“Dubrovnik is a true star”

Festspiele, 2005

“...celebration of music,
theatre, dance and poetry
will be held outdoors in
19 of the town's public
spaces...”
New York Times, 2005

The Magicians have been ruling the city of
players for more than fifty years. It is them
who built the city and enacted its laws! This
book belongs to them. (The wise ones
created it within six days.) It was worthwhile.
They followed the Magicians who took
possession of the streets and squares,
crept into the gardens, climbed the walls
and fortresses, occupied Sponza and even
the Rector's Palace. They crawled into the
monasteries and churches, swam to the
Islands of Supetar and Lokrum, climbed
the Mount of Sr and went down to St
The Book
of Magic
Madeleine's. They watched the sea from
DanËe, Pile and Porporela in order to build
a ship there and set sail to eternity. Reaching
for the stars. For more than a half of the
century each festival used to attract its own
star. The one leaving a unique mark on the
festival night celebrating art. The one making
the “great ones” even greater in Dubrovnik.
If you take a look at the pages of this book
an imaginary parade will open up before
you, yearning to conquer Time that never
stops. May you be our remembrance!
Ivica Prlender, Ph. D.
Festival Manager

Viπe od peset ljeta Negromanti vladaju
Njarnjas-gradom. Oni su ga zidali, oni su
mu i zakone dali! Ovo je njihov libar.
(Pometnici su ga u πest dana seli). Bilo
je lasno. Slijedili su Negromante koji su
zaposjeli place i poljane, uπuljali se u
perivoje, ispeli se na zidine i fortece, ovladali
Sponzom, pa i samijem Dvorom. Zavukli
se u manastijere i crkve, otplivali na Supetar
i Lokrum, dohvatili se greben Sra pak saπli
do Mandaljene. S DanaËa, iz Pila i s
Porporele omjerali more i ondar izgradili
brod pa zaplovili u beskraj. Do zvijezda.
Libar od
negromancije
Svaka postaja ove negromancije od viπe
od pola vijeka privukla je svoju zvijezdu.
Onu πto dubrovaËkoj festivalskoj artistiËkoj
noÊi zadava biljeg neponovljivosti. Onoj
zbog koje su „veliki“ u Dubrovniku joπ veÊi.
Zalistate li ovaj Libar izronit Êe prid vami
parada jedna nestvarna. Sva od æuenja
da se pobijedi Vrijeme πto ne uvire. Budi
nam spomena!
dr.sc. Ivica Prlender,
intendant
Dubrovnik
Summer Festival
The Dubrovnik Summer Festival was founded in
the early 1950s, when many theatre and music
events were springing up all over Europe. However,
the idea of combining the renaissance and baroque
atmosphere of Dubrovnik and the living spirit of
drama and music, actually derived from the
intellectual way of life of the city itself, from its living
creative tradition, which has bestowed upon
Croatian cultural and scholarly history, especially
in theatre and literature, many great names and
works, and kept it continually in touch with
contemporary currents in Western Europe.
"The beginnings of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival
coincide with the intensive trend of organizing
summer festivals throughout Europe, which was
searching for a new identity after the traumas of
World War II. However, the actual reasons for
founding the Dubrovnik Summer Festival are
deeply rooted in the energy of the lasting cultural
heritage of Dubrovnik, which had been searching
for a suitable form of its contemporary creative
expression for a long time.
In the 1920s numerous initiatives and attempts
were made, both in Dubrovnik and Zagreb, to
found a festival that would connect the unique
venues of the City, its cultural traditions and the
needs of modern tourism. A major impetus to this
initiative was a visit of the Salzburg Festival Director,
Max Reinhardt, to Ivo VojnoviÊ's grave in 1932.
In 1933 the famous 11th PEN World Congress
took place in Dubrovnik. On that occasion the
Croatian National Theatre of Zagreb performed
Ivan GunduliÊ's pastoral Dubravka, directed by
Tito Strozzi in the square in front of the Rector's
Palace. The huge success of this music-and-stage
spectacle in the authentic historical ambience
before the sophisticated international audience
confirmed the belief in favourable prospects of
founding an annual summer festival in Dubrovnik.
However, in spite of the courageous comparisons
with the festivals in Bayreuth or Salzburg, the
success of numerous endeavours was incomplete.
Although a large number of music and theatre
events was organised in open-air venues before
the beginning of World War II, the festival was
not founded officially.
After the war, new attempts were made both in
Dubrovnik and Zagreb. They were encouraged by
the appearance of numerous European festivals
such as those in Avignon or Edinburgh in 1947,
as well as by the aspirations of Tito's (Josip Broz
DubrovaËke
ljetne igre
DubrovaËke ljetne igre utemeljene su poËetkom
pedesetih godina dvadesetoga stoljeÊa, u vrijeme
kada su diljem Europe nastajala brojna kazaliπna
i glazbena dogaanja. Meutim, zamisao o spajanju
renesansnog i baroknog ugoaja Dubrovnika sa
æivuÊim duhom drame i glazbe zapravo je proizaπla
iz intelektualnog naËina æivljenja samoga grada,
iz njegove kreativne tradicije koja je obogatila
Hrvatsku kulturnu i znanstvenu povijest, pogotovo
u sferi kazaliπta i znanosti, iznjedrivπi brojna velika
imena i djela, i omoguÊivπi joj neprekidno praÊenje
suvremenih trendova u Zapadnoj Europi.
“ZaËetak DubrovaËkih ljetnih igara podudara se
s pravim valom nastajanja ljetnih festivala po
Europi πto je, nakon trauma Drugoga svjetskog
rata, tragala za novim identitetom. No, neposredni
razlozi nastanka dubrovaËkog festivala duboko
su ukorijenjeni u energiji postojane dubrovaËke
kulturne baπtine πto je veÊ dugo tragala za
prikladnom formom svojega kreativnog
suvremenog izriËaja.
Tijekom dvadesetih godina sve su uËestalije
inicijative i nastojanja, kako u Dubrovniku tako i
u Zagrebu, da se povezivanjem jedinstvenih
prostora Grada, njegovih kulturnih tradicija i
potreba modernog turizma, zasnuje ljetni festival.
ZnaËajan poticaj, za svojeg pohoda grobu Iva
VojnoviÊa 1932, dao je ravnatelj salzburπkog
Festspiela, Max Reinhardt.
IduÊe, 1933., u Dubrovniku je odræan znameniti
XI. svjetski kongres PEN-klubova. Tom je
prigodom, na poljani pred Kneæevim dvorom,
Hrvatsko narodno kazaliπte iz Zagreba, u
redateljskom vienju Tita Strozzija, izvelo pastirsku
igru Ivana GunduliÊa Dubravka. Golem uspjeh
ovog glazbeno-scenskog spektakla u autentiËnom
povijesnom ambijentu, pred biranom
internacionalnom publikom, uËvrstio je uvjerenja
o izglednosti zasnivanja redovitoga dubrovaËkog
ljetnog festivala. Meutim, unatoË hrabrim
usporedbama s igrama u Bayreuthu ili Salzburgu,
brojna nastojanja nisu donijela cjelovitog uspjeha.
Naime, iako je do poËetka Drugoga svjetskog
rata upriliËen Ëitav niz glazbenih i kazaliπnih
dogaanja u otvorenim prostorima, festivalska
institucija nije zaæivjela.
Zavrπetkom rata obnavljaju se inicijative i u
Dubrovniku i u Zagrebu. Poticajna su bila tadaπnja
utemeljenja brojnih europskih festivala poput
onoga u Avignonu ili Edinburgu 1947., ali i htijenje
Titove (Josip Broz Tito) Jugoslavije, tek
Tito) Yugoslavia, which had just been liberated
from the Soviet Block, to introduce itself to the
cultural world.
Eventually, a first complete festival season was
realised in 1950. Taking place in the square in
front of Jesuit Church the programme included a
series of concerts (State Symphony Orchestra of
Zagreb, Choir of the Zagreb Radio), five theatre
plays (Croatian National Theatre of Zagreb,
Yugoslav Dramatic Theatre of Belgrade, national
theatres of Dubrovnik, Zadar and Split) and an
evening of poetry. The choice of both music and
theatre repertoire was clearly determined by the
national, particularly Dubrovnik heritage, including
the authors such as Ivan LukaËiÊ, Ivan Mane
JarnoviÊ, Marin DræiÊ (Uncle Maroje, The Miser)
, M. BenetoviÊ (Hvarkinja), the 17th century
anonymous (The Lovers), and an 18th century
Dubrovnik adaptation of Molière. That same year
the works by contemporary Croatian composers
B. Bersa, N. DevËiÊ and S. ©ulek were performed
under the baton of M. Horvat.
The following summer major programme novelties
were ballet and opera (Sarajevo National Theatre
performed no less than seven plays). However,
one of the most inspiring plays was Marin DræiÊ's
Plakir (Dubrovnik National Theatre) staged for the
Gradac Park venue by Director Marko Fotez and
Set Designer Miπe RaËiÊ. Namely, while all the
plays of the previous seasons were performed on
the Summer Stage, the mentioned authors, who
were to mark the Festival decades by thier works,
set the play in the authentic ambience, thus
beginning the half century long adventure of the
Dubrovnik ambience theatre.” Ivica Prlender
The works of Marin DræiÊ, Nikola NaljeπkoviÊ, Ivan
GunduliÊ and Ivo VojnoviÊ become a mainstay of
the theatre programme, then, while with the
understanding of the idea of the importance of
ambience, which is the principal distinguishing
feature of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, the
specific theatrical values of the wider Croatian
dramatic heritage gradually became revealed, as
did the adaptability of the classics of European
dramatic art to the squares, palaces, towers and
parks of Dubrovnik. Above all Shakespeare, but
also Goldoni, the Greek tragedians, Molière,
Corneille and Goethe became yardsticks of the
traditionalist nature of the Festival.
emancipirane od sovjetskog bloka, da se
festivalskim Dubrovnikom predstavi kulturnom
svijetu.
Naposljetku, 1950. artikulirana je prva cjelovita
festivalska sezona. Na poljani pred IsusovaËkom
crkvom odræan je niz koncerata (Dræavni
simfonijski orkestar Zagreb; Zbor radiostanice
Zagreb), te pet dramskih naslova (HNK, Zagreb;
Jugoslovensko dramsko pozoriπte, Beograd;
Narodna kazaliπta Dubrovnika, Zadra, Splita) i
jedna lirska veËer. Odabir i glazbenog i dramskog
repertoara bio je Ëvrsto odreen nacionalnom,
poglavito dubrovaËkom baπtinom. Tako su
izvoeni Ivan LukaËiÊ, Ivan Mane JarnoviÊ, kao
Marin DræiÊ (Dundo Maroje, Skup) , M. BenetoviÊ
(Hvarkinja), nepoznati autor 17. stoljeÊa
(”Ljubovnici”), te dubrovaËka preradba Molièrea
iz 18. stoljeÊa. Iste su godine, pod ravnanjem M.
Horvata, izvoeni i suvremeni hrvatski glazbeni
autori B. Bersa, N. DevËiÊ i S. ©ulek.
IduÊeg je ljeta najveÊa programska inovacija
uvoenje u repertoar baleta i opere (gostovalo
je Narodnog pozoriπte iz Sarajeva sa Ëak sedam
naslova). Meutim, dalekoseænoÊu poticaja izdvaja
se predstava Plakira Marina DræiÊa (Narodno
kazaliπte Dubrovnik), koju Êe redatelj Marko Fotez
i scenograf Miπe RaËiÊ osmisliti u prostoru Parka
Gradac. Naime, dok su prethodne sezone svi
dramski naslovi bili izvedeni na Ljetnoj pozornici,
sada su reËeni autori, koji Êe svojim djelima
obiljeæiti desetljeÊa Igara, postavljajuÊi predstavu
u autentiËnom ambijentu, otpoËeli gotovo
polustoljetnu avanturu dubrovaËkog ambijentalnog
kazaliπta.” Ivica Prlender
Djela Marina DræiÊa, Nikole NaljeπkoviÊa, Ivana
GunduliÊa i Iva VojnoviÊa postala su okosnicom
dramskog programa. Potom su se, zahvaljujuÊi
spoznaji o vaænosti ambijentalnosti koja predstavlja
osnovnu znaËajku DubrovaËkog festivala, postupno
otkrivale posebnosti kazaliπnih vrijednosti πireg
hrvatskoga dramskog naslijea, kao i moguÊnost
ambijentalnog saæimanja klasiËnih europskih
dramskih djela s trgovima, palaËama, tvravama
i parkovima Dubrovnika. Tradicionalni karakter
Festivala odredila su ponajprije djela
Shakespearea, ali i Goldonija, grËkih tragiËara,
Molièrea, Corneillea i Goethea.
 As early as 1952 director Marko Fotez, the prime
mover behind the group of enthusiasts who started
up the Festival, put on Hamlet in the Lovrjenac
Fort, which soon became an ideal setting for this
play known throughout the world. At the same
time, it was a first courageous step into the theatre
of ambience. The fort has been the major defender
of freedom for centuries and the inscription on
the gate "Non bene pro toto libertas venditur
auro" (Freedom is not sold for all the gold of this
world) was the message both for the coming
generations and the world. Nowadays, when the
city and homeland are free again, the magnificent
fort is waving the flag of the Dubrovnik Summer
Festival with the symbol Libertas (Freedom). In
1952 Marko Fotez staged Hamlet, which remained
on the Festival repertoire till 1963. The fort definitely
turned Shakespeare into an inhabitant of
Dubrovnik, and Hamlet into the most emblematic
Festival play through different staging conceptions.
The role of Hamlet has been performed by great
actors such as Derek Jacoby and the Oscar winner
Daniel Day Lewis.
Spiritus movens grupe zaljubljenika koji su
osnovali Festival, Marko Fotez, veÊ 1952. godine
postavlja Hamleta na Tvravu Lovrjenac, koja
ubrzo postaje poznata u svijetu kao idealan
scenski prostor za ovu predstavu i za vrhunsko
ostvarenje svjetske literature. To je ujedno bio i
prvi hrabri iskorak u ambijentalnost. Tvrava je
stoljeÊima bila najveÊi branitelj slobode, a na
njenim vratima uklesana je poruka potomstvu i
svijetu: "Non bene pro toto libertas venditur
auro", ("Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve blago
svijeta"). Danas, u slobodnom gradu i slobodnoj
domovini, blista opet svojom nekadaπnjom
veliËinom i razvija slobodno zastave DubrovaËkih
ljetnih igara sa simbolom "Libertas", ("Sloboda").
Fotezov “Hamlet” na Lovrijencu 1952. - predstava
koja se na Igrama odræala do 1963.
Shakespearea je definitivno pretvorila u
DubrovËanina, a “Hamleta” u najamblematskiju
predstavu Igara kroz razliËita redateljska vienja.
Hamleta su glumili velikani poput Derek Jacobija
i oskarovca Daniel Day Lewisa.
The only production of Hamlet performed outside
Lovrjenac Fort was the one of Peter Brook on the
Island of Lokrum in 2003. A peace oasis in the
shadow of pine wood, the Island of Lokrum was
also the venue of Shakespeare's The Tempest,
directed by Dejan MijaË and VojnoviÊ's Equinox
directed by Joπko JuvanËiÊ.
”JuvanËiÊ turned the landscape of the Island into
an imaginary place, which enlivens images of the
world that disappeared a long time ago, but is
still very much alive in the collective consciousness
of the people of Dubrovnik.” Jutarnji list
Among other prestigious actors who have
appeared in Hamlet before the Dubrovnik
audiences is Dame Judy Dench in the role of
Queen of Denmark.
Jedini iskorak izvan Lovrijenca bio je “Hamlet“ Joπ je jednu uglednu kazaliπnu glumicu
Petera Brooka na otoku Lokrumu 2003. Oaza dubrovaËka publika vidjela u predstavi Hamlet u
mira u sjeni borove πume, otok Lokrum scenski ulozi Kraljice. RijeË je o Judy Dench kojoj je za
je prostor i Shakespearove ”Oluje” u reæiji Dejana glumaËko umijeÊe dodijeljena plemiÊka titula
MijaËa i VojnoviÊevog ”Ekvinocija”u reæiji Joπka Dame Judy Dench.
JuvanËiÊa.
"JuvanËiÊ je lokrumski krajolik pretvorio u prostor
snovienja πto oæivljava slike jednog davno
nestalog, ali i kolektivnoj svijesti DubrovËana
joπ æivog i refentnog svijeta." Jutarnji list
In 1952 Fotez staged DræiÊ's plays The Tale of
Stanac and Tirena in front of Sponza Palace, and
Goldoni's Fishermen's Quarrels in the Old City
harbour.
”Thus, already in the 1950s, the City began to
open up to the theatre, and all the theatre could
do was to embrace it.” HR Radio Dubrovnik
The square in front of Sponza Palace used to be
a centre of the City's public life from the very
beginnings. Nowadays it is the venue of the
Dubrovnik Summer Festival Opening Ceremony
taking place every year on 10 July. Among major
events taking place in this venue are Ronconi's
legendary play Orlando Furioso and Maurice
Béjart's Romeo and Juliet performed by the
Twentieth Century Ballet.
1952. dogaa se i Fotezovo vienje DræiÊeve
Novele od Stanca i Tirene ispred palaËe Sponza
te Goldonijeve Ribarske svae redatelja Miπa
RaËiÊa u Gradskoj luci.
”Tako se veÊ poËetkom 1950-ih gradska πkoljka
poËela otvarati teatru, a teatar je samo mogao
prigrliti.” HR Radio Dubrovnik
Prostor ispred Sponze bio je srediπte javnog
æivota Grada od najstarijih vremena i prostor gdje
se svake godine 10. srpnja odvija SveËano
otvaranje DubrovaËkih ljetnih igara. Na ovoj
lokaciji najbolje se pamte Ronconijeva legendarna
predstava Orlando Furioso i balet Romeo i Julia
u izvedbi Twentieth Century Balleta Maurice
Béjarta.
Equally attractive were renaissance comedies and
mystery plays in the City squares (named after
GunduliÊ, BuniÊ and DræiÊ), Goethe's Iphigenia,
staged in the Gradac Park by Croatia's greatest
director Branko Gavella, VojnoviÊ's The Trilogy
of Dubrovnik, an emblematic work about the fall
of the Dubrovnik Republic staged in the authentic
space of the Rector's Palace, Sponza Palace and
the Gruæ summer residence, which presents an
appropriate setting for VojnoviÊ's diagnosis of the
fall, and so does the Art School Park.
One of the most beautiful inside the City walls,
GunduliÊ's Square, has been a festival stage that
featured Croatia's finest actors such as Izet
HajdarhodæiÊ, Miπe MartinoviÊ and Ksenija PajiÊ..
The ambience determined not only the repertoire
but also the organization of the Festival, and most
of the plays were performed by the Festival Drama
Ensemble, composed of the best Croatian actors.
Podjednako atraktivne postaju renesansne
komedije i crkvena prikazanja na gradskim
trgovima (koji su imena dobili po GunduliÊu,
BuniÊu i DræiÊu), Goetheova ”Ifigenija” koju je u
Parku Gradac, najpoznatijem dubrovaËkom parku,
postavio najveÊi hrvatski redatelj Branko Gavella,
te VojnoviÊeva ”DubrovaËka trilogija”,
amblematiËno djelo o padu DubrovaËke republike
uprizoreno u autentiËnim prostorima Kneæeva
dvora, PalaËe Sponza, te ljetnikovca u Gruæu koji
je prava pozornica za VojnoviÊevu dijagnozu
propasti, baπ kao i park UmjetniËke πkole.
Jedna od najljepπih poljana Dubrovnika unutar
gradskih zidina je GunduliÊeva poljana, festivalska
pozornica koja je ugostila brojne doajene
hrvatskog glumiπta poput Izeta HajdarhodæiÊa,
Miπe MartinoviÊa, Ksenije PajiÊ...
Ambijent je odreivao ne samo repertoar festivala
veÊ i njegovu organizaciju, pa je veÊinu predstava
izvodio Festivalski dramski ansambl sastavljen
od najboljih hrvatskih glumaca.
« The Festival Drama Ensemble is much more
than a name of a group of artists engaged in
Dubrovnik in summer - the most convenient time
of the year. The Ensemble is simply the very soul
of the City!... For an artist who takes part in several
plays during the same summer season, performing
the lead and episode roles with equal zest,
Dubrovnik is not just one of the stops on the
Adriatic tour. He is not a passer-by, but a resident
of both the city and the City. He is Dubrovnik
itself.”
Ivica Prlender, Vijenac
There is a huge number of guest performers who
enhanced the exclusiveness of the Festival and
Festival venues such as the Piccolo Teatro of Milan
with Strehler's staging of The Servant of Two
Masters, the Old Vic with Zefirelli's Romeo and
Juliet in Lovrjenac Fort, the Greek National Theatre
of Athens with Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, the
Stadttheater from Basel with Dürrenmatt's Play
Strindberg, directed by the author in Revelin Fort,
the London Prospect Theatre Company with several
productions by Toby Robertson in Revelin Fort in
1973 and in front of the Rector's Palace in 1977,
and the Teatar Stary of Krakow with Wajda's staging
of The Idiot in Pile.
”Festivalski dramski ansambl znatno je viπe od
zbrojnog imena umjetnika koji tog ljeta u Dubrovniku
prave kazaliπte po najsretnijem kalendaru. On je
naprosto sama duπa Grada! ...Jer, glumac koji u
Dubrovniku istoga ljeta igra u viπe predstava, s
jednakim æarom umjeteonstva izgarajuÊi za onaj
naslov gdje igra jednu od vodeÊih uloga, kao i za
onaj gdje je tek epizodist, nije tek na proputovanju
kroz jedno od jadranskih turistiËkih odrediπta. Nije
prolazni gost, nego istodobni stanovnik grada i
Grada. On je sam Dubrovnik.”
Ivica Prlender, Vijenac.
Brojne gostujuÊe predstave doprinose ekskluzivnosti
festivala i festivalskih lokacija: na BuniÊevoj poljani
Piccolo Teatro iz Milana sa Strehlerovom postavom
Sluge dvojice gospodara, Old Vic sa Zefirellijevom
reæijom Romea i Julije na tvravi Lovrjenac, GrËko
narodno kazaliπte iz Atene s Eshilovim Okovanim
Prometejem pod MinËetom i Sofoklom na DræiÊevoj
poljani, Gradsko kazaliπte iz Basela s
Dürrenmattovom predstavom Play Strindberg u
reæiji autora na tvravi Revelin, Prospect Theatre
Company iz Londona s nekoliko predstava koje je
reæirao Toby Robertson 1973. na tvravi Revelin i
1977. pred Kneæevim dvorom, i Teatar Stary iz
Krakowa s Wajdinim uprizorenjem Idiota u Pilama.
The small harbour of Pile was also the venue of
the outstandingly successful play of Mato VodopiÊ
A Tale of Sad Jele, directed by Ivica KunËeviÊ.
The Old City harbour, Ribarnica (fish market),
Porporela (breakwater), DanËe and ©uliÊ beach
are some of the cult Festival venues by the sea.
In 1973 the sailboat Sant Maria, pulled by a noisy
towboat, circled around the Island of Lokrum
carrying both the audience and actors of play
Christopher Columbus. The dream-come-true of
theatre director Georgij Paro, the play was
immediately included in the anthology of modern
Croatian theatre, but also of the ambience festival
theatre. « The huge brown three times larger copy
of the real Santa Maria, the boat waits anchored
in the Old City harbour. Every time it leaves the
harbour is a small celebration and attraction for
passers by and people who walk from the City
Café to Porporela." - Dalibor ForetiÊ, Hrid za
slobodu (DubrovaËke ljetne kronike 1971-2001).
U luËici Pila vrlo uspjeπno se igrala i Tuæna Jele
Mata VodopiÊa u reæiji Ivice KunËeviÊa. Gradska
luka, Ribarnica, lukobran Porporela, DanËe te
kupaliπte ©uliÊ neke su od kultnih lokacija uz
more .
Godine 1973. jedrenjak “Santa Maria” plovio je,
vuËen buËnim remorkerom, oko Lokruma
prevozeÊi gledatelje i aktere Krleæine drame
Kristofor Kolumbo. Redatelj Georgij Paro
odsanjao je tada svoj kazaliπni san, koji je izravno
uπao u antologiju suvremenoga hrvatskog teatra,
ali i ambijentalnog festivalskog kazaliπta.
"Brod Ëeka privezan u staroj gradskoj luci. Velik,
smee obojen, vjerna, triput uveÊana kopija
prave "Santa Marije". Za prolaznike i πetaËe na
liniji Gradska kavana-Porporela...svako njezino
isplovljavanje je mala sveËanost, atrakcija
besposlenom puku." - Dalibor ForetiÊ, Hrid za
slobodu, DubrovaËke ljetne kronike 1971.-2001.
Therefore, the ambience has been, and still is, the
major determinant of the theatre programme of
the Dubrovnik Summer Festival. The ambience of
Dubrovnik still remains a theatre mystery, “that
something” which makes Dubrovnik the Theatre-
City for 45 days in summer.
"The inseparability of the actual, or real, city from
the imaginary and artistic one is what fascinates
me and probably the Festival's visitors, too “.
General Manager Ivica Prlender for BBC Music
Magazine
Ambijentalnost je dakle bitno odreivala i odreuje
dramski program dubrovaËkih kazaliπnih ljeta. I
ta dubrovaËka ambijentalnost, joπ uvijek, ostaje
kazaliπna misterija, „ono neπto“ zbog Ëega
Dubrovnik tijekom 45 ljetnih dana postaje Grad-
teatar. "Ono πto me fascinira, i πto vjerojatno
fascinira posjetitelje Festivala, je neodvojivost
stvarnog i realnog grada od onog imaginarnog
i umjetniËkog.”
Ivica Prlender za BBC Music Magazine.
In the early 1970s unconventional theatrical forms
were gradually introduced, with companies like
the Schumann Bread and Puppet Theatre (in the
Gradac Park), the Amsterdam Dogtroep (by the
Big Onofrio Fountain), Els Comediants from
Barcelona (in DræiÊ Square), the Compagnie
Ferrucio Soleri (in front of Orlando's Column),
and La Mama Theatre from New York (in Pile)
taking part. Yet, modernistic excursions of the
Festival were still determined by the shifts within
poetics of the settings, either by including works
of contemporary writers like Bond, Brecht and
Krleæa, or by adding new venues on the city map,
whose number has increased to seventy, and
where, in addition to the best Croatian directors,
the prestigious international artists such as Stuart
Burge, Denis Carrey, William Gaskill, Ji_i Menzel,
Eimuntas Nekroπius, Peter Brook and Jan Fabre
have also worked.
PoËetkom sedamdesetih festival se poËeo otvarati
prema nekonvencionalnim dramskim formama te
su na festivalu nastupile kazaliπne druæine kao
πto su Schumann Bread and Puppet Theatre u
Parku Gradac, Amsterdam Dogtroep ispred
Velike Onofrijeve fontane, Els Comediants iz
Barcelone na DræiÊevoj poljani, Compagnie
Ferrucio Soleri pred Orlandovim stupom i La
Mama Theatre iz New Yorka u Pilama. Ipak,
moderni kazaliπni izleti su i dalje bili odreeni
pomacima unutar poetike scenskih prostora, bilo
da se radilo o uvrπtavanju u program djela
suvremenih autora poput Bonda, Brechta i Krleæe,
ili o ucrtavanju na zemljovid grada novih scenskih
prostora, Ëiji je broj dosegao sedamdeset, na
kojima su, uz ponajbolje hrvatske redatelje,
djelovali poznati umjetnici iz inozemstva meu
kojima su Stuart Burge, Denis Carrey, William
Gaskill, Jiri Menzel, Eimuntas Nekroπius, Peter
Brook, Jan Fabre i mnogi dr.
The Festival music programme had initially been
conceptualised as presentation of the finest
composers, soloists and orchestras from the
country, but in the late 1950s it played host to
the most prestigious solo artists and ensembles
from all over the world. The high standard of
performance in Dubrovnik was complemented by
the functional use of attractive and acoustic
buildings, particularly the Rector's Palace Atrium,
which had also served as the first music and
theatre stage in the renaissance Dubrovnik. The
most important public building and government
centre of the Old Dubrovnik, the Rector's Palace
used to be the residence of the Rector during his
one-month mandate. Today it is an inexhaustible
source of inspiration for Festival artists. Among
numerous soloists who have performed at the
Rector's Palace are pianists Sviatoslav Richter,
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Nikita Magaloff, Van Cliburn,
Martha Argerich, Rudolf Firkusny, Alexis
Weissenberg, Aldo Ciccolini, Claudio Arrau, Mihail
Pletnjov and Ivo PogoreliÊ, flutist James Galway,
violinists Henry Szeryng, Leonid Kogan, Isaac
Stern, David Ojstrah, Viktor Tretyakov, Zlatko
BalokoviÊ and Uto Ughi, and cellists Rostropovich,
Navarra, Janigro and Tortellier.
Glazbeni je dio programa na poËetku imao za
cilj predstavljanje najboljih domaÊih skladatelja,
solista i orkestara, ali je veÊ koncem pedesetih
godina festival postao domaÊinom najuglednijim
solistima i ansamblima iz cijelog svijeta. Visokoj
kvaliteti izvedbe u Dubrovniku doprinijela je
funkcionalna uporaba atraktivnih i akustiËnih
graevina, pogotovo atrija Kneæeva dvora, ujedno
i prvog glazbeno-scenskog prostora renesansnog
Dubrovnika. Dvor je najvaænija javna zgrada u
starom Dubrovniku, nekad sjediπte vlade, prostor
u kojem je za svojeg jednomjeseËnog mandata
boravio knez. A danas vjeËna inspracija
festivalskim umjetnicima. Meu brojnim solistima
u Dvoru su nastupili pijanisti Sviatoslav Richter,
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Nikita Magaloff, Van Cliburn,
Martha Argerich, Rudolf Firkusny, Alexis
Weissenberg, Aldo Ciccolini, Claudio Arrau,
Mihail Pletnjov i Ivo PogoreliÊ, flautist James
Galway, violinisti Henry Szeryng, Leonid Kogan,
Isaac Stern, David Ojstrah, Viktor Tretjakov,
Zlatko BalokoviÊ i Uto Ughi, te violonËelisti
RostropoviË, Navarra, Janigro i Tortellier.
Great singers such as Nicolai Gedda, Montserrat
Caballé, Ramón Vargas and Leo Nucci also
appeared in this magical venue. Numerous
chamber and vocal ensembles who have appeared
here include the Beethoven Quartet and the
Prokofiev Quartet from Moscow, the Lasalle
Quartet and the Juilliard Quartet from New York,
the Amadeus Quartet from London, the Parrenin
Quartet from Paris, the Neues Wiener Quartet
and the Alban Berg Quartet from Vienna, as well
as the Virtuosi di Roma, the Zagreb Soloists, the
Lucerne Festival Strings, the Academy of St Martin
in the Fields, the Vienna Boys' Choir, the Beaux
Arts Trio from New York, the Prague Chamber
Orchestra, and the Moscow Virtuosi conducted
by Vladimir Spivakov.
U tom Ëarobnom ambijentu su nastupali i veliki BeËki djeËaci, Beaux Arts Trio iz New Yorka,
pjevaËi poput Nicolai Gedde i Monserrat Caballe, Praπki komorni orkestar i Moskovski virtuozi pod
Ramona Vargasa, Lea Nuccia...Meu brojnim ravnanjem Vladimira Spivakova.
komornim i vokalnim ansamblima nastupili su
kvarteti Beethoven i Prokofjev iz Moskve, Lasalle
i Juillard iz New Yorka, Amadeus iz Londona,
Parrenin iz Pariza, te Neues Wiener kvartet i
Alban Berg kvartet iz BeËa, kao i Virtuosi di
Roma, ZagrebaËki solisti, Lucerne Festival
Strings, Academy of St Martin in the Fields,
It is difficult to single out any artist in particular
among those who have performed at the Dubrovnik
Summer Festival, and thus made it renowned
internationally. When big orchestras are
concerned, in addition to the performances of the
Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra on a regular basis,
let us mention the Czech Philharmonic, the Halle
Orchestra, the French Radio Orchestra, the Suisse
Romande Orchestra, the RAI Symphony Orchestra
from Turin, the London Philharmonic, the Vienna
Philharmonic, the Dresden Philharmonic, the
Moscow Philharmonic, the Hungarian
Philharmonic, the Warsaw Philharmonic, the St.
Petersburg Philharmonic, and the Cincinnati
Symphony Orchestra. The Dominican and
Franciscan Church with their monasteries, the
Cathedral and Jesuit Church are ideal settings
for the philharmonic, symphony and choir concerts,
as well as for folklore performances.
U mnoπtvu velikih umjetnika koji su nastupili na
DubrovaËkim ljetnim igrama, osiguravπi im
meunarodnu reputaciju, teπko je bilo izdvojiti
bilo koga posebno. Kada su u pitanju veliki
orkestri uz redovite nastupe ZagrebaËke
filharmonije, spominjemo »eπku filharmoniju,
Halle orkestar, Orkestar francuskoga radija,
Orkestar Suisse Romande, Simfonijski orkestar
RAI iz Torina, Londonsku, BeËku, Dresdensku,
Moskovsku, Maarsku, Varπavsku, St.
Petersburπku filharmoniju, te Simfonijski orkestar
Cincinnatija. Dominikanska crkva i Atrij
dominikanskog samostana, FranjevaËka crkva i
samostan, Katedrala, Jezuitska crkva idelni su
prostori unutar grada za nastupe filharmonija,
simfonijskih orkestara, zborova ali i koncertnih
izvoenja folklornih ansambala.
BoπkoviÊ Square is an open-air festival venue,
which has provided the locus for many theatre
plays such as Gloria, The Miser and Uncle Maroje,
but also an acoustic music stage. The performance
of Carmina Burana under the baton of maestro
Vjekoslav ©utej was met with standing ovations
and excellent critic reviews such as “Magical
attraction of the popular cantata”, or “The most
frequented festival event”. Equally successful was
the performance of one of the most popular
present time tenors Ramón Vargas accompanied
by Los Caballeros.
DræiÊ Square has played host to unforgettable
performances of the Berlin Philharmonic
conducted by Herbert von Karajan and the Israel
Philharmonic conducted by the charismatic Zubin
Mehta. The square is also an ideal operatic stage,
and among the memorable operas that have been
performed there is Orpheus and Eurydice
conducted by Lovro MataËiÊ.
BoπkoviÊeva poljana je otvoreni scenski prostor
na kojem su se izvodila mnoga dramska djela
poput Glorie, Skupa, Dunda Maroja ali i akustiËan
prostor za glazbena dogaanja. Carmina Burana
pod ravnanjem maestra Vjekoslava ©uteja izazvala
je ovacije publike ali i kritike pa su se mogli Ëitati
naslovi u medijima ” MagiËna privlaËnost
popularne kantate” ili ”NajposjeÊenija izvedba
na Igrama”. Jednak uspjeh postigao je i jedan
od najslavnijih tenora danaπnjice Ramon Vargas
u pratnji Los Caballerosa.
Na DræiÊevoj poljani nezaboravni su nastupi
Berlinske filhramonije pod ravnanjem Herberta
von Karajana kao i nastup Izraelske filharmonije
pod ravnanjem karizmatiËnog Zubina Mehte.
DræiÊeva poljana idealan je scenski prostor i za
izvoenje opera pa tako pamtimo Orfeja i Euridiku
pod ravnanjem Lovra MataËiÊa.
The history of operatic events began in 1951,
when the Sarajevo Opera appeared with five
productions. Up to 1963 the Festival repertoire
included mainly guest performances of operatic
houses from the former state, and new operatic
venues were also explored. In 1964 the Festival
staged the first its own operatic productions in
front of the Rector's Palace. It was Monteverdi's
The Coronation of Poppea conducted by Lovro
MataËiÊ. The area in front of the Rector's Palace,
the most significant and beautiful building in
Dubrovnik, used to be the main city square, called
Prid Dvorom and paved as far back as 1360.
However, it turned out that the most convenient
operatic form for Dubrovnik was chamber opera,
thus from 1971 chamber, mainly comic, operas
were staged at the Rector's Palace Atrium.
Povijest opernih izvedaba vodi nas u 1951.
godinu, kada je Sarajevska opera gostovala sa
svojih pet produkcija. U razdoblju do 1963.
godine na Igrama su uglavnom gostovale operne
kuÊe iz nekadaπnje dræave, a radilo se i na
iznalaæenju scenskih prostora pogodnih za opere.
Godine 1964. je ispred Kneæeva dvora
postavljena prva vlastita festivalska operna
produkcija. Bila je to Monteverdijeva Krunidba
Popeje kojom je dirigirao Lovro MataËiÊ.
Prostor ispred Kneæeva dvora, najvaænije i
najljepπe zgrade Dubrovnika nekad je predstavljao
glavni dubrovaËki trg, poploËan davne 1360. a
zvao se Prid Dvorom.
Meutim pokazalo se je da je za Dubrovnik
najpogodnija operna forma komorna opera, te
se od 1971. godine u atriju Kneæeva dvora poËinju
prikazivati komorne, uglavnom komiËne opere.
In addition to its own productions of operas by The Festival history also notes several exclusive
Monteverdi, Pergolesi, Caldara, Cimarosa, Salieri, operatic events like Kelemen's Apocalyptica and
Telemann and Galuppi, the Festival continued the the reconstruction of one of JarnoviÊ's operas
policy of inviting guest opera productions including within the project Abroad and at Home.
the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre of
Zagreb, the Teatro Massimo from Palermo, the
Piccolo Teatro Musicale from Rome, the Phoenix
Opera from London and the Moscow Chamber
Music Theatre.
Usporedo s festivalskim produkcijama opera Povijest festivala takoer biljeæi ekskluzivna operna
Monteverdija, Pergolesija, Caldare, Cimarose, dogaanja kao πto su Kelemenova Apocalyptica,
Salierija, Telemanna i Galupija, nastavljeno je s ili pokuπaj rekonstruiranja jedne od JarnoviÊevih
praksom dovoenja gostujuÊih opera. U opera u okviru projekta Doma i u buæi.
Dubrovniku su tako meu ostalima nastupili
Opera Hrvatskoga narodnog kazaliπta iz Zagreba,
Teatro Massimo iz Palerma, Piccolo Teatro
Musicale iz Rima, Phoenix Opera iz Londona i
Komorno glazbeno kazaliπte iz Moskve.
Ballet and dance, performed on the Revelin Fort
Terrace, have also been welcome guests at the
Dubrovnik Summer Festival. The impressive
monumental building of Revelin Fort has huge
indoor vaulted halls and the largest terrace in
Dubrovnik, which nowadays serve as ideal settings
for various Festival events, particularly for
performances of folklore ensembles Lino from
Dubrovnik and Lado from Zagreb. In addition to
the finest Croatian ballet companies,
choreographers and dance soloists, international
artists such as Merce Cunningham, Jerome
Robbins, Alvin Ailey, Glenn Tetley and Martha
Graham with their companies, the American Ballet
Theatre, the London Festival Ballet, the Harkness
Ballet, the Antonio Gades Troupe, the Ballet of
the Hungarian State Opera and ballet ensembles
from Parma, Antwerp and Adelaide have also
performed at the Festival. At the 57th Dubrovnik
Summer Festival Jan Fabre conducted a master
class in Revelin Fort, and the performance of his
Troubleyn Troupe was warmly received both by
the critics and audience.
Balet, folklor i moderni ples bili su takoer rado
vieni na DubrovaËkim ljetnim igrama koje su
predstavile brojna poznata imena i ansamble na
taraci Tvrave Revelin. Monumentalna i impresivna
graevina, Revelin je imao velike presvoene
prostore i najveÊu terasu u Dubrovniku, pa su
danas ovi prostori i izvanredni ambijenti idealne
pozornice za raznovrsne programe ljetnog
festivala, a naroËito folklornih ansambala Lina
iz Dubrovnika i Lada iz Zagreba. Pored najboljih
domaÊih baletnih ansambala, koreografa i solista,
nastupili su i Merce Cunningham, Jerome
Robbins, Alvin Ailey, Glenn Tetley i Martha
Graham sa svojim ansamblima, American Ballet
Theatre, London Festival Ballet, Harkness Ballet,
Antonio Gades Troupe, Balet Maarske dræavne
opere, te baleti iz Parme, Antwerpa i Adelaide.
Na 57. dubrovaËkim ljetnim igrama Jan Fabre
odræao je majstorsku radionicu i gostovao sa
svojom trupom Troubleyn u tvravi Revelin te
osvojio kritiku i publiku.