August the 11th, 2023 – The Dubrovnik Summer Festival is set to showcase the Masks monodrama on the 12th of August, and this third theatre premier will undoubtedly wow the audience. On top of that, there are some wonderful musical pieces to look forward to.
Dražen Šivak’s monodrama Masks is being hailed as the theatre premiere of the summer. It’s a co-production by the Dubrovnik Summer Festival and the UO Group, in cooperation with the Ribnjak Scene. This Saturday, the 12th of August at the Bokar Fort, the multi-talented actor and director Dražen Šivak will revive the commedia dell’arte tradition and present it to wider audiences in the form of a lecture.
Are masks used to hide yourself, or to put yourself on display?
When we think of a mask, the first thing that comes to mind is – using it to hide. However, in the acting profession, masks serve as the exact opposite thing – they work to reveal something. In the form of a lecture performance, the fantastic Masks monodrama will lead the audience through the symbolism, history and skills that are closely related to the mask as a performance element. On top of that, the audience will travel through classical dramatic literature from Croatia and the rest of the world. The Masks monodrama will also work to guide the audience through the world of transformation, all while simultaneously connecting archetypal stories about the complexities of human relationships and drawing parallels with the characters of our contemporaries.
Masks carry symbolism that is eternal
Dramaturge Patrik Gregurec writes the following: “From the first cave paintings, through early history shamans, ancient Greeks and commedia dell’arte to the clown noses of today, the mask has been a constant that carries importance, both for the performer who wears it and for his audience.“
Tickets for this premiere title are available via the festival website or the Ulaznice/Tickets service. They’re also available at the box office in the Festival Palace (Od Sigurate 1) every day from 09:00 until 21:30, as well as in front of the DTS building (Vukovarska Ulica) from Monday to Friday from 10:00 until 17:00.
Runge, Filjak and Tudor with an unmissable programme at the Rector’s Palace
Lovers of the world of music will be more than glaf to hear about the upcoming concert and unusual combination of instruments by cellist Eckart Runge, pianist Martina Filjak and saxophonist Gordan Tudor.
They are preparing an utterly irresistible programme for the Dubrovnik Summer Festival’s cultured audience with a strong influence placed on jazz and tango in the Rector’s Palace on August the 12th at 21:30. Runge, Filjak and Tudor are all superb musicians with a very broad array of interests.
They’re mainly known for their improvisation skills and taking an exceedingly creative approach to music on the whole. Their repertoire will include pieces by Piazzolla, Gershwin, Kapustin and one of Tudor’s own sonatas.
Guest performances from renowned orchestras at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival
Next week, the city’s stunning Rector’s Palace will host two renowned European orchestras from the classical scene. First come the Polish {oh!} Orkiestra, founded by one of the most interesting violinists of her generation, Martyna Pastuszka, on the 16th of August at 21:30.
A programme composed of works written under the influence of different cultures, with admiration for their distinctiveness, by composers Purcell, Couperin, Corrette, Schmelzer and Rameau, will also take place. Since its foundation back in 2012, this ensemble has specialised in historically informed performances which are regularly performed at various prestigious concert halls. Naturally, this has earned them a reputation as the most important Polish orchestra for early music, as well as one of the most interesting ensembles on the European scene currently.
On Friday the 18th of August at 21:30, members of the famous Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra will perform glorious chamber music in various formations, from duos to smaller chamber orchestras. Praised by the New York Times for their “warm, glowing performance,” they especially nurture the classical and romantic repertoire for wind and string instruments, as well as maintaining active relationships with living composers. They will interpret the works of Nino Rota and Johannes Brahms for the Dubrovnik Summer Festival’s audience.
