Srbija - nacionalna revija - broj 54 - engleski - niska rezolucija

no one has ever killed me so convincingly
on the stage as Jose Carreras, who was my
partner in Rome and Milan. It was a very
realistic murder, with the strongest emotions.
Accompanying the critique published
in Corriere della Sera, the skilled
photographer eternalized that dramatic
moment. That photograph actually depicts
my entire career.
THICK CLUSTER OF TALENTS
You have reached the peak of vocal
achievements by singing Abigail from
Nabucco, which you have been doing for a
quarter of a century. What has it brought
you?
If I hadn’t sung Abigail, I would never
have earned the respect in the musical
environment of my home city. There are
fascinating roles with a special treatment,
such as Eboli, and especially Abigail. There
are difficult roles, which don’t have the
reputation of “razor for the voice”, such as
Abigail is.
When I calmly observe my talent today,
I clearly see a big, thick cluster with
many berries. The more I picked them, the
more I discovered there were more, that
the front of gifts is constantly spreading
and moving. The more I knocked and requested
from myself, the more new roads
and unimagined possibilities opened. Thus
I was able to take an unthinkable step: to
step into the soprano dangerous Abigail
as a mezzosoprano. It often happened that
one day I sing one, and the other day a
completely opposite role for my vocal and
emotional features. There are many good
singers who weren’t given such a possibility.
Among the ones I was gifted with, the
possibility to enter into Abigail has a special
place.
Last year was marked with the premiere
of Serbian opera Melancholic Dreams of
Count Sava Vladislavić, in which you play
three roles. In one, you build your child
into the church like damned Jerina, in
the second, as Angel of Temptation, you
perform choreographic escapades with
ballet dancers, and, at the end, as a Serbian
mother, you weep over the “unborn
and disappeared Serbian children, over
the fate of disappearance of the Serbian
people”?
“Vuk’s Award”
The Cultural and Educational Society of Serbia granted
Jadranka Jovanović “Exceptional Vuk’s Award” for 2015, for her
exceptional contribution to the development of culture in the all-
Serbian lands. The award ceremony took place in the President of
Serbia General Secretariat building.
There are only a few artists given a special
honor to participate in a world premiere
during their artistic life. I had the
privilege to give my own personal touch
to the extraordinary music of Svetislav
Božić. I don’t know what was better: the
exceptional chorus, the great cast, excellent
choreographer, ballet, director Aleksandar
Nikolić, who upgraded the piece dramaturgically,
or the special audience who came
to our performances. A story about Serbia,
from its beginnings to the present times, its
rises and falls, characteristics of our people,
temptations and painful injustices, severe
blows, contemplation on our own mistakes.
Even during the performances, it turned
out that some supported the piece, while
others hid it from the eyes of the public. I
cannot understand how such an endeavor,
with noticeable results, could be deprived
of the annual award of the National Theater.
I know that this opera will shine and
live in the future. If it were up to me, Count
Sava, as we call this piece, would be the
best promoter of the Serbian national being
in the field of opera.
Cherishing Serbian music is an important
part of your artistic personality?
Ever since my first solo concert entitled
A Century and a Half of Serbian Solo
Music, at the Kolarac Foundation in 1983,
I have been passionately engaged in presenting
Serbian music. From “Carnegie
Hall” to Nizhny Novgorod, there was not
a single concert hall in the world in which
Serbian art music hasn’t been performed. I
attempted to put my international reputation
to the service of presenting the culture
of my country. Thanks to that international
reputation, people who came to
my concerts, even in the smallest towns
throughout Serbia, had a feeling they were
attending an exceptional event. I know
that the purpose of my life is to share gifts
I bring within and embed them into the
genuine cultural advancement of my nation,
my Serbs.
In opera
“Melancholic
Dreams of Count
Sava Vladislavić”
by Svetislav Božić,
2015
Photo:
Guest’s Archive,
Archive of the
National Theater
in Belgrade,
“National Review”
Archive
SERBIA • N O 54 • 2016
85