh, and performed by the Trešnja Municipal Theatre. The Lero Student Theatre will present its play Dreams of Lost Years, directed by Davor Mojaš. Lero's theatrical adventure, in keeping with the recognizable stage poetics of this Dubrovnik theatre, reopens and questions nostalgic and elegiac images of the region and scenes of lost, hidden and secret albums of memories inscribed in the years of those who do not forget.
Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, conducted by maestro Ivan Repušić, Ivan Goran Kovačić choir, and soprano Darija Auguštan, mezzo-soprano Martina Mikelić, and tenor Matteo Ivan Rašić will open the musical part of the Festival program, with the 100th anniversary of the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra entitled Ode to Joy, in front of the Church of St. Blaise. For a magnificent end to the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, we can expect a grand Opera Gala concert of a selected repertoire of the best opera arias, featuring one of the most brilliant sopranos of today, Nino Machaidze, Italian tenor Vittorio Grigolo, and world-renowned Croatian bass-baritone Marko Mimica, accompanied by the Croatian Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sebastian Lang Lessing.
The backbone of the Festival's musical program this year is Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, which will continue its program in the atrium of the Rector's Palace with its first concert in front of the Church of St. Blaise. The second concert, entitled Seductresses, Avengers, Heroines, will feature one of the most sought-after Croatian opera singers and the 2007 opera champion, Dubravka Šeparović Mušović, and the baton will be taken up by conductor Valentin Egel, who can boast that at the age of only 26 he became the chief conductor of the Rijeka Symphony Orchestra and the musical director of the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc in Rijeka. Under the direction of the charismatic conductor Gergely Madaras, the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra will share the festival stage in the Rector's Palace with Alina Pogostkina, a German violinist of Russian origin who performs at many of the world's most famous festivals and concert halls. As before, the musical program will be enriched by the best Croatian artists, some of whom will collaborate with foreign colleagues or create new fresh collaborations on the platform of the Festival. One of the best sopranos of today, Sonya Yoncheva, will return to the Festival from the largest international stages, and will perform her recital in Croatia for the first time. Sonya will be accompanied by the world-famous pianist and accompanist Malcolm Martineau, known for his numerous awards and performances in eminent halls around the world. One of the world's most prominent pianists of today, Khatia Buniatishvili, will be coming to Croatia for the first time, to the Dubrovnik Summer Festival. This talented Georgian pianist discovered the piano at the age of only three, had her first concert with the Tbilisi Chamber Orchestra at the age of six, and by the age of ten she was already performing abroad. This summer, The King's Singers will perform with a program called Angels and Demons, which for more than fifty years have represented the gold standard in a cappella singing on the world's largest stages. The musical program at the Palace will be enriched by the Quinta Essentia Ensemble, whose name, which signifies a focus on the deepest ethereal core of music, reveals the intention of gathering young and representative musicians specializing in the so-called historically aware performance, and their performance at the Festival this year is Il Delirio Amoroso. The most distinguished Croatian chamber ensemble, the Zagreb Soloists, represent a symbol of Croatian classical music, combining the past, present and future in every note, and will perform at the Rector's Palace with the virtuoso violinist Alexandra Conunova. There are also concerts by one of the most energetic guitar ensembles on the scene today, Trio Elogio, and the noted mezzo-soprano Ivana Srbljan, who will contribute to the musical program with the concert Las Locas por Amor. The Croatian pianist and winner of numerous renowned competitions, Jan Niković, who performed at the Festival last year, as part of the Youth for Youth donation concert, will also contribute to the musical program. The Croatian Baroque Ensemble will share the stage in the atrium of the Rector's Palace with the world-renowned violinist Fabio Biondi, marking the 25th anniversary of the Croatian Baroque Ensemble. Sitkovetsky Trio is a piano trio, also a multiple winner of numerous awards and commendations, and the program will be performed by violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky, cellist Isang Enders and pianist Wu Qian. The Youth for Youth donation concert will conclude the musical program at the Palace. It will feature the best young Croatian musicians, tenor Filip Filipović, winner of the Croatian Musical Youth Award Ivo Vuljević, and violinist Matej Mijalić, winner of the Ferdo Livadić Young Musician Award, along with chamber ensembles from the Luka Sorkočević Art School.
With the aim of developing the audience, and modeled after the great world festivals of classical music, the World Music Cycle has been launched, which will offer unique cultural and artistic experiences. We can expect a performance by the JM Jazz Orchestra, which brings together top young musicians from different countries of the world under the artistic direction of the established American trombonist, composer and pedagogue Luis Bonilla, known for his collaborations with great musical names including McCoy Tyner, Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Bowie, Tom Harrell, Phil Collins and many others. There is also a concert by the Ensemble L'arpeggiata and Christina Pluhar, who present traditional early music, and a program called Wonder Women will be performed in the atrium of the Rector's Palace. Moroccan drummer Rhani Krija and Cuban pianist Marialy Pacheco will present the Marocuba program with stunning jazz rhythms on the terrace of the Revelin Fortress, and the Marcos de Silvia Trío will also find a place, enriching the musical program with the rhythms of flamenco Alma del Duende. The Vienna Berlin Music Club, better known as the Philharmonix, is coming to Croatia for the first time. Their performances combine classical, jazz, pop and swing. The Philharmonix ensemble is composed exclusively of members of the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic, and their first violin is the concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic!
Ballet lovers will be attracted to the terrace of the Revelin Fortress by the Ballet of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb with a performance of Giselle by Adolph Adam and José Carlos Martínez, directed and choreographed by José Carlos Martínez. Giselle is considered by many to be the queen of romantic ballet; she is truly a completely unusual phenomenon within the phenomenon of classical ballet. She deserves such an attribution due to many aspects of her multifaceted complex structure, from the idea of her charismatic authors to the dramaturgy of two completely different acts and the music by Adolph Adam.
The rich Croatian folk dance and music heritage will be presented to the audience with four performances this year by the festival favorite, the Linđo Folklore Ensemble, which will perform Croatian folk songs and dances, and at this year's Festivalthey are celebrating 60th anniversary of the Linđo Folklore Ensemble.
As part of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, the musical stage work Enigma Jarnović by Ivica Kunčević and Brigita Masla Dražinić, directed by Helena Petković, will be performed in the atrium of the Rector's Palace. The Pula Film Festival - Golden Arena Winner Film in collaboration with Cinematographers Dubrovnik will traditionally be presented in the Jadran open-air cinema. Hrvoje Juvančić will present Hommage to Miše Martinović in the atrium of the Sponza Palace, and the promotion of the book Dance de luxe by Mariana Penda and Olaf Nicolai will be held in the Danče Monastery.
The program of the 76th Festival is not far behind in the art and exhibition section. We are waiting for, and we are waiting for the exhibitions Toutes les Femmes by painter Dimitrije Popović, To Margarita by painter Ivona Šimunović, Greetings to the City by academic painter Antonia Rusković, and the Women of Dubrovnik exhibition created in collaboration with the Dubrovnik Summer Festival and Dubrovnik Museums.
This year's visual identity is the work of visual communications designer Zoran Đukić, and it is based on a series of three posters. The posters feature the first, emblematic words of Gundulić's Hymn to Freedom – o lijepa, o draga, o slatka.
"By isolating the terms from the context of the poem, a layered message was created that flickers between the phrase about freedom and their literal reading. Consistent with the program framework, the posters reflect, but also question, the social patterns and narratives that have shaped the identity of women and their social position. While Gundulić allegorically thematizes the political freedom of the Republic through his characters, the posters deal with personal, primarily female, freedom – embedding it into the core of the identity of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival. In Dubravka's text, the word lijepa appears 57 times, draga 29 times, and slatka 21 times," explained designer Zoran Đukić.
