The 7th edition of LVMF will climax with a final gala. The Valtice Castle Riding Hall will welcome the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor Marko Ivanović, Slovenian soprano Nika Gorič and Serbian baritone David Bižić. Next to the operatic classics such as Gioacchino Rossini and Georges Bizet, the works by Slovenian composer Josip Ipavec and Croatian Josip Slavenski will be performed as well.

Nika Gorič
sopran

A Slovenian soprano with “unique versatility and theatrical ability” – that is how Nika Gorič can be described. Her singing career began at the Ballet and Music School in Maribor, continued at the University of the Arts in Graz and ended at the Royal Academy of Music in London. There, she received The Queen’s Commendation for Excellence for outstanding academic achievement. Her operatic repertoire ranges from baroque works (Claudio Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea) to romantic operettas (Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus) and even performed Seven Early Songs of Alban Berg. Gorič has performed all over the world, at many major festivals and with many world orchestras (Australian Chamber Orchestra, Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Cracow Festival Orchestra). This season she appears in the operas The Magic Flute, The Elixir of Love and Rigoletto.

David Bizic
bariton 

Serbian baritone David Bizic was born in Belgrade and studied at the International Vocal Arts Institute in New York and the New Israeli Opera Young Artist Studio in Tel Aviv. Primarily, he focuses on opera singing and has performed in opera houses around the world: Metropolitan Opera, Israel Opera, Santa Fe Opera and opera houses in Paris, Barcelona, Belgrade and Stockholm. He is especially appreciated for his roles in Mozart’s operas, of which Don Giovanni, Leporello, Figaro and Guglielmo are among his regular repertoire. His mastery of opera singing was proven in 2007, when he received second place in the Operalia World Opera Competition. Additionally, he also appeared in Fauré’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Brahms’ German Requiem.

Marko Ivanović
conductor

Marko Ivanović is a Czech conductor and composer with Serbian roots. He is one of the leading persons of our contemporary music and theatre scene. Ivanović is also a promoter and specialist in contemporary music and 20th century music – in addition to several world premieres of works by Michal Nejtek, Slavomír Hořínka, Jiří Kadeřábek and Miroslav Srnka, he has been responsible for the first Czech performances of many key works of world contemporary repertoire, such as Arvo Pärt’s Passions or Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians. Since 2015, he has been the chief conductor of the Janáček Opera at the National Theatre Brno, but he continues to make guest appearances in many countries around the world – Japan, Poland, Germany and others. Among his greatest international successes is the performance of the Brno version of Janáček’s Jenůfa at the Malmö Opera in Sweden. In addition, he is a sought-after promoter of music, evidenced by cycles Čtyři kroky do nového světa (“Four Steps into the New World”) or Krok za oponu (“Step behind the Curtain”). Read more

Janáček Philharmonie Ostrava

The Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava (JFO) was founded in 1954 under the direction of Otakar Pařík. Soon, it travelled abroad (USA, China, Switzerland) and began to cooperate with world soloists and conductors (J. Bělohlávek, Ch. Mackerras, J. Carreras, D. Ishizaku). In recent years, the orchestra has been most influenced by the chief conductors Christian Arming, Theodore Kuchar and Vassily Sinaisky. The JFO holds the first place among the large Czech orchestras as it focuses on performing contemporary works – often in Czech premieres – for which the conductor and composer Petr Kotík might be credited.