National Opera and Ballet with Gala opera concert at “Ohrid Summer”

The National Opera and Ballet of the Republic of North Macedonia tonight, within the framework of the “Ohrid Summer Festival”, will perform a gala opera concert.

The concert will be held in the hall of the church “Saint Sophia” starting at 9 pm.

The National Opera and Ballet has been in existence for 72 years. It was founded in 1947 within the then Macedonian National Theater, which until 2004. there were three ensembles: drama, opera and ballet. By an act of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, it was officially registered as an independent National Institution in 2004. titled “Macedonian Opera and Ballet”, and last year it was renamed the National Institution, “National Opera and Ballet”, based in Skopje.
He began his beginnings with the then available professional staff, supplemented by auditions with members of amateur orchestral and choral ensembles.

With the advent of world famous conductor Lovro Matačić, the rise of the opera begins. The orchestra, the choir and the soloist team are being complemented and a varied repertoire policy is launched, with the so-called ” “Iron repertoire”.
These conditions allow for the development and quality of the ensemble, which on the other hand contributes to the possibility of presenting it and outside the borders of Macedonia, in all the then centers of the former Yugoslavia (Belgrade, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, Novi Sad) Abroad: Lodz (Poland), Nuremberg (Germany), Strasbourg (France), Bucharest (Romania), Sofia (Bulgaria), Tirana (Albania) and others.

The growth and development of the National Opera and Ballet contribute to a greater interest and attendance by the audience, which was an incentive to establish the May Opera Evenings Festival in 1972. This festival is one of the few opera festivals in Europe. This year it was held for the 47th time, which is indeed a respectable figure. Top opera artists from all over the world were present at the festival, but also in the current repertoire of the house.
On the festival “Ohrid Summer” regular guests are soloists, conductors and ensembles of our opera and ballet. After all, the first event of the “Ohrid Summer” on August 4 in the distant 1961. is the solo concert of our Primadonna Ana Lipsa – Tofovik – mezzo-soprano. That data tells enough about the dedication and respect that the ensembles of the “National Opera and Ballet” have on the “Ohrid Summer Festival”.