[PRESS RELEASE - LJUBLJANA, 23 APRIL 2024]

The Ljubljana Festival announces a summer of cultural superlatives and extraordinary experiences The 72nd Ljubljana Festival, which runs from 20 June to 3 September, promises the finest symphonic and chamber concerts, opera and ballet performances by prestigious companies, a new production of an acclaimed musical and appearances by some of the most important classical and popular artists from Slovenia and abroad. The works created at the XXVII International Art Colony will further enlarge the Ljubljana Festival’s collection of contemporary art, while the youngest designers will have an opportunity to demonstrate their creativity at the Little Art Colony. Promising young musicians will be able to develop their skills with top teachers at the 2024 Ljubljana Festival Masterclasses.

OPENING OF THE 72nd LJUBLJANA FESTIVAL
20 June, 8.45 pm, Congress Square

This year’s festival will open with the traditional gala concert Summer Night, this time dedicated to the hits of singers Ditka Haberl, Alenka Pinterič and Neca Falk. Guest singers accompanied by the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Big Band and Youth Choir conducted by Patrik Greblo will take the stage in Congress Square to perform well-known hits such as: “Nad mestom se dani”, “Samo nasmeh je bolj grenak”, “Mlade oči”, “Vila z rimskega zidu”, “Kot nekdo, ki imel me je rad”, “Dan ljubezni”, “Sto majhnih nežnosti”, “Povabi srečo”, “Štajerska lady”, “Mini maxi”, “Krašovc”, “S kitaro in dolgimi lasmi”, “Prva ljubezen”, “Kako sva si različna”, “Dobro jutro, dober dan”, “Banane”, “Vsi ljudje hitijo”, “Dravski most”, and many more.

THE 72nd LJUBLJANA FESTIVAL

• THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COMPOSITIONS FOR BRASS AND WOODWIND CHAMBER ENSEMBLE: 26–28 June, various embarkation points
• PUCCINI’S LOVE TRIANGLE FEATURING WORLD-CLASS OPERA STARS: 26 June, 7.30 pm, Gallus Hall, Cankarjev Dom
• ZORBA THE GREEK IN A NEW GUISE: 27 June, 9 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre
• CONCERT BY A HOLLYWOOD STAR AND YUGOSLAV ACTING LEGEND: 28 June, 9 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre
• ARTURO O’FARRILL & THE AFRO LATIN JAZZ ORCHESTRA FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SLOVENIA: 30 June, 9 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre
• A BALLET SPECTACULAR FROM KAZAKHSTAN: 1 and 2 July, 8 pm, Gallus Hall, Cankarjev Dom
• ALL RACHMANINOFF’S PIANO CONCERTOS IN TWO EVENINGS: 3 and 4 July, 8 pm, Gallus Hall, Cankarjev Dom
• HOMAGE TO MILAN KUNDERA: 5 July, 8 pm, Glej Theatre
• XXVII INTERNATIONAL ART COLONY: 7–12 July, Križanke
• LITTLE ART COLONY: 8–12 July, Križanke
• MAESTRO NANSE GUM RETURNS TO SLOVENIA: 8 July, 5 pm, Gala Hall, National Gallery
• VERDI’S IL TROVATORE PERFORMED BY THE TEATRO DEL MAGGIO MUSICALE FIORENTINO: 8 and 10 July, 8 pm, Gallus Hall, Cankarjev Dom
• GALA CONCERT DEDICATED TO THE MUSIC OF LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: 9 July, 8 pm, Gallus Hall, Cankarjev Dom
• CONCERT FOR THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BASSOONIST ZORAN MITEV: 11 July, 8 pm, Križevniška Church
• THE BODYGUARD: 15–19 July, 9 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre
• AN EVENING OF BAROQUE CHAMBER MUSIC: 20 July, 8 pm, Križevniška Church
• A CONCERT BY THE BRAZILIAN MINISTER OF CULTURE: 21 July, 9 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre
• YOUNG ITALIAN VIRTUOSI: 22 July, 9 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre
• TWO CONCERTS BY GRAMMY-NOMINATED ARTISTS: 23 and 24 July, 9 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre
• STREET PERFORMANCE IN THE CITY CENTRE: 25 July, various locations
• LJUBLJANA FESTIVAL MASTERCLASSES 2024: 25 July–11 August, Vič-Rudnik Music School
• CONCERTS BY MASTERCLASS STUDENTS: 29 July–10 August, Križevniška Church
• THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CZECH FOLK SONGS: 26 July, 8 pm, Križevniška Church
• A BLEND OF TRADITION AND MODERNITY: 29 July, 8 pm, Marjan Kozina Hall at the Slovenian Philharmonic Hall
• A TUESDAY EVENING IN KRIŽEVNIŠKA CHURCH: 30 July, 8 pm, Križevniška Church
• VIVA VIVALDI!: 31 July, 8 pm, Križevniška Church
• UNDISCOVERED PEARLS OF THE ROMANTIC ERA: 1 August, 8 pm, Križevniška Church
• DUETTISSIMO: 2 August, 8 pm, Križevniška Church
• FROM GERMANY TO ARGENTINA: 5 August, 8 pm, Križevniška Church
• PIANO MASTERPIECES OF FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN AND FRANZ LISZT: 6 August, 8 pm, Križevniška Church
• ENSEMBLE.SI: 7 August, 8 pm, Križevniška Church
• FINAL CONCERT BY THE TEACHERS OF THE 2024 LJUBLJANA FESTIVAL MASTERCLASSES: 8 August, 6 pm, Križevniška Church
• CONCERT PERFORMANCE OF A MASTERPIECE BY GIACOMO PUCCINI: 8 August, 8.30 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre
• LJUBLJANA–VIENNA: 9 August, 8 pm, Križevniška Church
• HARMONY OF STRINGS: 12 August, 8 pm, Križevniška Church
• IN TWO: 13 August, 8 pm, Križevniška Church
• ROCOCO VARIATIONS: 14 August, 8 pm, Križevniška Church
• HOMMAGE À FRANČIŠEK SMERDU: SIXTY YEARS ON: 19 August–6 September, Križevniška Church
• ZAPPA DAY IN LJUBLJANA: 19 August, 8.30 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre
• SVETLANA ZAKHAROVA AND COSTUMES FROM THE HOUSE OF CHANEL: 20 August, 8 pm, Gallus Hall, Cankarjev Dom
• FILM MUSIC PERFORMED BY THE SLOVENE YOUTH ORCHESTRA: 21 August, 8.30 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre
• AN EVENING OF MUSIC BY JOHN WILLIAMS: 22 August, 8.30 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre
• OTO PESTNER’S GREATEST HITS: 23 August, 8.30 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre
• CONCERT PRESENTATION OF THE NEW ALBUM BY BOSSA DE NOVO: 26 August, 8.30 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre
• COMMITTED TO STEPS: 27 August, 6 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre
• CONCERT OF OPERA ARIAS WITH JUAN DIEGO FLÓREZ: 27 August, 8 pm, Gallus Hall, Cankarjev Dom
• TWO CONCERTS BY THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND SIR ANTONIO PAPPANO: 28 and 29 August, 8 pm, Gallus Hall, Cankarjev Dom
• 20 YEARS OF UROŠ PERIĆ: 30 August, 8.30 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre
• THE ETERNAL VLADO KRESLIN: 31 August, 8.30 pm, Križanke Summer Theatre
• THE MAGNIFICENCE OF ORCHESTRAL SOUND: 2 September, 8 pm, Gallus Hall, Cankarjev Dom

CLOSING OF THE 72nd LJUBLJANA FESTIVAL. IN GRAND STYLE
3 September, 8 pm, Gallus Hall, Cankarjev Dom

The 72nd Ljubljana Festival will be concluded by the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Charles Dutoit, the 103rd recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal. After opening the concert with the Pelléas et Mélisande suite, a masterpiece by the proto-Impressionist Gabriel Fauré, Dutoit will be joined onstage by the legendary Martha Argerich, with whom he previously appeared at the 69th Ljubljana Festival in 2021. The Argentine pianist is famous for her performances of the virtuoso piano literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. She will perform Maurice Ravel’s ebullient Piano Concerto in G major, which incorporates the influences of jazz and Basque folk music. Finally, we will hear Antonin Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”).

MORE INFO AND TICKETS

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More information: ljubljanafestival.si

    Maruša Šinkovič, +386 (0)1 241 60 18 marusa.sinkovic[@]ljubljanafestival.si  
    Tina Berk, +386 (0)1 241 60 20 - tina.berk[@]ljubljanafestival.si
    Saša Strmšnik, +386 (0)1 241 60 08 - pr[@]ljubljanafestival.si