This year the cultural summer in Ljubljana is going to be marked by the 66th Ljubljana Festival, held from 28 June till 3 September 2018. It is traditionally opening on Congress Square with the world premiere of the musical scenic performance Sfera Mundi – Voyage around the World.

This time one of the six artistic directors of the renowned Catalonian group La Fura dels Baus, Carlus Padrissa, who opened the 65th Ljubljana Festival with a picturesque staging of the scenic cantata Carmina Burana, is paying artistic tribute to the Magellan’s 1519 expedition. The performance Sfera Mundi – Voyage around the World, created specifically for the Congress Square venue, tells a story of one of the first and greatest discovery voyages in the history of humanity. It is on the programme on 28 June.

On 18 June, before the official start of the Festival, the Slovene version of the musical Grease is debuting under a new roof in Križanke, the evening before the first day of summer the traditional concert Summer Night is on the programme, and June is ending with the concert Symphonic Ecstasy 2. The summer is going to be marked by renowned soloists and orchestras; the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra is returning to Ljubljana, a concert of the La Scala Theatre Philharmonic Orchestra from Milano is on the programme, and the 66th Ljubljana Festival is closing with a concert by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from Amsterdam. Taking us into the world of opera are, in addition to the soprano singer Kristine Opolais, soprano Diana Damrau, tenor Marcelo Álvarez, baritone Leo Nucci in the lead role of the opera Rigoletto, the Opera and Ballet Slovene National Theatre Maribor with Wagner’s Das Rheingold and the Sarajevo National Theatre with the opera Hasanaginica. Dance aficionados can see the ballet Tchaikovsky. Pro et Contra performed by the St Petersburg State Academic Ballet Theatre of Boris Eifman, the modern choreography ballet triptych Left Right, Left Right, the performance The Sacrifice by the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theatre, and a Slovenian production titled Dance Amore. Creating a more relaxed musical atmosphere are the repeat performances of the musicals Vesna and Blossoms in Autumn, Vlado Kreslin’s traditional concert, the concert marking the 20th anniversary of Nuša Derenda’s work and the virtuoso pianist Peter Bence. As homage to the master director Tomaž Pandur the drama Faust is going to be staged again, and following the conclusion of the 66th Ljubljana Festival is the performance of the group Laibach returning to Križanke with the Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra.

The complete programme of this year’s Ljubljana Festival is published here.

May the Ljubljana Festival be the centre of your cultural adventures this year, as well!