Last night, the extraordinary voices of mezzo-soprano Ljubica Vraneš and bass Dragoljub Bajić, accompanied by pianist Milivoje Veljić, resounded under the arches of the acoustically rich Church of “Saint Sophia.” The renowned Serbian artists performed as part of the Serbian Evening at the “Ohrid Summer” festival, presenting famous arias from the operas of Bizet, Gershwin, Verdi, Mozart, Saint-Saëns, Mascagni, and Puccini, as well as works by Piaf, Eleta Almarán, Di Curtis, Rota, and Di Capua, for which they were met with thunderous applause. The beautiful night concluded with a phenomenal rendition of the famous Macedonian folk composition “Lihnida Kayche Veslashe” and a traditional Serbian song.
The concert, for which extra tickets were in high demand, took place in the packed “Saint Sophia” church, with notable attendees including the Minister of Culture of the Republic of North Macedonia, Zoran Ljutkov, and the Serbian Ambassador, Nevena Jovanović.
Opening the Serbian Evening, the Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to North Macedonia, Nevena Jovanović, emphasized that for more than six decades, the renowned “Ohrid Summer” festival has offered a rich array of performances. As she noted, with a carefully curated selection of performers and works, the festival has grown into the most well-known cultural brand, featuring top names from the art world whose spectacular performances leave all art enthusiasts breathless in the epicenter of Macedonian culture.
“We are immensely proud that over all these years, numerous greats of Serbian culture and art have graced the stage of ‘Ohrid Summer,’ leaving their mark on the festival stages with their extraordinary talent. All of them, with their artistic prowess, have generously left a part of themselves on the stages of Dolni Saraj, Saint Sophia, and the Ancient Theater, while simultaneously building unbreakable Macedonian-Serbian memories and thus contributing to the promotion of cultural and artistic wealth from across the Balkans,” said Ambassador Jovanović.
The ambassador added that the Republic of Serbia places great importance on its relations with the Republic of North Macedonia.
“We are ready to continue, with joint efforts, to deepen our bilateral relations and to build ties based solely on friendship and cooperation. Strengthening cultural cooperation between our two countries, further connecting our two cultures and citizens, and continuously enhancing the cultural and artistic bonds between our peoples are certainly of essential importance in the process of further advancing our close and friendly relations,” emphasized Serbian Ambassador Nevena Jovanović.
The Serbian Evening at the “Ohrid Summer” festival has been organized for the third consecutive year with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in North Macedonia. It represents a true artistic experience for the festival audience, featuring performances by the best artists from the Serbian stage.
