«A wonderful audience in Rijeka», commented the big-name opera soloists Yusif Eyvazov, Maria Guleghina, Lucio Gallo, Kristina Kolar and Rossana Rinaldi moved by the reactions of the audience after the concert. With exceptionally powerful and emotional appearances of all soloists, and the Opera orchestra, all under the baton of Ville Matvejeff and Marco Boemi, a great celebration of the opera, «A View to 2020: ECC and CNT Gala Concert» that was conceived as a two-hour concert, lasted almost three hours! Yusif Eyvazov with «Nessun dorma», as the last of the three encores, brought about a strong reaction of the audience – shouts of enthusiasm and loud «Bravo» followed by a ten-minute ovation! The concert that was divided in two parts, Verdi and verismo, topped all the rather high expectations of the performers as well as that of the audience that awarded each duet and aria with a loud and heartfelt applause.
«A great experience», «A brilliant, wonderful concert!», «An excellent concert, soloists, orchestra, conductors, audience!», «Rijeka people can be proud, this is the top», «All breath-taking! Bravo to the organisation, thanks to all who made an effort to make such a concert happen in this town», «Mr Eyvazov is a tenor of an amazing power, pure phrases and the beauty of voice. What fascinates me besides his confident singing is his sincerity and having lived every single word. Each aria was brought by his own attitude, face and strong emotion», «Sheer delight!», «Still in a positive shock, not being able to believe that they are really here, in front of us, in Rijeka. These are singers from the most famous opera stages worldwide», «I admire all of them, truly all – each musician from the orchestra, from conductors to the wonderfully amazing opera artists. I wonder whether there could be more than this at all», « Definitely the best concert in the last half a century», are only some of the impressions that the delighted visitors of this concert have shared with us.
At the beginning, before welcoming the wife of Yusif Eyvazov, opera diva Anna Netrebko, who followed the concert from the auditorium, CNT Ivan pl. Zajc general manager Marin Blažević addressed the Rijeka audience: «In the long history of this theatre, we have never had the chance to hear such a number of soloists from the top of opera world in the same evening. I believe you’ll remember forever the concert that will last two hours.» This was later confirmed by impressions and comments of the audience upon leaving the theatre after not less than three encores, «Te Deum» and «Vissi d’arte» from Tosca, as well as «Nessun dorma» from «Turandot». Next to the singers that have already won world opera stages, Yusif Eyvazov, Maria Guleghina, Lucio Gallo, Rossana Rinaldi and our opera star Kristina Kolar, there were also prominent soloists of the Rijeka Opera who appeared at the end of the first part of the concert, in the finale from Verdi’s opera Falstaff – «Tutto nel mondo è burla», namely, Anamarija Knego, Vanja Zelčić, Ivana Srbljan, a regular guest singer Aljaž Farasin, Robert Kolar, Marko Fortunato, Sergej Kiselev and Dario Bercich
«A View to 2020: ECC and CNT Gala Concert» a joint project of the Rijeka 2020 – European Capital of Culture and the CNT Ivan pl. Zajc has thus announced impressively a number of musical and theatre projects within the programme of the European Capital of Culture, having shown the standard that ECC 2020 and the Rijeka CNT are going to pursue, that is, a superior artistic quality and co-operation of the best national and international artists.
INA has been the general sponsor having helped in the realisation of the concert. The MBM Garden Centre has taken care of the spring atmosphere, having decorated the stage, atrium and foyer with flowers, while the Carpet Centre Rijeka (Tepih CR) kindly provided the red carpet.
Before the beginning of the concert, Rijeka businessmen gathered in the CNT Ivan pl. Zajc foyer, where the ECC Business Club was presented to them, the objective of which being to gather businessmen who wish to contribute actively to the project of the Rijeka 2020 – European Capital of Culture, with the idea for the philanthropic investment in culture and art to continue after the year 2020.
At the reception there were the following speakers, the Rijeka theatre general manager Marin Blažević, the ECC 2020 executive director Emina Višnić, the City of Rijeka Mayor Vojko Obersnel, the ECC 2020 development and strategic partnerships director Irena Kregar Šegota and the president of the Council for Competitiveness UA Rijeka, Rijeka Boris Popović.
GALA CONCERT GENERAL SPONSOR
We express our gratitude to:
