The opera diva, the soprano Angela Gheorghiu from Romania together with the Orchestra of the National Opera and Ballet of Macedonia and under the baton of Ciprian Teodorașcu from Romania, will open this year’s 63rd edition of the “Ohrid Summer” festival on July 12 at the Ancient Theater in Ohrid.
This was announced today at a press conference by the director of NI “Ohridsko leto” Natasa Popovic, who emphasized that every successful edition of the festival starts with the biggest, most famous and most exalted artists.
– Angela Gheorghiu is considered the most glamorous opera star. Her beautiful voice makes the stage shine wherever she performs around the world. He is counted among the best performers in the history of opera, with exceptional vocals, technique and deep dramatic and musical intelligence, said Popovic.
Announcing the program of this year’s 63rd festival edition, director Popović clarified that there will be a big name in the drama part of the program.
– We also have a big name in the drama program, the world-famous actor, producer and director John Malkovich. The American film star with the project directed by Michael Sturminger “An Evening of John Malkovich” accompanied by sopranos Chen Reiss and Susan Langbein and the Orchestra of the Vienna Academy is the most exclusive guest who will enter the list of the greatest artists who have performed throughout the festival history of “Ohridsko summer,” added Popovic.
The selector of the music program of the “Ohrid summer” festival, Bisera Čadlovska, said that in addition to the spectacular opening, this year the festival offers top musical names from the country and the world.
– From the world names, I will single out a few: the world-famous violinist Nemanja Radulović and the Double Sense orchestra, the Frank Dupre jazz trio, as well as Frank Dupre’s piano recital, the violinist Irina Murezanu with the Fames orchestra, the Concertante chamber orchestra from Nis, the clarinetist Pablo Barragán together with the pianist Elois Bela Kon, the chamber ensemble La Spagna, the wind chamber ensemble “Camerata academica” from Slovenia, the violinist Roman Simović, the world-famous pianist Alexey Botvinov, a concert by Joseph Tawardos on the oud and many other exceptional artists. Among the local names, we will have the opportunity to hear the pianists Dino Imeri and Mimoza Keka with individual recitals, the piano duo Gelebeshevi, the trio “Aura”, the traditional concert of the Musical Youth of Macedonia, a wind trio with a concert dedicated to the flutist Ilija Zimbo and finally the musical program, the day before the closing ceremony, the choir “Pro ars” under the direction of Sašo Tatarčevski, with a newly created piece by professor Živojin Glisić, titled “12 months”. For the festival’s birthday, on August 4, we will listen to fado music, performed by Joana Amendoeira, Pedro Amendoeira and João Filipe, said music selector Bisera Čadlovska.
The selector of the drama program of the “Ohrid summer” festival, Sanja Arsovska, said that this year’s theater program can be freely called “Edition of the greats”.
– the 63rd edition of “Ohrid Summer”, its theater program opens with Steven Friedman and the Off Broadway play “The Bull of Phalaris”, an extraordinary autobiographical monodrama about a genius mind in search of answers to life’s essential questions, extracting the beautiful in every human pain. July 26, 2023 will be remembered as the “Ohrid Summer” will stage a historic event, bringing one of the world’s biggest acting names of all time, John Malkovich. The play “Infernal Comedy – Confessions of a Serial Killer”, directed by Michael Sturmingen, and starring Malkovich in the lead role accompanied by two sopranos and an orchestra, will deal with the cerebral depravity of a killer in a darkly comic way. July 29 is reserved for another big play, “Anna Karenina”, produced by “Ujvudeki Zinhazh” from Novi Sad, and directed by our director Dejan Projkovski. One of the most awarded plays in the region in recent years, based on Tolstoy’s great work with an exalted narrative and his famous masterful description of small lives and decisions that can or cannot be lived with, said Arsovska.
According to her, “Ohrid Summer” will have its first domestic production premiere on August 6, with the Theater “Jordan Hadji Konstantinov – Djinot” from Veles and the play “Edward the Second” based on the text of Christopher Marlowe, directed by Ukrainian director Andriy Zholdak.
– On August 10, we have the Ohrid National Theater with “Sergej is stupid” by Dimitri Danilov, and directed by Diana Nikolovska, on August 14, the Prilep Theater “Vojdan Chernodrinski” will stage one of the greatest literary works, “Decameron” by Giovanni Boccaccio, dramatized by Lidija Mitoska-Gjorgjievska, and directed by the phenomenal Martin Kochovski. On August 18, the City Theater from Ljubljana is coming to us with the play “Nora” by Ibsen, a play that marked this theater season in Slovenia, directed by our best director Nela Vitosevic, in the main role of which one of the greatest Slovenian actresses, Aida Smrekar, performs. closing of the festival, we already have the biggest regional star, the actor Miloš Biković in the play The Lie by Florian Zeller, directed by Nikola Ljuca, and produced by the Belgrade Drama Theater, announced drama selector Sanja Arsovska.
From July 12 to August 20, art lovers will have the opportunity to enjoy 34 concerts, seven theater performances, and the program will be enriched with a ballet, a photo exhibition and a book promotion. “Ohrid summer” will host over 1000 artists from 20 countries of the world, Serbia, Czech Republic, Italy, Slovenia, Poland, France, Turkey, Israel, USA, Ukraine, Spain, Montenegro, Greece, Germany, Romania, Portugal, Egypt, Russia… and of course, artists from the Republic of North Macedonia.
“Ohrid Summer” climbed to a high fifth place among the top five among 140 festivals, members of the European Festival Association (EFA).
-Membership in this elite association is proof that “Ohrid Summer” is on the right track in its international affirmation, but also a confirmation that the culture, art and tradition that are created on the festival scene in ancient Ohrid, describe the code of our people and speak about its existence throughout the centuries, its uniqueness and specificity, said at today’s press conference the director of NI “Ohridsko leto”, Natasa Popović.
She expressed great gratitude to the President of the country who is the patron of the festival, to the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, which invests in the development and promotion of culture through the departmental Ministry of Culture, to the Municipality of Ohrid, to the general sponsor Makedonski Telekom, as well as to the other sponsors. helpers and respecters of art and cultural values.