68th Ljubljana Festival Will Go Ahead, 2 July – 30 Aug, 2020

By , 03 Jun 2020, 08:16 AM Lifestyle
The soprano Anna Netrebko, one of the stars of the Festival The soprano Anna Netrebko, one of the stars of the Festival Wikimedia, Simon Wedege Petersen CC-by-SA-3.0

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STA, 2 June 2020 - The Ljubljana Festival will go ahead as planned despite the coronavirus crisis, taking place in Ljubljana between 2 July and 30 August. Cancellations by acclaimed ensembles have been replaced by sought-after performers, such as opera star Anna Netrebko and the Milan La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra.

"The Ljubljana Festival team has prepared a programme that is in no way corona-like regarding its quality," Darko Brlek, the festival's director and artistic director, said as he addressed today's press conference.

Up until two weeks ago, Brlek was not even sure whether the 68th Ljubljana Festival would be held this year. The corona crisis has mostly affected bigger multinational ensembles, he told the STA.

The Bolshoi Theatre and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra have thus cancelled their attendance, but the festival has instead managed to attract artists that have been on its wish-list for years, including Netrebko, the Austrian-Russian soprano, who will perform on 18 August, and German tenor Jonas Kaufman, taking the stage on 26 August.

The festival will mark the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven's birth with a number of events, including the opening one, and wrap up with a performance by the La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra.

It will also feature a number of Slovenian artists and various accompanying events.

The festival will officially end in late August, however a couple of events will be held after that - a play by Lebanese-Canadian playwright Wajdi Mouawad titled All Birds and directed by Croatian theatre director Ivica Buljan and a concert marking the 75th anniversary of the RTV Slovenija Big Band orchestra.

The festival's main venue will be Congress Square, a place where preventive measures can be implemented more easily. Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković said that the city could also provide extra seats in the nearby Zvezda Park or even close off Slovenska Road if events attract bigger numbers than expected.

You can learn more at the Ljubljana Festival website

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