Music Life of Dubrovnik

Culture, Music and history of Dubrovnik

“We look forward to delivering the most stunning opera holiday one can experience in Europe. I look forward to speaking with you” Daniel Oxley, (Operas abroad specialist)

The biggest musical event in the calendar is always the Summer Festival. The 45 day event attracts short breaks visitors from all over the globe and includes drama, classical concerts, jazz concerts, choirs, folk performances and folk concerts. The city opens up many of its fabulous venues including the gorgeous Rectors Palace for events to be held in. The outdoor plays are a wonderful sight to see and experience especially on a starry night. Some of the more famous plays include Othello, Macbeth, the Tempest, Romeo and Juliet and many others. Marin Drzic the famous Croatian Play Write has a theatre named after him, which hosts a number of superb performances. The Theatre is beautifully constructed and is a real treat for Theatre goers to enjoy while on holiday in Dubrovnik or on a luxury holiday in Croatia.
The Symphonic Orchestra also has an excellent heritage with nearly all of its members trained in Zagreb, Paris, Vienna, St.Petersburg or other world renowned academy’s of music. The orchestra also includes musical artists from Poland, Bulgaria, the Ukraine, and Bosnia Herzegovina. This gives those on a luxury break in Croatia a great opportunity to hear and witness some incredible artists. Make an enquiry to our friendly staff about designing a suitable city break package that includes concert tickets. We’ll be happy to tailor make a budget break or luxury Croatia holiday breaks that coincides with classical concert performances. We look forward to hearing from you.
Brass Bands are also very popular and worth experiencing when on a city break in Dubrovnik. The tradition of playing in a Brass Band orchestra has been passed on from generation to generation in numerous families, whose members are active musicians in the "mužiki", as it is fondly called. The Majorettes, a team of thirty girls, have been performing alongside Dubrovnik’s Brass Band for the past few years.
The Choir of Chamber Music is a real treat to see perform as are the older and larger mixed choir group “Libertas”. Their repertoire includes the works of old masters, as well as compositions by renowned Croatian and foreign composers of the 20th century. A real treat for music enthusiasts on holiday in Croatia. The Folklore ensemble Lindo is famous throughout Dubrovnik, Croatia and many parts of Europe. The 33 strong young, mixed group is a real pride to the Croatian people and maintains the link with the countries musical history. As well as being entertaining it gives Dubrovnik city breaks visitors a chance to enjoy national costumes, sounds and dances.

Croatia has seen its fair share of invaders through the years; the first and possibly most significant being the Romans. The Romans conquered the native Illyrians land in 229C. The remains of their Empire is shown in areas such as Pula with the enormous Roman amphitheatre and in Split where you can find the greatest Roman ruin in Eastern Europe: ‘Diocletians Palace’. These are popular sightseeing attractions for those interested in a Croatian touring holiday focusing on the Istrian region in particular. The next invaders were the Tartars in 1242, who devastated many areas of the country. This threat was followed by a potential invasion from the Turks and the Croatians turned to the Habsburgs of Austria for protection. The Habsburgs influence remained until 1918 and when you visit the capital Zagreb on holiday or on a city break you can see the Austrian influence in the architecture. The Dalmatian coast however was taken under Venice and as a result you can see the gorgeous Venetian influence in these parts. The Venetians were eventually taken from power by Napoleon who made the Dalmatian region part of the Illyrian provinces along with Istria and Slovenia. In 1835 northern Croatian came under Hungarian rule, which gave the local people a taste of local autonomy. However when the Austo-Hungarian Empire was defeated in WW1, Croatia became part of the Kingdom of Serbs: Croats & Slovenes more commonly known as Yugoslavia. This did not sit well with many people and Croatians were angered that Belgrade was made the capital beginning some of the feuds that have crossed into modern history. In 1941 Yugoslavia was invaded by Hitler’s Nazis and subsequently the area was subjected to horrific ethnic cleansing. It is estimated that as many as a million people were murdered. Post war Yugoslavia was ruled by the strong marshal leader Tito. After his death in 1980 Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Slovenia and Montenegro began itching for their own independence. Over the next 15 years this inflamed wars between Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia. Beautiful cities like Dubrovnik were shelled in the process and thousands of people from all sides lost their lives. Thankfully now the fighting is over and stability regained. Painstaking renovations have rebuilt places like Dubrovnik to their former glories. The history of this city is an interesting one as it always maintained good relations with its neighbours and as a result proved to be an influential trading point with both the Orient and the Mediterranean. As a result of the positive trading links it became one of the most powerful economic centres along the Adriatic. At its height the city had over 200 merchant ships called Argosy. When you are on a holiday in Dubrovnik you will come across the word Argosy time and time again as names for hotels and restaurants. The coastal territory of the Republic without islands was approximately 120 kilometers in length. With all the different influences through Croatia’s history it is no wonder that Croatia is a country of culture. One of the most famous Croatian artists is Ivan Mestrovic. His sculptures can be seen in many town squares across the country and he is also responsible for building the impressive Croatian History Museum in Zagreb. Dubrovnik also has a deep cultural and artistic tradition, which is upheld today with wonderful Theatre and Open air Concerts in the Rectors Palace. The city experienced its literature renaissance or "rebirth" in the 15th and 16th century, when many excellent works of literature were created. Emerging and influenced from everyday life, poems were created to provoke all kinds of emotions. The Rectors were regarded as the best-educated citizens of that time: Dinko Ranjina, Dominiko Zlatarić, Ivan Gundulić and others created immortal poems about their beloved city. Ivan Gundulić, the greatest Croatian 17th century writer, predicted the downfall of the great Turkish Empire in his great poem Osman. Freedom was regarded as the greatest value to Dubrovnik and as a result he wrote these immortal verses that are performed still today on every opening of the world famous Dubrovnik Summer Festival: Many other poets and writers, among them Marin Držić and Ivo Vojnović created numerous works about the glory and everyday life of Dubrovnik. Their literature still lives and is very relevant even today. If you are visiting Croatia, we recommend to experience the plays, which are often performed during the Summer Festival.

The only real way to discover Croatia’s fascinating history, culture and general way of life is to book summer holidays to Croatia. Contact the Croatian Travel experts or browse on-line through our city break deals and luxury weekend break packages.

The Old Town itself offers a plethora of cobbled streets, courtyards, shops, churches and cafes to explore. There is always something new and personal to discover and with every new turn, there will be another breath taking view. It is said the more you discover this city the more you discover yourself. The beautiful Old Town is a major sightseeing & holiday attraction but it isn’t the sole reason for the thousands of people from around the globe who set there sights on coming to Croatia for a holiday. One can go hiking through the surrounding pine forests, explore charming villages, visit vineyards and discover private coves on an isolated beach.