Symphonic orchestra performs in Dubrovnik festival

TIRANA, June 30 – Albania’s symphonic orchestra of the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet opened this year’s Dubrovnik International Opera Festival in Croatia. The three-day festival which opened on Wednesday pays homage to Tino Pattiera, the late Croatian world famous tenor. Tino Pattiera was one of the major singers at the opera houses both in Europe and worldwide in the first half of the 20th century. He was the leading singer at the Royal Saxon Court Opera in Dresden.
The festival is organized by Aragosa Travel Agency from Dubrovnik and it’s partner Albania Experience Travel Agency from Albania.
The Albania symphonic orchestra was conducted by Zhani Ciko, the director of the Albania Opera House. The Dubrovnik symphony orchestra and the Sarajevo Philarmonic also perfomed in the festival.
The Symphony Orchestra of the Opera and Ballet of the Albanian National Theatre was founded in 1950 together with the State Philharmonic. The orchestra, whose beginnings included the concerts and performances with the State Philharmonic, became a part of the National Opera and Ballet Theatre in 1953.
From 1992 on, the orchestra has made a series of tours in China, Italy, France, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Kosovo, etc., which have been warmly received by the audiences. It has furthermore launched numerous soloists, talented players and chamber musicians In the rich music archives of the Albanian Radio and Television a special place is reserved for the recordings and film music of the Symphony Orchestra of the Opera and Ballet of the Albanian National Theatre.
In addition to the works by Albanian composers such as Zadeja, Zoraqi, Daija, Harapi, Ibrahimi, Dizdari, Pe詠and Laro, the orchestra has successfully performed many works by the world’s greatest symphonic composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Dvoř⫬ Haydn, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Orff and Strauss, as well as the national and international operatic and choreographic repertoire. After the democratic transformation of Albania many of the orchestra members live and work in different countries of the world, and the orchestra has instead engaged other musicians, mostly young people.
The Symphony Orchestra of the Opera and Ballet of the Albanian National Theatre, which now consists of 60 Albanian musicians, has been awarded the most prestigious prizes for its outstanding artistic achievements.