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Photo: Đ. Radivojević
This article was developed within the program Venture an Idea funded by the USAID.
Belgrade Festival Center – CEBEF, in cooperation with Serbian National Theater and Stanislav Binički Art Ensemble, organizes a performance of Orff’s magnificent Carmina Burana, involving a couple of hundreds of performers on stage together with a symphonic orchestra and a choir.
A couple of hundreds of musicians will perform this spectacular piece opened with the famous “O Fortuna” tomorrow, September 3rd, from 20h, at the Ušće in Belgrade. This monumental, exciting, and highly-popular piece of 20th-century music was written for a vocal trio (soprano, tenor, and baritone), a large mixed choir, and a symphonic orchestra generously supported by percussions. This musical spectacle will be a rare occasion in Belgrade to see many actors in a single open-air performance.
The performance will be conducted by Maestro Aleksandar Kojić, while the solo vocalists include: soprano Marija Jelić, tenor Stevan Karanac, and baritone Vasa Stajkić.
Maestro Aleksandar Kojić, in addition to classical opera repertoire, has been proven in modern opera. In recent years, Kojić has had guest appearances in the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb and Croatian National Theater Ivan pl. Zajc in Rijeka (Croatia), Szeged Opera (Hungary), and Theater of Opera and Ballet in Krasnoyarsk (Russia). In September 2007, he attended a masterclass of Italian Opera in Ravenna (Italy) held by Riccardo Mutti.
Since its creation in 1937, Carmina Burana by Carl Orff (1895-1982) has been this German composer’s famous piece. It is a part of a musical triptych titled Trionfi (Triumph), which consists of three cantatas: Carmina Burana, Catulli Carmina, and Trionfi di Afrodite. The composer found the lyrics for this composition in a collection of verses from the 13th century, containing poems of wandering schoolboys, idle students, and singers while including juicy and saucy verses celebrating love, nature, and the joys of life.
Carl Orff is one of the most significant composers of the 20th century. As he performed pedagogical work, he wrote the book Music for Children, which had a didactic purpose. He introduced so-called Orff’s instrumentation in his classes, consisting of the instruments adjusted for children. His most important piece is the cantata of Carmina Burana.
Take a walk to Ušće tomorrow night at 20h and enjoy the free concert!
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