Music Programme
The concert of Bojan Suđić and the “Virtuozi” Orchestra titled “Musical Fireworks” is to mark the continuation of the “Theatre City” music programme. The concert is to take place on Sunday, July 28th at 9PM, in front of the “Palas” Hotel (Petrovac). The special guest for the evening is Dušan Svilar and the entrance is free of charge.
Winning the “Competition of Yugoslav Musicians” in a fierce competition and that just before the conflicts in the former common state started, signified the first step towards Bojan Suđić’s affirmation as a conductor. After that, he gradually established himself as an artist to whom the musicologist Sonja Marinković referred to as “the leading name when it comes to conducting in Serbian music”.
Since the early beginning of his career, he has kept up his ties with the Choir and Symphony Orchestra of “RTS”. Since 2005 ,however, he has been given the position of the chief conductor of these two ensembles, being their driving force all the way to 2024. All the while, he conducted his obligations as an Art Director and was the Executive Director of the “RTS” Music Production. The multilayered repertoire and manifold concerts, recordings and guest appearances, rave reviews and many an award mark the period in which the “RTS” ensembles have reached the highest artistic grounds under his leadership. According to Maria Adamov it is “the most competent and successful ensemble when it comes to bringing to life the monumental vocal-instrumental works”.
The highlights of a long-standing fruitful collaboration with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra were the performances at the Belgrade Music Festival, the music tour in China in addition to the CD with Sergei Rachmaninov’s music.
Since the mid-nineties, maestro Suđić has been collaborating with the Belgrade Opera and Ballet ensemble. Over the years he has held the following positions: the chief conductor and the executive director of the Belgrade National Theatre where he was responsible for many premiers, revivals and repertoire performances. The premiere of the “Falstaff” by Giuseppe Verdi, which was adapted for music by maestro Suđić, was highly praised by the music critics in 2023. Performing with eighty renowned orchestras and choirs from all around the world, as well as with every single one of the regional ensembles in addition to the collaboration with the Royal Swedish Opera are the high points of his career. There, he conducted over 150 plays, ten of which were premiers, as an Artist in Residence. Maestro Suđić conducted the formal gala concert at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet (Helsinki), marking the beginning of the new millennia and the National Autonomous University of Mexico’s jubilee concert, where he was a frequent guest and conductor for 9 years. He performed across Europe, South America and Asia.
He collaborated with the most renowned soloist such as: Maxim Vengerov, Vadim Repin, Nigel Kennedy, Ivo Pogorelić, Denis Matsvev, Nikolai Lugansky. Michel Béroff, Shlomo Mintz, Emanuel Pai, Plácido Domingo, Angela Gheorghiu, Bryn Terfel and others.
In 2022, the Festival Orchestra and Choir “Virtuozi” was formed. The series of spectacular concerts in front of the large auditorium in Serbia, Montenegro and Slovenia as well as the performances with: Nigel Kennedy, Stefan Milenković, Bryn Terfel (baritone) and the conductor Charles Detoit has brought it many acknowledgments of the audience and critics. The ensemble established the high quality of performance by making recordings under maestro Suđić. They were released for the foreign market by the “New World Classic” recording company from Germany. The performance of the “Virtuozi” and the violinist Nigel Kennedy at the formal opening of “The Belgrade Music Festival” was named the concert of the year in a survey conducted by the “Politika” magazine.
Maestro Bojan Suđić is a full professor of conducting at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade. For his work in the area of music, he has received the highest national and professional acknowledgments and has been holding the position of the Belgrade Music Festival’s arts director.
Theatre Programme
The same night at 7 PM on Sunday, July 28th, the first rerun of the play in a form of a guided stride Unreal City is to take place. It is written and directed by Vuk Ršumović and is the production of the “Theatre City” Budva. The venue for the play is the whole of the Old Town Budva.
“The Unreal City is a theatrical experience that breaks the traditional boundaries between the performer and audience. The play is realized in a form of a guided stride and that in the authentic atmosphere of the Old Town Budva. The audience is to follow the narration using headphones that will help create the world of imagination, eventually leading to the need for interaction with the environment, including the people present. It goes without saying that the audience is no longer a passive observer but an active participant in a play and is encouraged to explore the surroundings, therefore influencing the development of the story-line. The project is a stepping stone towards the new field of contemporary theatrical expression that blurs the boundaries between reality and fiction. The audience will have a chance to experience Budva in a unique and unforgettable way, not yet seen till now. When it comes to the theme of the play, the participants are motivated to think about their memories in a new and different way, thus moving their lives to a yet unexplored and exciting context for them. The goal is that in each and every member of the audience, the play should activate the memory in different ways. With the use of narration and their own memory and imagination, the participants will be transported to different new worlds. Our intention is to give the audience an unforgettable experience and forever imprint in their memory these impressions of the Old Town Budva”- states Ršumović in his directorial explanation.
Along with the writer-director Vuk Ršumović, the authorial team includes: Ana Tomović (assistant director), Jakov Munižaba (sound design), Andreja Hamović (the visual designs’ author) and Marija Liješević as the narrator. Ana Pavlović and Sunčica Babić are also a part of the play.
The oral testimonies of: Slobodan Bobo Mitrović, Dalibor Antonioli, Jerolim Dragičević, Ljerka Dragičević, Dragan Stefan and Marija Pjerotić were used as a documentary material.
The play Ureal City will also run on the 29th and 30th of July at 7 PM. This time, the venue will also be the Old Town Budva. . However, due to the program’s specific nature, the second cycle of the performances will also be made available to the public during August, or to be specific from the 22nd to the 25th of August.
The “Theatre-City” Press-Office