Frequent collaborators and guests of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Slovene National Theatre Maribor Ballet, this time with orchestral accompaniment of the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Simon Krečič, will perform Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun choreographed by Edward Clug, as a world premiere, and Shchedrin’s Carmen, choreographed by Valentina Turcu.
Three performances are on 16 and 17 July on the Island of Lokrum. Today’s premiere was cancelled due to the bad weather, and here’s a new date and time:
Tickets for today can be used this Sunday at 9 pm, when the ballet night will be held. Next performance is at 10.30 pm (the original performance for the Sunday is moved for an hour and half).
The performance planned for 16th stays the same.
During last ten years Edward Clug, attracted the attention of international audience for its distinctive choreographic style and as an artistic director he successfully positioned the Ballet Ensemble of SNG Maribor on the global map. On the suggestion of Festival artistic director Mladen Tarbuk Clug stages the world premiere of the Faun with two dancers in a “natural surroundings, under a starry sky, surrounded by a shimmering sea of Lokrum. This play embodies the images of hunting, in which male – hunter – dreams of his female – prey”. In the end, he catches her and lays her down on the stone bed that is still warm from the late afternoon sun. Gay Žmavc plays the role of Faun, and his nymph is Tetiana Svetlična. Costumes are designed by Leo Kulaš, set design by Edward Clug and lighting design by Tomaž Premzl.
Valentina Turcu, one of the most creative and versatile dance artists in Slovenia, is well familiar to Festival audience. Her Carmen, premiered in the National Theatre in Maribor in 2014, will for the first time be performed with orchestra performing live. Carmen is one of the most original and most successful works of Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin created in 1967 and was dedicated to his wife, Soviet prima ballerina and star of the Bolshoi Theatre, Maya Plisetskaya. Choreography of Valentina Turcu focuses on sensual dance magnetism that emanates from the erotic power of libido of the “decadent” protagonists Carmen. The libretto is based on the basic premise of the plot – erotic power of women, freedom of sexual experimentation and the impossibility of its “integration” in love triangle consisting of Carmen (Catarina de Meneses), Don José (Anton Bogov) and Escamillo (Sergiu Moga). Unique aura of performance is visually complemented by magical costumes of the world-famous artist Michal Negrin.
New Lokrum stage is located in the ruins of the Benedictine monastery and the realization of this production would not have been possible without the support and donation of the Lokrum Nature Reserve, and without sponsorship contribution of the HEP.
Boat ride to Lokrum is included in the ticket price. Ships take off from the Old City port at 20:30 and 20:45. Tickets are available at the box office in the ground floor of the Festival Palace (Od Sigurate 1) and in Luža Bell Tower.