Page 178 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2025. Glasbena interpretacija: med umetniškim in znanstvenim┊Music Interpretation: Between the Artistic and the Scientific. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 8

glasbena interpretacija ... | music interpretation ...
have also added more recent works to their programmes. The celebration
of the centenary of Glasbena matica 2019 in Ljubljana naturally included a
broad conspectus of choral music from the last 100 years.
While Slovene opera in the 20 century was important, it was on a rel-
th
atively modest scale. During the first quarter of the 21 century, it expand-
st
ed considerably. In many ways it was the result of improving numbers of
good local singers, but also an increasing interest among the public in new
works. The leading Slovene operatic composer is undoubtedly Tomaž Svete.
Among his numerous operas is Kriton; first performed in Austria and re-
corded there, it then received an excellent concert performance in 2003
in Ljubljana with local performers. With fine Slovene performers direct-
ed by the conductor Simon Krečič, Svete’s setting of Antigona (Dominik
Smole’s reworking of Antigone by Sophocles) made a very deep impression
at its performance in Ljubljana in 2018. The chamber opera King David by
Uroš Rojko with guest performers from Germany was similarly effective in
2010. The opera Marpurgi by Nina Šenk of 2019, again conducted by Simon
Krečič was outstanding, not least because of the contribution from the fine
musicians taking part. The cooperation with performers is spelled out very
clearly by the composer:

During the composing process, I worked closely with the Slovene Na-
tional Theatre in Maribor, especially with the artistic director Simon
Krečič. It was in the interest of both that the opera be successfully per-
formed within the capabilities that the opera house could offer. This
meant a detailed examination of the qualities and weaknesses of each
singer, the range of voice, experience with contemporary music litera-
ture, a precise selection of available instruments, taking into account
the experience of musicians from the orchestra who would perform the
opera, and the experience and capabilities of the opera choir. Let me say
here that I find close cooperation very effective and important in the im-
plementation of such extensive projects. 19

In a similar way to opera, in musical-theatrical works a high degree of
cooperation and coordination is necessary. While in the 20 century such
th
works as Globokar’s Les émigrés and some of the more extravagant works
of Darijan Božič were relatively rare, this kind of multi-media creation is
also encountered in Slovenia in the 21 century. Because performers do not
st
19 Nina Šenk, “Marpurgi – pristop k ustvaranju nove slovenske opere,” in Nas-
topna predavanja 2019 in 2021, eds. Peter Štih et al. (Ljubljana: Slovenska ak-
ademija znanosti in umetnosti, 2023), 153–73.

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