Organization

Conductor

Igor Švara

Lighting designer

Pascal Mérat

Costume designer

Alan Hranitelj

Set designer

Branko Hojnik

Video designer

Atej Tutta

Valerija Cozzarini

Choreographer

Anja Möderndorfer

Dramaturge

Blaž Lukan

Chorus master

Zeljka Ulčnik Remic

Lecturer

Marja Filipčič Redžić

Singer

Soprano

Urška Breznik

Margarita

Urška Arlič Gololičič

Mezzo-soprano

Elena Dobravec

Uršula

Nuška Drašček Rojko

Baritone

Ivan Andres Arnšek

Bertram

Robert Vrčon

Tenor

David Jagodic

Dizma

Matej Vovk

Andrej Debevec

Pincus

Dejan Maksimilijan Vrbančič

Bass

Saša Čano

Glasnik

Janko Volčanšek

Tomaž Štular

Rabelj

Assistant Conductor

Mojca Lavrenčič

Assistant Director

Simona Pinter

Concertmasters

Choir accomplishments

Marina Đonlić

Stage director

Vinko Möderndorfer

Accompanists

SNG Opera in balet Ljubljana

Others

Opera Chorus SNG Opera in balet Ljubljana

Orchestra

Orchestra SNG Opera and Ballet Ljubljana

Slovenian

Samorog

Ljubljana

Slovenia

Samorog Šivic

Public

Approved

Pavel Šivic (Radovljica, 1908 - Ljubljana, 1995), composer and pianist, as well as essayist, critic, translator and pedagogue, graduated in 1931 from the Ljubljana Conservatory, where he studied composition in the class of Slavko Osterc and piano in the class of Janko Ravnik. between 1931 and 1934 he studied in Prague, studying composition with professors Josef Suk and Alois Hába and piano with professors Vilém Kurz. With the exception of the interwar years, when he was in Italian and German captivity, and then in the partisans, he was first at the Ljubljana Conservatory, and then until his retirement in 1978 he was professor of piano at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. Šivič's musical and theatrical opus occupies a very important place in his creative practice and is considered to be the most extensive and diverse in Slovenian musical literature.

The composer first encountered musical theater immediately after graduating in 1931, when he wrote the burlesque operetta Ej, ta prešmentana ljubezen. The work was premiered the same year on the stage of the Ljubljana Opera and was a great success. The remaining works in this field were created in his late creative period. In 1967 a ballet entitled Goga was performed, and in 1972 Cortes' Return, a three-act opera that premiered at the Ljubljana Opera in 1974. The second premiere was performed on the same stage in 1996. Critics and experts agreed that with this work the composer reached the very top of domestic opera creativity. In 1976, Šivic created the chamber opera Svitanja, in 1981 the great opera Samorog, and four years later a ballet entitled Zorenje,
The opera in three acts Samorog was performed and recorded only on Radio Slovenia in 1983, the ensemble was then led by conductor Ciril Cvetko.

Šivica was always close to the content on the topic of moral issues, he was interested in expressive symbolism, life truths, existential problems and the inner world of his heroes. He liked to connect works, which are mostly narrative in nature and in which he often used oratorical elements, with dramatic themes. , design of singing parties, orchestra function and dramatic design. The music of the opera Unicorn is stylistically close to Cortes' return, but it differs from the composer's best musical-theatrical work mainly in the effect of the fusion between libretto and music. In this case, Šivic derives from Strniš's condensed poetic dramatic proposal,

With the first stage production or stage premiere in autumn 2020, we wanted to mark the 25th anniversary of the composer's death and the 90th anniversary of the birth of playwright Gregor Strniša, the author of the play, after which Šivic created the libretto of the same name. Now, conditions that are not conducive to living and viewer-related art have put a new test before us. In this way, the Unicorn will come to life on stage without an audience, which will oppose this glorious and current work with a viewing on its screens.

English

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble