Opening the 14th Rijeka Summer Nights the Theatre was host to its city for the first time!
Interested citizens of all ages did not want to leave the Theatre tonight. Curious and delighted, our guests hurried to see as much as possible, learn and experience all that is found behind usually closed doors. They entered the imposing building from all sides, from all doors, getting through the crowd in corridors to reach offices, rooms, halls and the changing rooms. They sat, played and conducted in the orchestra, sang with the chorus, also with karaoke, asked questions to artists and other theatre employee who are usually “invisible”… In spite of the rain and bad weather, the theatre building swarmed with visitors, while those who we managed to stop for a moment told us: “Great, this is the best opening so far”, “Ingenious! It’s great to be able to walk freely through the spaces I even didn’t know existed”, “Perfect, no one is bothering you, you’re going where you want and can stay there as long as you want! If this happens next year, I’d come again as I would surely find something I haven’t seen or experienced. Have you taken this concept over?”
No, we have not, as it is the original idea conceived in the CNT Ivan pl. Zajc.
It is important to mention that in case you were not in the office of the general manager at that moment, the Italian Drama actor Giuseppe Nicodemo, namely, il Colonello, started collecting signatures for the petition to change the name of Tito Square into the Square of Gabriele D’Annunzio.
Having had a tour of the building and assisted over thirty different programmes, the visitors gathered in the auditorium. There was a surprise on the stage, namely, the CNT Ivan pl. Zajc Opera orchestra with the conductor Igor Vlajnić and tenor Aljaž Farasin. It was “Nessun dorma”, aria from Puccini’s Turandot that he sang tonight, at the opening of the 14th Rijeka Summer Nights! This aria he had also sung at the welcome of Croatian champions, the soccer team Rijeka, having thus delighted thousands of moved fans. The enthusiastic audience awarded him with ovations and enticed two encores, wanting even more!
This was the beginning of the Festival, and, as we know, if the morning is good so will be the day! Therefore, come to see other Rijeka Summer Nights programmes, come also to the Theatre Parliament where you can have a discussion on the future of your Summer Festival.
