“ANTIDIVA” – GALA CONCERT: ANAMARIJA KNEGO AND FRIENDS

Cleopatra in Händel’s opera Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Dona Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Susanna in La Nozze di Figaro by the same, Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello and Violetta Valéry in his Traviata as well as Alice Ford in Falstaff; Cio-Cio San, Mimì and Lauretta in Puccini’s operas Madama Butterfly, La bohème and Gianni Schicchi, Tatjana in the opera Eugene Onegin by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Jelena in Zajc’s Nikola Šubić Zrinjski, Juliet in Roméo et Juliette by Charles Gounod, Sophie in Werther by Jules Massenet, Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen, Salud in La vida breve by Manuel de Falle and Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten – just a glimpse at the series of soprano roles Anamarija Knego has embodied in the last eight years on the stage of the Rijeka Opera as well as in guest appearances in Croatia and abroad reveal that she is an opera artist open to an unusually diverse repertoire of artistic challenges: from Händel and Mozart, Verdi and Puccini to Zajc and Tchaikovsky, de Falla and Britten; from baroque to twentieth-century opera; equally devoted to roles from Italian, French, Russian, Croatian, Spanish and English operatic literature. For the program of her gala concert, Anamarija Knego selected an exclusively new repertoire, the one to which she intends to dedicate herself in her upcoming seasons. This boldness and inclination for artistic research is one of the main things that connects Anamarija Knego with the two opera artists whom she has invited to share the stage with her for this strangely titled concert: Dubrava Šeparović Mušović and Diana Haller. They do not approach each of their roles as merely a singing and acting task, as purely professional interests that need to fit into the expectations of conductors, directors, agents and the dictates of the opera market. In each of their roles and performances, they look for opportunities for interpretation that call for taking bold risks, for discovery, for broadening the perspective of opera singing as an art of creation, not reproduction, of creating something lasting instead of a calculated pretense. “Antidiva” is not a title that impugns the idea and character of an opera diva, but a title that juxtaposes these opera artists with their commercialization and trivialization. In contrast to the empty title and vain appearances of a “diva,” Anamarija Knego, Dubravka Šeparović Mušović and Diana Haller always represent their authentic personality, integrity and authority through their dedication to the art of singing and acting and their stubborn devotion to theatrical opera.

Program

Vincenzo Bellini: Norma
Norma’s aria and cabaletta – Casta Diva and Ah! Bello a me ritorna… (Anamarija Knego and the Rijeka Opera Choir)
Duet between Norma and Adalgisa – Deh, con te… Mira, o Norma (Anamarija Knego and Diana Haller)

Antonio Pasculli: Concert based on motifs from the opera La Favorita by Gaetano Donizetti
(Antonio Haller, oboe)

Giuseppe Verdi: Aida
Duet between Aida and Amneris – Fu la sorte dell’armia tuoi funesta (Anamarija Knego, Dubravka Šeparović Mušović and the Rijeka Opera Choir)
Aida’s aria – Oh, patria mia (Anamarija Knego)

*** 20 min intermission ***

Leoš Janáček: Jenůfa
Duet between Jenůfa and Kostelnička – Nechám ještě dveře otevřeny (Anamarija Knego and Dubravka Šeparović Mušović)
Kostelnička’s aria – Co chvila… Co chvila (Dubravka Šeparović Mušović)

Richard Strauss: Romanze for Cello and Orchestra in F major, TrV 118
(Petar Kovačić, cello)

Giuseppe Verdi: Don Carlo
Duet between Princess Eboli and Elisabetta – Pietà! Perdon! (Diana Haller and Anamarija Knego)
Eboli’s aria – O, don fatale! (Diana Haller)
Elisabetta’s aria – Tu, che le vanita! (Anamarija Knego)

The general sponsor of the Rijeka Symphony Orchestra, INA, traditionally donates tickets to the Ivan Matetić Ronjgov Music School in Rijeka, providing the ability to attend concerts and enjoy top music and one-of-a-kind experiences.

General sponsor of the Rijeka Symphony Orchestra