The Ballet of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb enchanted the audience gathered in Gradac Park last night, 23 July with their performance of the two-part neo-romantic ballet Pride and Prejudice directed and choreographed by Leo Mujić on the basis of the eponymous Jane Austen cult classic. One more performance is on the programme tonight, 24 July at 9.30 p.m.
Last night's spectacular performance of the ballet Pride and Prejudice, directed by the exceptional and widely recognized ballet artist of a contemporary style Leo Mujić, the festival audience followed with bated breath. Ardent applause accompanied the changes in thought processes and at the end rewarded the performers alongside standing ovations – the several minutes long applause seemed to never stop. For two days Pride and Prejudice, which premiered in 2020 at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, turns Gradac Park into a lush backdrop to the story about the life of early the 19th century rural English society. Accompanied by choice music by English composers of different generations, the love story of young Elizabeth Bennet who, like her four sisters, must to marry a rich husband is placed in the foreground while their attempts to secure a decent life for themselves without losing their dignity and without sacrificing their hearts’ desires were showcased by the great Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb ballet dancer.
– Ballet is very difficult to make; it is a great, vulnerable, sophisticated, abstract form of art that deserves all respect. The life that dancers spend on stage is short, and one fragment of their life happened tonight in this phenomenal city, on this phenomenal stage. With the fantastic weather and incredible space, I have the impression that this ballet has come home – said choreographer and director Leo Mujić right after the performance.
In addition to Leo Mujić, the creative team consists of dramaturge Bálint Rauscher, who also participated in the music selection, set designer Stefano Katunar with assistant Aleksandra Ana Buković, costume designer Manuela Paladin Šabanović with assistant Mia Rejc Prajninger, lighting designer Aleksandar Čavlek and sound designer Svebor Zgurić. Assistant choreographer is Suzana Bačić, ballet master Milka Bartolović, musical director Ljudmila Šumarova, and musical accompanist Teo Visintin.
Tickets for the last festival performance of Pride and Prejudice, which is scheduled for tonight 24 July at 9.30 p.m. in the Gradac Park, are available online at the Festival’s official website https://www.dubrovnik-festival.hr/ and through the ticket service www.ulaznice.hr, as well as the Festival Palace Box Office (Od Sigurate 1), which is open every day from 9 a.m. to 9.30 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased at the venue, two hours prior to the performance. Purchases made with Mastercard® and Maestro® cards provide special benefits and discounts.