SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12th at 8.00 PM
KOLARAC ENDOWMENT
VOJVODINA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
CONDUCTOR ALEКSANDAR MARКOVIĆ
MAIDA HUNDELING, SOPRANO
JAN VACÍК, TENOR
Richard Strauss:
"Dance of the seven veils" from opera “Salome”
Final scene of the opera
***
Alexander Scriabin:
Symphony No. 3, C minor, Op. 43 "The Divine Poem"
Introduction - Luttes ("Struggles") - Voluptés ("Delights") - Jeu divin ("Divine Play")
Aleksandar Marković is the Principal Guest Conductor of Sinfonia Varsovia, effective from September 1. 2022. Their exciting schedule ahead includes a CD recording of Szymanowski and Nielsen violin concertos with Anna Agafia Engholm, and a world premiere of commisioned work by Pawel Mykietyn alongside Mahler's Symphony Nr.7.
During the 2021/22 concert season they appeared at the 19. Lutoslawski "Chain" Festival in Warsaw with an energising programme featuring works of Polish modern Classics Lutoslawski, Szymanowski, Dobrowolski and Regamey. Aleksandar conducted the orchestra's prestigious Anniversary Concert at Warsaw Opera House, featuring works of Penderecki, Chopin and Schumann. He leads Sinfonia Varsovia in the opening and closing concerts of their Summer Festival, with repertoire ranging from Mozart, Schumann, Debussy and Honegger to Phillip Glass, and a world premiere of "Bbrass Concerto" by contemporary Polish composer Mikulaj Maikusiak.
As Chief Conductor of Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra, Aleksandar opened the 2022/23 season with Julian Rachlin at an open-air event "Korzo". He will collaborate with Misha Maisky in an all- Tchaikovsky "Winter Dreams" programme. The previous season featured two programmes within the frame of Novi Sad being the European Capital of Culture 2022: the closing concert of the "Migration" concert series featuring works of Scriabin, Wieniawski, and Divjakovic, and Mahler's monumental Symphony Nr. 2 "Ressurection". Other highlights included Strauss's "Ein Heldenleben" and Verdi's "Messa da Requiem".
In autumn of 2022, Aleksandar will conduct a new production of Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos at the Slovenian National Theatre, and will return to the Croatian Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra.
Aleksandar Marković made his US debut at Seattle Opera with Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin In January 2020. After the interruption due to the pandemic, he continued his international activity, reappearing with Sinfonia Varsovia, Silesian Philharmonic in Katowice and NOMUS festival in Novi Sad. He conducted concerts, tour and recordings with the Croatian Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, and returned to the Slovenian National Theatre, conducting a new production of Stravinsky's Oedipus rex and Appolon musagéte.
As Music Director of Opera North he conducted Janacek’s Jenufa and Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier, as well as several concert appearances with the Orchestra of Opera North with repertoire ranging from Mozart through Schumann, Wagner, and Strauss.
During his tenure as Music Director of the Brno Philharmonic, Aleksandar aquired a repertoire of Czech masterpieces ranging from Smetana and Dvorak, to Suk, Martinu and Janáček, and conducted most of large scale symphonic music of Bruckner, Strauss, Mahler and Scriabin. In addition to their annual season, he took the orchestra to the Vienna Konzerthaus, Grosses Festspielhaus Salzburg, the Palace of Arts Budapest, Brucknerhaus Linz, the Queen Elisabeth Hall Antwerp, Reduta Hall Bratislava, Passau’s European Weeks festival, and on an extensive tour of Japan. In the autumn of 2014 they performed an all- Wagner programme in Stefaniensaal, Graz, for opening of the Musikverein für Steiermark’s 200th anniversary celebrations.
As Chief Conductor of the Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck he conducted highly acclaimed productions of Salome, Der fliegende Holländer, Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Cavalleria Rusticana/ I Pagliacci, Le nozze di Figaro, Romeo et Juliette, La Traviata, Nabucco, Norma, and Swan Lake, as well as many innovative symphonic programmes. He also conducted a new production of La forza del Destino at the National Theatre Belgrade, and appeared at the National Theatre Prague and the Landestheater Salzburg. He celebrated the 2013 “Wagner Year” with a new production of Der fliegende Holländer at the Slovenian National Theatre Ljubljana, and a concert performance of Rienzi in Munich’s Philharmonie am Gasteig.
Orchestral appearances have included: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, RTE Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, National Orchestra of Belgium, Munich Radio Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Malmö Symphony, the Qatar Philharmonic, Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, the Croatian HRT and Prague Radio symphony orchestras, the Slovenian Philharmonic and the Slovak Philharmonic, with whom he recorded the CD Sinful Women for Czech national label Supraphon. He has also enjoyed successful debuts with the Wuppertal Opera and Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Symphony Orchestra of Teatro Verdi Trieste, Bremen Philharmonic, Lübeck Philharmonic and Mannheim Chamber Orchestra.
Other guest conducting appearances include: the Spanish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, Stuttgart Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Halle, Prague Symphony Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, DSO Berlin, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Vienna Chamber Orchestra and Concertverein, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Janacek Philharmonic Ostrava, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of St. Gallen, State Orchestra Braunschweig, Belgrade Philharmonic, Zagreb Philharmonic, Sarajevo Philharmonic, Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra and Kremerata Baltica.
Born in Belgrade, and a graduate of Leopold Hager’s conducting class at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, Aleksandar Marković also attended masterclasses at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, where he was awarded a Diploma d’onore. He gained a scholarship from the Herbert von Karajan Foundation Berlin, and won First Prize at the 7th “Gregorz Fitelberg” International Conducting Competition in Katowice, Poland.
Aleksandar is also passionate about supporting the next generation of musicians and has dedicated time to supporting various projects in this respect. Notably, he has worked with the symphony orchestra of the University of Music in Graz and been a jury member and lecturer of the Summa Cum Laude Youth Music Festival in Vienna.
Maida Hundeling was born in Bizerte, Tunisia. She had her first singing lessons with baritone W. Schürmann. In 1997, she participated in masterclasses held by W. Berry, thanks to the scholarship she received from the Richard Wagner Scholarship Foundation (Richard-Wagner-Verband) in Bayreuth. In 1999 she completed her vocal studies and interpretation with soprano O. Miljaković in Vienna. From 2001 to 2003 she was a soloist at the State Theatre of Eisenach (Das Landestheater Eisenach) where she performed the roles of Agathe (Der Freischütz), Marta (Tiefland) and Elisabeth (Tannhäuser). Since 2003 the German soprano has been working as a free-lance artist.
From 2003 to 2008, she played Elizabeth (Tannhäuser) at the annual festival in Eisenach as a guest artist, as well as on the stage of the Wartburg Castle in that city. She has frequently performed at the Prague State Opera in several roles, including Marta (Tiefland), Amelia (Un ballo in maschera), as well as the title roles in Tosca, Aida and Turandot. In 2008, her portrayal of Senta (Der fliegende Holländer) at the Prague State Opera received international recognition and earned great acclaim. She performed the part again with great success at the Staatstheater Braunschweig in September 2008.
At the National Theatre in Prague, her appearances in the title role of Adriana Lecouvreur (Adrienne Lecouvreur), Katerina in The Greek Passion (B. Martinů; conducted by J. Bělohlávek), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) and Giulietta (The Tales of Hoffmann) also garnered rave reviews from audiences and critics alike. In October/November 2005 she had guest appearances in Japan, in the title role of Aida, which brought her under the stage direction of P. Konwitschny to Saarbrücken, and in 2008 and 2010 to the Leipzig Opera.
Maida Hundeling made her debut at The Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava in April 2007 as Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos. At the Opernhaus Wuppertal she played the role of Liza in Pique Dame and in spring 2008 the role of Ellen Orford (Peter Grimes). In December 2008, she made her debut as Marie (Wozzeck) at Theater Regensburg, and in May 2009, she performed Chrysothemis (Elektra) at the Anhaltisches Theater Dessau. In May 2009 she sang Elisabeth (Tannhäuser) at the Oldenburgisches Staatstheater.
In the guest performance of Aida at the Salzburg’s Großes Festspielhaus in October 2009, she received great acclaim performing the title role. She also played Ellen Orford (Peter Grimes) at the Statetheater of Hannover with success. In January 2010 Maida Hundeling made her debut in Italy as Chrysothemis (Elektra) in a coproduction of the opera houses in Bolzano, Modena, Piacenza and Ferrara. In February/March 2010 she sang Elisabeth (Tannhäuser) at La Scala, Milano, conducted by Z. Mehta and under the stage direction of Carlus Padrissa (theatrical group La Fura dels Baus).
In October 2010 she performed Ariadne (Ariadne auf Naxos) at the Nuremberg State Theatre and appeared as Giulietta (Tales of Hoffmann) at the Mannheim National Theatre. Maida Hundeling made her debut at the Vienna Volksoper as Tosca in May 2010 and played the part of Georgetta (Il tabarro) in a new production in spring 2011, which brought her back to the Volksoper stage in February/March 2012. In March and April 2011, she sang Turandot at the Vienna Volksoper and at the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava. Maida Hundeling’s further engagements included the role of Rezia (‘Oberon’) at the Theater Münster, and in November 2012 the role of Senta (Der fliegende Holländer) at L'Opéra de Montréal.
Sofija Cingula, mezzo-soprano, began her musical education at the Varaždin School of Music. In the academic year 1995/96, she enrolled at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna (Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst), where she studied solo singing and obtained her Master's Degree in Opera with professor Sebastian Vittucci.
She enrolled in the Master's in Lied and Oratorio programme, first with prima donna Marjana Lipovšek, and then with the famous primo uomo, concert artist and composer Robert Holl, with whom, in the academic year 2006/07, she successfully completed that part of her studies.
The concert and opera performances of this mezzo-soprano include a wide and varied repertoire – from early music to modern world premieres by contemporary composers, who often dedicate their compositions to her.
She collaborates with many Croatian and foreign conductors, ensembles and distinguished artists and is a promoter of the work of Croatian composers abroad. She especially deals with the composers of the Varaždin and Istrian composer circle and female composers from the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Sofija Cingula has been actively engaged in vocal pedagogy for more than ten years. She participates in the work of many Croatian and international artistic and pedagogical workshops, seminars and symposiums and is the author of several works, lectures and presentations in which vocal technique and pedagogy are approached from the aspect of science and the latest scientific research. She is a member of expert committees of international competitions in solo singing and chamber music.
In 2016, she celebrated 20 years of her career with a festive concert at the Croatian National Theatre in Varaždin with the Croatian Baroque Ensemble under the direction of violinist Laura Vađon. She has since been participating in the creation of a special musical concept – Concert in the Dark. The realization of these concerts has been supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia for six consecutive years. In the Croatian National Theatre in Varaždin, she conceived and moderated the series of matinee concerts ‘Concert with Coffee’ for two seasons.
Singing the role of La abuela in Manuel de Falla's opera ‘La vida breve’, she made her debut on the stage of the Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc in Rijeka, where she has been active since then as an assistant to opera directors Christian Romanowski, Fabrizio Melano, Renata Carola Gatica and Marin Blažević and as a soloist. In 2022, she performed at the renowned Savonlinna Opera Festival, Finland, both as an assistant to directors in three opera productions and as a singer, in the role of Zita in Puccini's opera ‘Gianni Schicchi’.
Jan Vacík (tenor), born in Prague (Czech Republic), studied oboe, violin and composition at the Academy of Music in the same city. Thereafter he worked as a professional musician. In 1985, he started voice lessons with Else Domberger-Widmayer in Munich. He received a scholarship at the Accademia Verdiana Carlo Bergonzi in Busseto, Parma in 1988. Another scholarship at Corale Verdi in Parma gave him the opportunity to continue his studies.
At the final concert of Munich Singschule in 1988, he was engaged as a solo tenor by the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich. Since 1993 he sings as a free-lance artist. His debut in September 1988 at La Scala Milano with the role of Pollux in Die Liebe der Danae (R. Strauss), conducted by professor W. Sawallisch and led by stage manager Giancarlo del Monaco, was the beginning of his international carrier.
At La Scala Milano, Vacík also sang the role of Florestan (Fidelio) in 1999, 2000 and 2002, conducted by Riccardo Muti. At the reopening of The Estates Theatre in Prague on the 200th anniversary of Mozart’s death, he sang the role of Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras.
He has performed at international opera houses in Nagoya, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Wien, Graz, Rome, Parma, Modena, Palermo, Torino, Trento, Merano, Verona, Udine, Bolzano, Trieste, Lisbon, Copenhagen, Oslo, Lyon, Lille, Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Rotterdam, Berlin, Dresden, Essen, Stuttgart, Prague, Zagreb, Bucharest, San Sebastian, Bilbao, Vitoria, Pamplona, Tel Aviv and other cities.
He had the opportunity to work with famous conductors such as W. Sawallisch, Sir Ch. Mackerras, R. Muti, G. Patanè, G. Sinopoli, L. Slatkin, F. Luisi, R. Abbado, G. Albrecht, D. Ferro, P. Auguin, J. Bělohlávek, M. Soustrot, M. Viotti, S. Köhler, A. Lombard, D. Robertson, G. Bertini, Sir Norington as well as stage managers A. Everding, T. Richter, J. Herz, H. Kupfer, R. Wilson, P. Konvitschny, W. Saladin, W. Herzog, M. A. Marelli, J. Schaaf, N. Lowery, V. Patane and others.
Vacík performed in the Janacek Zyklus at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, appearing as A. Gregor (The Makropulos Case), Skuratov (From the House of the Dead) and Laca Klemen (Jenůfa) under the stage direction of St. Winge and conducted by J. Fiore. He appeared as: Laca Klemen (Jenufa) at the Leipzig Opera House; Herodes (Salome) at the National Theatre in Prague conducted by T. Netopil; as Aegisth (Elektra) at the Geneva Opera House conducted by S. Soltesz; at Teatro Massimo with the role of Yannakos (The Greek Passion) conducted by A. Fisch and stage direction D. Michieletto, and in the part of V.I. Shuysky (Boris Godunov) stage directed by Hugo de Ana and conducted by G. Pehlivanian. He performed the part of Tichon in Katia Kabanova at the NDM Ostrava (The National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava) and at Theater Regensburg.
Under the stage direction of W. Friedkin and conducted by Z. Mehta he appeared in the part of Vitek (The Makropulos Case) at the Teatro del Maggio in Florence (Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino), a role that brought him to the Warsaw Grand Theatre in February 2013.
In October 2013, he made his Canadian debut performing Herodes (Salome) at Edmonton Opera. His recent roles include Michálek (The Devil's Wall), Rektor/Komar (The Cunning little Vixen), Herodes (Salome), Laca (Jenufa), Aegisth (Elektra), Oedipus rex (by Stravinsky), Florestan (Fidelio) and Jíra (The Brandenburgers in Bohemia).
The season 2016/2017 brought him to the Royal Albert Hall, London, performing the role of Vitek (The Makropulos Case) for the Proms concert series under the baton of Jiri Belohlavek. He had a concert performance in Elektra at The Slovak Philharmonic, presenting the role of Aegisth under the direction of Juraj Valcuha. He also played the role of Tichon (Katia Kabanova) at the concert performance of Radio France directed by Mikko Franck.
The season 2017/2018 opened for Jan Vacik with the production of Tristan and Isolde (Melot) at Teatro Regio di Torino, conducted by Giandrea Noseda. Future plans include performances as Herodes, Aegisth, Melot, Laca, Albert Gregor, Vitek among others. Besides his great opera repertoire, Jan Vacík sings Lieder, Oratorio and Sacred Masses as well. He has also participated in numerous radio and TV performances as well as audio recordings.
Continuing the tradition of Vojvodina Symphonists, a reputable ensemble of high interpretation level at the national artistic scene the orchestra was established in February 2011 as VOJVODINA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, organised on “staggione” ensemble principle. During the last season of 2021/2022 the ensemble celebrated the tenth anniversary of successfully implemented instituonalisation and until now it has performed at almost 160 concerts, achieving a significant level of music playing and good interpretation standards. Insisting on diversity of classical, and sometimes of a wider repertoire in terms of genre (in particular when it comes to more popular, so-called Gala New Year’s concerts), the orchestra has presented itself the best until now in the late-Romanticism pieces of symphony and concert literature, capturing the audience with its rich sound, wide dynamic scale and rich cantilenas, and it has also proven itself through interpretations of 20th century pieces, as well as pieces of contemporary national authors.
Within the previous period, the orchestra has performed successfully more than seventy premiere programmes with participation of internationally recognised national and foreign conductors. Among renowned guest artists of international musical scene that the orchestra has co-operated with it is important to mention the maestros such as Saulius Sondeckis, Marco Parisotto, Mats Liljefors, Marcus Poschner, Ligia Amadio, Phillip Pickett, Francesco la Vecchia, Bundit Ungrangasee, Mladen Tarbuk, Ilmar Lapins, Emil Tabakov, Eduard Topchjan, Tigran Haknazarijan, Lior Shambadal, Claudio Vandelli, Filip Grinberg, and Berislav Skenderović, and attractive soloists such as Valery Oistrakh, Martin Kofler, Sreten Krstić, Cyprien Katsaris, Narek Khakhnazarian, Aleksandar Buzlov, Khachatur Almazian, Lorenzo Gatto, Bettina Ranch, Irakli Murjikneli, Ivona Sobotka, Tatjana Samuil, Itamar Zorman, Aleksandar Madžar, Rita Kinka, Jasminka Stančul, Christof Berner, Nemanja Radulović, Katarina Jovanović, Nebojša Jovan Živković, Laura Levai Aksin, Roman Simović, Xavier Phillips, Jean-Marc Phillips Varjabedian, Nicolas Altstaedt, Maja Bogdanović, Milijana Nikolić, Dejan Bogdanović, Anjelo Deziderio, Mladen Čolić, Ratimir Martinović, Aleksandar Tasić, Ksenija Janković, Terem Quartet, Janoska ensemble and many other exceptional music performers. According to the expert critics, as well as the involved guest-conductors and soloists, Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra has reached a high level of interpretation of a respectable professional ensemble and due to its position at a national level it participates regularly at Novi Sad Music Festivities.
In July 2014, Vojvodina Symphonists entered the international “waters” for the first time and they presented themselves at the 60th Split Summer and 65th Dubrovnik Summer Festival. The recognition to our ensemble came also from the Magazine Musica Classica whose jury awarded it the Orchestra of the Year Prize for 2014 for its successful work. In November 2015, the Orchestra had its first acclaimed performance in the great hall of the Kolarac Endowment Hall in Belgrade and in October 2016 at Belgrade Music Festival in that same hall.
Since September of the jubilee season of 2021/2022, the Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra has an appointed Chief conductor, Aleksandar Marković (who is currently running his second mandate at this function), a renowned artist with international career with whom they have performed several exceptional concerts until now. During this richer than usual season, the ensemble has recorded concerts with guest conductors Bojan Suđić and Premil Petrović, as well as Novi Sad artists Aleksandar Kojić and Mikica Jevtić. They also had great performances with our and foreign soloists, including those from the younger generation such as Irena Josifoska, Aleksandra Šuklar and Robert Lakatoš, but also long established worldwide artists Radovan Vlatković, Kemal Gekić, Ivo Pogorelić, Stefan Milenković and Roman Simović. They played music under the conductorship of Ejub Gulijev, Srboljub Dinić and Aleksandar Marković, who in November 2021 also led a magnificent performance of Verdi's Requiem realized in co-operation with the Opera Choir of the Serbian National Theatre and an international quartet of soloists. Marković's interpretation of Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony in June this year was also a great success, so that the beginning of the current season 2022/23 was marked by an open-air concert (4th Corso) where our orchestra, led by its chief conductor, played with Julian Rachlin.
Ticket prices: 2500, 1600, 1000
