The time has come for the 8th year of the Viva Musica! festival, so here we will inform you about some of the changes made to the festival.
The first of them is the date: In 2012 the Viva Musica! festival will move from the last week in July to the last week in June. So mark the dates from 23 to 30 June in your calendar right away, so you can enjoy the nine concerts we present to you with some renowned names from the international classical and jazz music scenes.
Undoubtedly the most anticipated concert will once again be the opera gala at Bratislava Castle. Following the phenomenal successes of Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky or Mexican tenor Ramón Vargas in previous years, on 30 June 2012 we will welcome two top opera singers to Bratislava: winners of the prestigious prize of Placído Domingo OperaliaSinging Competition – the enchanting Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva, and excellent Romanian tenor Stefan Pop.
The opening concert of Viva Musica! (23.6) will see some of the most prominent actors and musicians come together on one stage, to give praise at a concert full of humour, emotion and musical delights to the immortal Slovak music legend Jaro Filip. On Sunday 24 June around 5 pm the Slovak a cappella group Fragile will be performing, while in the evening you can enjoy an unforgettable one-man show of Slovak musician, singer, pianist, composer and humorist, Marián Čekovský.
Following the hopelessly sold-out situation in concert tickets in Stará tržnica (Old Market Hall) last year, this year again we have prepared some exclusive musical experiences at this highly attractive venue. On 25 June we will welcome for the first time the duo Igudesman & Joo from nearby Vienna, who you will surely recognise from Youtube at least. Top world violinist and holder of the Guinness record as the most sold classical musician of all time – Nigel Kennedy – will delight the Old Market Hall on Tuesday 26 June. This year’s Hall of Fame will definitely include the concert by one of the most influential contemporary British music icons – Michael Nyman, who will be joined by his ensemble to play a cross-section of his own film scores (27.6). The Old Market Hall will also welcome the exciting suite of Slovak composer Vladimír Godár called Mater with a rendition by Iva Bittová and world-renowned period instruments ensemble Solamente naturali (28.6). Moving back to the Main Square, Slovak conductor Juraj Valčuha will lead a 100-strong orchestra with one of the most controversial works ever in the history of classical music – Stravinsky’s cult work The Rite of Spring. This year you can once again look forward to the ever popular Viva Musica! nursery, the success of which exceeded all our expectations again last year.
We are sure the programme of the 8th Viva Musica! festival will capture your interest and that we will see you again in the summer.
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Looking forward to seeing you!
Matej Drlička
& Viva Musica! team