Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana

As the central Slovene music theatre company, the Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana stages an annual season of opera, ballet and concerts, plus some additional programmes featuring various classical and contemporary music theatre works.

The neo-Classical opera house was modernised and renovated according to the plans by Jurij Kobe and Marjan Zupanc and reopened in December 2011.

History

The beginnings of Slovene opera performances can be traced back to 1867 when the Dramatic Society was established. The society opened possibilities also for operatic productions which were at first very modest (singspiels, operettas, stage music). Important impulses were given by the singer, conductor and composer Fran Gerbič who improved the music capacities of local actors and musicians.

In 1892 the new building was built. The building hosted two theatres: the German State Theatre (as conductors served in German theatre such conductors as Gustav Mahler and Fritz Reiner) and the Slovene theatre, which now operated on the professional basis. The Slovene ensemble was without an orchestra but with the help of military band they performed also operas and operettas. Both ensembles prepared their own productions and the relation between them was of a positive rivalry.

In 1918 the opera gained a professional orchestra and a ballet ensemble. The most important artistic director was the composer and conductor Mirko Polič. He enlarged the orchestra and ensemble and staged many contemporary operas (I. Stravinsky, S. Prokofiev, E. Krenek, D. Shostakovich, P. Vladigerov, Marij Kogoj) and the basic German repertoire (R. Wagner, R. Strauss).

After the Second World War, the opera continued with successful work. Of special importance was the guest appearance on the Dutch Festival and in Paris with the performance of Prokofiev's opera The Love for Three Oranges. In 1957, the recording of it, under the baton of the renowned Slovenian conductor Bogo Leskovic for the renowned label Philips and rewarded with the grand prix du disque.

Programme

Opera

As the central Slovene music theatre company, the SNG Opera and Ballet Ljubljana stages an annual season of opera, ballet and concerts, plus some additional programmes featuring various classical and contemporary music theatre works. Each season, around 150 performances by the opera and ballet ensembles take place.

The Opera Company of the SNG Opera and Ballet Ljubljana also presents an annual programme of international opera featuring its own orchestra and regular appearances by visiting international guest conductors, directors or performers. Each season it prepares 3 to 5 new productions and reprises of jolder productions. They perform mostly Italian opera of 19th century and operas form verismo period. Ensemble of soloists consists mainly of Slovene singers but at the premiers perform often also the foreign artists.

Ballet

The Ballet Company of the SNG Opera and Ballet Ljubljana prepares on average 3 new performances per year. Guest dancers and choreographers are often invited to work with the company and various productions are staged in collaboration with overseas companies. The Ballet Company prepares standard ballet pieces (Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Minkus) and lately also combines modern dance techniques with standard ballet practices.

Venues

The majority of the performances are staged in the neo-Classical opera house, designed by Czech architects Jan V. Hrasky and Anton Hruby and built in 1892. The building has undergone renovations with the addition of a new annex which doubled the building's size to 10,000 square metres (architects Jurij Kobe and Marjan Zupanc). The doors re-opened for the 2011/2012 season.

Larger productions are also staged at Cankarjev dom Culture and Congress Centre, sometimes in co-operation with Slovene National Theatre Maribor that houses also opera and ballet ensemble. The significant co-productions have comprised Faust, Aida, Don Quixote, Prince Igor, Rusalka, and the Rhine Nymphs.

International cooperation

After the Second World War, the Opera made extensive tours which led the ensemble in Holland, France, Russia, Czech and Slovak Republic. Frequent were guest appearances in near Trieste, Klagenfurt, Zagreb and Graz. In 2012 the Ballet ensemble presented itself in South Korea.

In the last decade opera company tries to re-establish international contacts by preparing joint productions. Its partners have been Festspielhaus from Austria's St Poelten, Volkstheater Rostock, the Slovene National Theatre Maribor, Teatro Verdi Trieste, the Croatian National Theatre of Zagreb, the Glyndebourne Festival (Dvořak's Rusalka) and Opera Comique from Paris.

External links

SNG Opera and Ballet Ljubljana website
SNG Opera and Ballet Ljubljana architecture - the history of the building from the Theatre Architecture in Central Europe web database

Gallery

A flyer for the Slovene contribution at the 13th Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space (PQ curated by Barbara Novakovič Kolenc in June 2015.

Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana at night, 2011

Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana, 2012

Tristan and Isolde, a full length ballet to an original score by Sašo Kalan and Wagner's opera musical fragments, produced by the Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana in 2014. Stage design by Meta Grgurevič in collaboration with JAŠA.

Tristan and Isolde, a ballet performance "conceived as a comprehensive work of art, is based on the idea of love and the thesis of immortality, brought to the human existence by art". Produced by the Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana in 2014.

Tristan and Isolde ballet with the stage design by Meta Grgurevič in collaboration with JAŠA, Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana, 2014.

Tristan and Isolde, a full length ballet produced by the Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana in 2014. Stage design by Meta Grgurevič in collaboration with JAŠA, costume design by Uroš Belantič.

Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana

Contents

History

Programme

Opera

Ballet

Venues

International cooperation

See also

Slovene National Theatres

External links

Gallery

Operated by

Financed by