Lyrical evening will complete the music program of the 61st edition of “Ohrid Summer”

The music program of this year’s 61st edition of the Ohrid Summer Festival will be rounded off with the Lyric Evening of a festival chamber orchestra and vocal soloists from Macedonia under the baton of maestro Pascal Gallois from France.

The concert will be held in the lobby of the church “St. Sophia” starting at 21:00. Sopranos Milena Arsovska and Gonca Bogoromova-Krapovski will perform, as well as baritone Ivan Naumovski.

Galois’s artistic career includes several activities: in addition to the extremely fruitful activity as an enigmatic and energetic virtuoso-bassoonist and famous pedagogue, he has recently established himself as a successful conductor and especially a creative artistic director. As one of the most recognized masters of the bassoon, Galloa inspired the Italian composer Luciano Berrio to write and dedicate the Sequence XII (1995), part of the legendary series that significantly expands the horizons of the instrumental techniques and the expressive range of the instruments. chose for this cycle. The list of prominent composers who created works especially for Galloa includes Pierre Boulez with his “Dialogue of the Double Shadow” (2007) and Wolfgang Rome, whose composition “Psalm” for bassoon and orchestra was premiered by Gallois and the Bavarian State Opera. under the leadership of Kent Nagano.

Significant “musical moments” initiated by Galois include concerts in honor of Pierre Boulez’s 85th birthday, conceived by Galois as artistic director, with the participation of Swiss clarinetist Jorg Widmann at the Paris Museum of Arts and Crafts. On the occasion of Henri Dietier’s 95th birthday, Gallois organizes a musical celebration at the Palais Lozon in Paris.

Gallois has made numerous recordings as a soloist, chamber musician and conductor, with exceptional enthusiasm for new music, including works from Boulez to Kurtag; from Berrio to Neuwirth. Established for a long time as an active protagonist on the Parisian music scene, in 2015 he created the Musical de Cibron Festival in Brittany, as an original form of intertwining of traditional and contemporary work. He has been active as a conductor with a number of ensembles and orchestras, including the Brittany Orchestra, the New York International New Music Ensemble, the Prague-Modern Ensemble, and the Meitar Ensemble in Israel.

Soprano Milena Arsovska is one of the most prominent Macedonian vocal artists of the newer generation, with a successful international career. He graduated in solo singing at the Faculty of Music in Skopje, and holds a master’s degree from the University of Music and Arts in Vienna. Milena Arsovska debuts at the Macedonian Opera and Ballet where she performs in the productions of operas: “The Magic Flute”, “Turning the Screw”, “Italian in Algeria”, “Rita”… The debut at the Vienna Theater comes in 2010 with a performance in the operetta “The Bat” and “Suor Angelika” continue to perform at the Magdeburg Theaters, the Weimar National Theater, the National Opera in Prague and Ostrava, as well as at several renowned festivals. Arsovska regularly performs on concert stages in Vienna, and conducts concert tours throughout Europe, Japan, China and the United States. Her recorded releases include a live recording of Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms” with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, and her voice has been used in music for Macedonian films “The Great Water” and “The War Is Over.”

Macedonian soprano Gonca Bogoromova Krapovski made her professional debut in 2006. with the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra, after which, as a soloist and chamber musician, he continued his concert activity in the country and abroad. Collaborates with eminent music ensembles and artists: the Plovdiv State Opera Orchestra, the Macedonian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, the Munich Chamber Orchestra. The collaboration with the Macedonian composers brings on stage the premiere performances of the compositions “Songs of Love and Death” by Pande Shahov, the cycle of songs “Hope” by Damjan Temkov and “Death is a blue window open to the day” by Bojana Petrovic–Aleksova which is also dedicated of Bogoromova. She debuted on the Macedonian opera stage with the role of Cerlina in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”, and on the international opera stage she debuted with the role of Magda in Puccini’s opera “La Rondine”, at the invitation of the State Opera of Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. He made his international concert debut with the “Wien Klang Sinfonietta” from Vienna on a concert tour in China.

Macedonian bass baritone Ivan Naumovski completes his diploma studies in solo singing with the highest grades at the Faculty of Music in Skopje, in the class of prof. Marija Muratovska, MA, and holds a Master’s degree from the Universities of Graz and Vienna. As a student he is the winner of 3 Balkan competitions in: Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosovo. Ivan has numerous performances in Macedonia with the MOB orchestra and the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra, and recitals in various cities in Macedonia such as: “Skopje Summer”, “Days of Macedonian Music”, “Interfest” and “Autumn Music Festivities”. Throughout his solo career, Ivan has performed in: Norway, Austria, Croatia, Germany, Czech Republic and others. In 2015 he received the prestigious Macedonian award “Virtuosos” in the category “Young Artist”, and in 2016 debuted at the MOB at the opening of the “May Opera Evenings” with the lead role in the opera of the same name “Eugene Onegin”. Recent engagements include the role of Don Fernando in a concert performance of “Fidelio”, and as a soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. In 2020 he performs with Simon Trpceski on the stage of the Macedonian Philharmonic at the DMM festival, and is in the finals of the competition in Innsbruck, Austria.

Until the end of the festival, there are two more evenings dedicated to the dramatic art.