Ljubljana Festival

The origins of Ljubljana International Summer Festival may be traced back to 1952, when the Ljubljana Tourist Society organised the first Tourist Week. This first Ljubljana Festival featured a series of cultural, economic, folkloric, touristic and sports events. Since that time the festival has outgrown the character of a local tourist event and developed into a renowned international event which offers its ever-growing number of visitors in the summer months a variety of musical, theatrical and dance performances by leading domestic and international artists. Some of the most famous personalities that have appeared on the stage of the International Summer Festival include Dubravka Tomšic, Marjana Lipovšek, Katia Ricciarelli, Grace Bumbry, Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Mstislav Rostropovic, José Carreras, Slide Hampton, Pierre Amoyal and Maceo Parker, not to mention the largest symphony orchestras in the world.

Since 2000 the Ljubljana Summer Festival has also featured music workshops, which give Slovene musicians the opportunity to meet with world-famous music performers and enrich their knowledge under guidance. In 2006 the 20th Slovene Music Days took place within the framework of the festival, comprising concerts, an international musicological symposium and various other round tables. In recent years too the programme has been enriched by the Križanke International Art Colony, which gathers artists in the inspiring environment of Križanke.

Ljubljana Summer Festival's events take place at several locations in Ljubljana but most are held within Plečnik's open-air complex at Križanke which was created within the abandoned former monastery especially for the festival. Major events are held at the Open-air Stage, while other venues include the Baroque-style Križanke Church, the Knight's Hall and the 'Courtyard of Hell'.

The 53rd Ljubljana Summer Festival of 2006 incorporated a total of 62 concerts, opera, ballet and other performances. This festival was opened by the famous Russian Bolshoi Theatre with Prokofiev's opera 'The Fiery Angel' and closed with Mikis Theodorakis' 'Zorba the Greek', performed by the Slovene National Theatre (SNG) Maribor. The summer stages hosted renowned Argentine tenor Marcelo Alvarez, Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, Russian violinist Vadim Repin and Austrian pianist Rudolf Buchbinder. The organisers also co-operated with world music promoter Brane Rončel to organise concerts by David Calzado from Cuba, the Afro-Cuban performers Conga Kings and the vocal jazz group Manhattan Transfer. Other events at 2006 festival included performances held as part of the 'Days of Chanson' concerts by Slovene world music performers Terr folk, Šukar and Vlado Kreslin, and the annual Slovene Pop Song Competition.

The 54th Ljubljana Summer Festival of 2007 featured 72 performances involving more than 3,000 artists from 23 countries, and attracted more than 83,000 visitors. The festival opened with Alexander Borodin's 'Prince Igor', a joint project of Kiev Opera House, the Slovene National Theatre (SNG) Ljubljana - Opera and Ballet and the Slovene National Theatre (SNG) Maribor. Three more operas - Aida, die Valkure and Salome - were presented by the Lithuanian State Opera and Ballet, and Faust was staged by the Slovene National Theatre (SNG) Maribor. The 2007 programme also featured London's West End production of Dirty Dancing, Tomaž Pandur's Tesla Electric Company, the Sinfonietta Cracovia orchestra under Krzysztof Penderecky, and violinist Vadim Repin. Highlights of the festival were the three performances by the Bolshoi Theatre and two concerts by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Ljubljana Festival 2008 will open on 19 July with a concert by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra featuring conductor Colin Davis.

Ljubljana Festival

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