Rossi fest Belgrade

At the end of January, the Belgrade audience will be expecting the seventh edition of the international Rossi Fest, in which, from January 27 to February 1, 2024, various programs with excellent foreign and domestic artists will be held in the Jewish Cultural Center, Dorćol Platz and the Jewish Hall municipality of Belgrade. The seventh edition of Rossi Fest January 27 - February 1, 2024. Belgrade At the end of January, the Belgrade audience will be expecting the seventh edition of the international Rossi Fest, in which, from January 27 to February 1, 2024, various programs with excellent foreign and domestic artists will be held in the Jewish Cultural Center, Dorćol Platz and the Jewish Hall municipality of Belgrade. At the traditional and unique concert for this festival, Portraits and Memories, the composition Three Psalms for string orchestra by the composer David Cheski will be premiered on Saturday, January 27 in Dorćol Platz, starting at 7 p.m. Portraits and Remembrance represent one of the main program elements of Rossi Fest, which annually commemorates World Holocaust Remembrance Day. In addition to the Jewish Chamber Orchestra with soloists Mina Mendelsohn, Ladislav Mezei and conductor Radan Jovanović, ballet soloists Tamara Pjević and Jakša Filipovac will perform under the direction of Ana Grigorović and set design by Dunja Kostić. On Sunday, January 28, starting at 8 p.m., the Baroque Feast concert will be held in the Festive Hall of the Jewish Municipality of Belgrade in cooperation with the Belgrade Baroque Academy. This unique musical event will be presented to us by prestigious members of the New Trinity Baroque ensemble, soloists - lecturers, and students of the Belgrade Baroque Academy. The audience will have the opportunity to enjoy some of the most beautiful works of baroque composers, which will be performed on historically authentic instruments. As part of the festival program is also dedicated to scientific research, Dr. Ivan Ćurković, a distinguished musicologist of the Academy of Music from Zagreb, will hold a lecture on the topic of War and Peace in the oratorios of George Frideric Handel , at the Jewish Cultural Center (Jevrejska 16), on January 30, starting at 18 hours. In the same space starting at 8 pm, the famous opera by Georg Friedrich Handel, Rinaldo will be performed for the first time in Belgrade. This masterpiece is Handel's first opera for a London audience and represents one of the pinnacles of Baroque musical dramaturgy and art. Directed by Sreten Manojlović, under the direction of Predrag Gosta, the audience will be presented by the New Trinity Baroque ensemble and international soloists, participants of the Belgrade Baroque Academy, with a baroque orchestra on historical instruments. On the occasion of the 145th anniversary of the founding of the Baruch Brothers Choir, the oldest Jewish choir in the world, the final evening of Rosi Fest will be a concert called Erev Shel Shoshanim (Evening of Roses) , after the name of one of the most beautiful love songs in the Hebrew language. The program is unique because it is inspired by love poetry written in the Hebrew language and by composers of Jewish origin. In the Atrium of the National Museum, on February 1 at 8 p.m., together with the Baruch Brothers Choir, the Jewish Chamber Orchestra, soloists Stefan Hadžić and Marko Živković, will perform under the direction of the festival director, Stefan Zekić. The festival was organized in cooperation with the Belgrade Baroque Academy with the support of the Jewish Community of Belgrade and the Embassy of Israel. Program 2024 January 27, Saturday 19:00 Concert: Portraits and remembrance Three psalms for string orchestra David Ch eski Dorćol platz, Dobračina 59b January 28, Sunday 20:00 Baroque feast Concert by lecturers of the Baroque Academy Jewish Community of Belgrade, Kralja Petra 71a January 30, Tuesday 18:00 Lecture by musicologist Ivan Ćurković (Zagreb Academy of Music): War and Peace in G. F. Handel's oratorios Jewish Cultural Center, Jevrejska 16 20:00 G. F. Handel, premiere of the opera Rinaldo Jewish Cultural Center, Jevrejska 16 January 31, Wednesday 20:00 G. F. Handel, reprise of the opera Rinaldo Synagogue, Novi Sad February 1, Thursday 20:00 Erev shel shoshanim (Evening Of Roses ) A concert marking the 145th anniversary of the founding of the Baruch Brothers Choir Atrium of the National Museum Portraits and remembrance Baroque banquet Lecture Opera Rinaldo Erev shel shoshanim Evning Of Roses

Opera singing masterclass with Prof. Claudia Eder and concert of the participants. Museum of the national theater in Belgrade. 25.-28. January 2019. Opera Singing Masterclass with Prof. Claudia Eder and concert of the participants Museum of the National Theater in Belgrade 25.-28. January 2019 After a successful and well-attended Rossi Fest 2018 Opera singing masterclass, we have decided to include the Opera singing masterclass in the next festival edition as well. This time Rossi Fest will have the honor to welcome a renowned concert and operatic mezzo-soprano, professor of the College of Music in Mainz, and a member of the European Academy of Science and Arts - prof. Claudia Eder. The participants will have three individual sessions with Professor Eder and a pianist, and at the end of the course, a concert will be held at the Museum of the National Theater in Belgrade. Claudia Eder has studied Singing and the Violoncello at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München and the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main . Her studies were continued in Milan and Budapest. She debuted at age 25 in the role of La Muse / Niklausse in The Tales of Hoffman . This was followed by appearances at the Hessischen Staatstheater in Wiesbaden as well as the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz . Following this, she appeared at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf and the Volksoper Wien . Countless guest contracts led Claudia to the major European and international stages , these included appearances in Barcelona, Madrid, London, Turin, Venice, Rome, Paris, Geneva, Antwerp, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. She has also worked with the Salzburger Festspielen, the Wiener Festwochen , the Donaueschinger Musiktagen, and the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival . Claudia Eder received a professorship for Singing at the Hochschule für Musik Mainz. Here she founded the 2004 International Summer School Singing Summer and in the year 2010 BAROCK VOKAL , an excellent program for aspiring Opera and Concert Singers. Alongside this, she also teaches Masters courses locally and internationally. In the year 2009, under her leadership, the Department of Singing was awarded the prize Leistungen in Studium, Lehre und künstlerischer Entwicklungsarbeit by the Exzellenzwettbewerb des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz. She has since 1991 been working as a project leader, stage director, and vocal coach for the Internationale Festival für junge Opernsänger by the Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg. Besides her plethora of tasks, Claudia Eder is also active on international stages as a song and concert singer. Her repertoire reaches from the Renaissance over the Barock era reaching into the Modern era of the genres opera, song, and oratorio arts. Claudia Eder is a member of the Akademie der Wissenschaften, Literatur Mainz und Musik, and also a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts . 1/4

The seventh edition of Rossi Fest has the honor to announce the premiere of the famous baroque opera Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, produced by the New Belgrade Opera, which will be held in Belgrade at the Jewish Cultural Center on Tuesday, January 30, 2024, as well as in synagogue in Novi Sad on Wednesday, January 31, 2024. Baroque Banquet Concert Belgrade, January 30, 2024, Jewish Cultural Center, 8:00 p.m Novi Sad, January 31, 2024, Synagogue, 8:00 p.m On Sunday, January 28, at 8 p.m., the Baroque Feast concert took place in the Jewish Community of Belgrade in collaboration with the Belgrade Baroque Academy. This extraordinary musical event featured esteemed members of the New Trinity Baroque ensemble, along with soloists, lecturers, and students from the Belgrade Baroque Academy. Attendees had the pleasure of indulging in performances of exquisite works by baroque composers, presented on historically authentic instruments, creating an unforgettable experience for all. PROGRAM: VIVALDI Concerto for 4 violins in B minor, from the collection L'Estro Armonico , Op. 3, No. 10 JS. BACH Siciliano, from the Organ Concerto in D major, after BWV 1053R PURCELL Aria What Power Are Thou , from the opera King Arthur VIVALDI Allegro, from the Violin Concerto in F major Autumn , RV 293, from the collection Four Seasons HANDEL Largo, from Concerta Grosso, Op. 3, No. 2 HANDEL Aria Tirannia gli diede il regno , from the opera Rodelinda VIVALDI Ciaccona, from String Concerto in C major, RV 114 HANDEL's Aria The Empress , from the opera Atalanta TELEMANN Largo, from Viola Concerto in G major, TWV 51:G9 JS. BACH Adagio, from Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043 HANDEL Aria How willing my paternal love , from the oratorio Samson HANDEL Sinfonia The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba , from the oratorio Solomon LULLY Passacaille, from the opera Armida Pa rticipants: New Trinity Baroque Ensemble Baroque Orchestra of the Belgrade Baroque Academy International soloists from Italy, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, and beyond Conductor and harpsichord: Predrag Gosta

Festival opening and the screening of the movie: "Hebreo: the search for Salomone Rossi". Director Jozef Roslitz. Yugoslav cinematheque. 26. january 2019. Festival opening and the screening of the film Hebreo: The Search for Salomone Rossi Yugoslav cinematheque 26. January 2019 On 26th January 2019, Rossi Fest opened with the screening of the film, by Italian director Jozef Roslitz, Hebreo: The Search for Salomone Rossi . After the film, in the hall of the Yugoslav Cinema, guests enjoyed the welcoming buffet. In the period of the late Renaissance, at the height of Mantua's artistic splendor, a young Jewish violinist burst through the barriers of discrimination and became one of the most renowned composers and performers at the court of the Gonzaga dukes. In 1622 he revolutionized Jewish music with his Songs of Solomon , the first collection ever of originally composed music for Hebrew psalms and prayers. Yet very little is known about the personal and creative life of Salomone Rossi Hebreo - Salomone Rossi the Jew. In this documentary, the prize-winning vocal ensemble Profeti della Quinta rehearses and performs Rossi's music in the magnificent town of Mantua, in preparation for a special concert in the Gonzaga dukes' Pleasure palace. With the help of expert historians and musicologists, they shed fascinating light on this elusive man and his extraordinary music. "In this documentary, the prize-winning vocal ensemble Profeti della Quinta rehearses and performs Rossi's music in the magnificent town of Mantua, in preparation for a special concert in the Gonzaga dukes' pleasure palace. With the help of expert historians and musicologists, they shed fascinating light on this elusive man and his extraordinary music.". Joseph Rochlitz, director Profeti della Quinta Focusing on repertoire from the 16th and early 17th centuries, the ensemble Profeti della Quinta aims to create vivid and expressive performances for audiences today while, at the same time, considering period performance practices. From its core of five male singers, the ensemble collaborates regularly with instrumentalists and additional singers. Ensemble Profeti della Quinta is based in Basel, Switzerland, where its members undertook further studies of early music at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis . The ensemble collaborates regularly with colleagues from Switzerland, Japan, and Australia, sharing with them similar musical ideas. The ensemble has recorded two CDs of the music of the early Baroque Jewish-Italian composer Salomone Rossi, as well as the Penitential Psalms by Orlando di Lasso. Profeti della Quinta has also premiered and recorded two works composed especially for the ensemble by Elam Rotem, Rappresentatione di Giuseppe e i suoi fratelli and Quia amore langueo . In addition, they are featured in a documentary film by Joseph Rochlitz, Hebreo: The Search for Salomone Rossi , and have had their concerts broadcast by numerous international radio stations. Profeti della Quinta have been active in performing and researching hitherto neglected repertoire, such as Emilio de' Cavalieri's Lamentations (1600) and Salomone Rossi's Hashirim asher li'Shlomo (1623), the first publication of polyphony in Hebrew, which they also recorded to critical acclaim. In 2011, Ensemble Profeti della Quinta won the York Early Music Young Artists Competition and has since toured Europe, North America, Japan, China, and Israel. It has performed in prestigious festivals and venues, such as the Oude Muziek Festival Utrecht , the Shanghai Concert Hall, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. 1/4

The third edition of the Rossi Fest Summer Opera Academy will be rounded off by the performance of Mozart's one-act opera, "Der Schauspieldirektor" ("The Impresario"). SUMMER OPERA ACADEMY 1 - 7 August 2023, Belgrade Rossi Fest, this time in cooperation with the organization Grand Stage International, organized the third edition of the Summer Opera Academy, during which intensive trainings were held for young solo singers from the country and abroad, with excellent vocal pedagogues and coaches. For the third time, Rossi Fest had the honor of collaborating with Olga Makarin, a longtime soprano of the Metropolitan Opera, and also with the conductor Adi Bar Soria. Apart from this team, the young singers also had the opportunity to work with excellent conductors and vocal coaches - Vlad Iftinca and Ugo Mahieux, who actively collaborate with the biggest opera names of today. Rosi Fest owes great thanks to the friends of the festival for their support: the Jewish Municipality of Belgrade, the Ministry of Culture, and the Legate of Josip Slavenski. Artistic team: Olga Makarina soprano, vocal coach Adi Bar Soria conductor Vlad Iftinca conductor Stefan zekić conductor Ugo Mahieux vocal coach Ana Grigorović stage director 23L Direktor pozorista Opera Revue Der Schauspieldirektor W. A. Mozart August 7, 2023 at 8 p.m Jewish Cultural Center Der Schauspieldirektor (The Impresario ) Mozart's short comic opera, presents the life of opera artists behind the scenes. To create a new production, the theater management organizes an audition for singers. Behind-the-scenes actions determine the fate of the play and the theater. The Rossi Fest Summer Academy participants present themselves differently through the opera Theater Director. Performers: Director: Ana Grigorović Musical preparation: Stefan Zekić Production: Rossi Fest Vuk Zekić, director Pavle Zharkov, assistant Ana Cvetković, Madam Sara Stefanović, debutante The Baruch Brothers Choir Participants of the Rossi Fest Summer Opera Academy: Marina Yureva (Russia) Rakefet Shik (Israel) Maria Mel (Israel) Nika Yankelevich (Israel) Ida Magarašević (Serbia) Eden Almog (Israel) Jovana Kovačević (Serbia) Olivera Gočanim (Serbia) Piano accompaniment: Vlad Iftinca (Romania / USA) Ugo Ma h ieux (Italy / France) Concert of the Opera Academy participants August 7, 2023 at 7 p.m Legacy of Josip Slavenski Program: Spiel ich die Unschuld Arija iz operete Slepi miš J. Strauss Rakefet Sik Porgi, amor, qualche ristoro Arija iz opere Figarova ženidba V. A. Mocart Jovana Kovačević Batti batti o bel Masetto Aria iz opere Don Đovani V. A. Mocart Eden Almog Der Hölle Rache Arija iz opere Čarobna frula W.A.Mozart Ida Magarašević Sull'aria Duet iz opere Figarova ženidba V. A. Mocart Maria Mel i Eden Almog Ecco respiro appena Arija iz opere Adrijana Lekuvrer F. Čilea Nika Jankelevič O mio babbino caro Arija iz opere Đani Skiki Đ. Pučini Maria Mel Жизнь за царя Arija iz opere Ivan Susanjin M. I. Glinka Marina Jureva Belle nuit Duet iz opere Hofmanove priče Ž. Ofenbah Maria Mel i Nika Jankelevič Тихо над рiчкою Ukrajinska narodna pesma ar. G. Verovki Maria Mel i Nika Jankelevič 23L Koncert polazika

This concert, which is held every January 27th, marking the World Holocaust Remembrance Day, is a result of the Open Call for Young Composers we have founded four years ago. Concert: Portraits and Remembrance Wednesday, January 27th YouTube premiere, 19h Portraits and Remembrance represent one of the main program features of Rossi Fest. This concert, which is held every January 27th, marking World Holocaust Remembrance Day, is a result of the Open Call for Young Composers we founded four years ago. Over the years, it has been a pleasure to follow up applications of young composers from all around the world, who expressed their different perspectives on the topic of the holocaust. For the Rossi Fest 2021 Programme seven pieces by composers from six different countries were selected, out of which three are based on the poem A Bloody Fairytale by Serbian poet Desanka Maksimović - a poem we wanted to bring attention to in this festival edition. The composers have told us more about their pieces in short video presentations. Keeping in mind the current epidemiological situation, authors will mostly attend the rehearsals of their pieces live on the internet, while the Portraits and Remembrance concert will be screened online on Rossi Fest's YouTube channel. By a unanimous decision of the jury, special awards were given to Lazar Đorđević for the piece 21st of October and to Bracha Bdil, for the piece My Father`s Death . Distant Memories – Jonathan Domingo (Philippines) (world premiere) A Bloody Fairytale – Rose Hall (UK) (world premiere) There is still hope – Evgeniya Kozhevnikova (Russia) Waren wir, sind wir, werden – Adrian Mocanu (Ukraine) A Bloody Fairytale – Tamara Knežević (Serbia) (world premiere) 21st of October – Lazar Djordjevic (Serbia) (world premiere) My father’s death – Bracha Bdil (Israel) Dirigent: Radan Jovanović Performers: Mina Gligorić, sopran Ana Radovanović, mecosopran Vuk Zekić, bariton Jelena Španović, flute Marija Lazić, oboe Mihailo Samoran, clarinet Dušan Petrović, bassoon First violins: Mina Mendelson, concertmaster Vesna Janses, Ivana Zavišić Violeta Ćirić Second violins: Vojin Aleksić Ljuba Trujanović Milica Andrijašević Anja Trkulja Violas: Miljana Stamenić Teodora Radosavljević Cellos: Ladislav Mezei, artistic director of Jewish Chamber Orchestra Jasmina Vrbanić Boban Stošić, kontrabas Percussions: Aleksandar Radulović Vanja Šćepanović, klavir Sound production: Marko Perić Video: Matija Novaković Jonathan Domingo (Philippines) – Distant Memories The work Distant Memories is based on the poem A Bloody Fairytale by Desanka Maksimović and revolves around the notion of remembering. This piece is my attempt to give voice to the essence of the poem by creating various soundscapes to evoke a certain image and emotion related to the text. The verses are portrayed through the use of different vocal techniques such as sprechstimme/gesang, narrated text, whispers in different volumes, etc (and also to present a technical virtuosity of the vocalist). The backbone of this piece is in the unique repeated stanza of the poem, presented in three distinct, unmeasured passages of music. The inner movements / stanzas are like dialogues between the vocalist and the instrumentalists. The entire piece is inspired by the movement of chimes and bells in the wind, and like memories—it lingers...and then vanishes. Composer-conductor Jonathan Domingo graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Music with a degree in composition. His notable achievements include prizes at the Asian Composers' League Young Composers Prize, Singapore Intl. Choral Composition Competition and finalist diplomas from the International Antonin Dvorak Composition Competition and the Intl. Music Composers’ Forum and Competition. He is currently undertaking projects for solo piano and large-scale choral work. Rose Hall (UK) – A Bloody Fairytale I wanted to explore shared grief, but also celebrate the innocence and humanity of these children. I chose a small ensemble for intimacy with a warm sound world, utilizing the sorrowful haunting timbre of the reed instruments. I explore the theme of sameness, and how this was any normal day for these children with clockwork motifs and thematic repetition. The climax is not the moment of death, but at the hope of their future, and the anticipation of what will be lost for this generation. Rose Hall is a British award-winning composer whose work focuses on telling narratives that challenge preconceptions through opera and contemporary music theatre. Her work has been performed across the world with notable works including: 'Mein Schatten', awarded second prize at the Wolf Durmashkin Award 2018, opera Dead Equal 2019 in collaboration with The British Army, and 2020 saw her work on digital micro-opera Wisdom of Stone for OperaVision which has been viewed by over 7000 people. Evgeniya Kozhevnikova (Russia)– There is still hope There is Still Hope by Jane K (Evgeniya Kozhevnikova) is a musical reflection after visiting the digital collection on the website of Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center. The lyrics contain short phrases from the last letters written by the victims of the Holocaust (translated to English), which are now a part of Yad Vashem’s archive. It is the composer’s hope that the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis will never be forgotten. Jane K (Evgeniya Kozhevnikova), a Fulbright Scholar, is a composer, pianist, and educator. Her works have been performed at regional, national, and international level music events. She has been working as a composer and a musician in theaters, performing original music with her jazz band, and teaching piano. Jane holds her master’s degree in Music Composition from Western Michigan University. She is currently pursuing her second master’s degree in Jazz Performance at WMU. Adrian Mocanu – (Ukraine) – Waren wir, sind wir, werden The piece is an attempt to find the touchpoints of the poetry of Paul Celan and the musical heritage of Franz Schubert. Celan's life was deeply affected by the suffering caused by the Holocaust, which had been reflected in his poetry. Based on excerpts from Celan's poem Psalm, the work also appeals to Schubert's Der Leiermann from Winterreise - a lied that may be seen as an apotheose of despair of Schubert’s iconic vocal cycle, which correlates with the tragic themes of Celan's verses. Adrian Mocanu was studying composition at P. Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine, and in 2019 started postgraduate studies in electroacoustic composition in Madrid, Spain. He was the winner of the 38th Frederic Mompou International Award in Barcelona and received the 2nd prize at IV International Composition Competition GMCL/Jorge Peixinho in Lisbon. His works have been performed in Ukraine, Poland, Russia, Estonia, Czechia, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, and the USA. Lazar Djordjevic (Serbia) - 21st of October The composition 21st of October is a result of a long term planning to turn into a musical piece a chilling and horrifying event of firing squad shooting of innocent people of Kragujevac, including a few hundred of pupils from schools in Kragujevac that happened on 21. October 1941. The piece is based on a poem by Desanka Maksimović A Bloody Fairytale. This work is progressively composed and mostly follows the form of text. The beginning of composition symbolizes the last school class before pupils and their teacher have been taken in front of a firing squad. The closing part of this composition where the baritone and the rest of the ensemble speak farewell messages of killed people of Kragujevac presents a culmination of the morbidity of this event. Lazar Djordjevic was born in 1992 in Kragujevac. The compositions by Lazar Djordjevic were performed several times in the country and abroad. He was a participant in many festivals such as the International Review of Composers in Belgrade, Rossi fest, KOMA festival (for young authors), Festum, etc. For the composition Jednom sam negde čuo... for clarinet, accordion, and string quartet (2016) he received an international award for the best composition at the contest New Serbian Music for the Accordion at the International Festival of Accordions Eufonija. He is a prize-winner from the Stevan Hristic Foundation in 2015 and Josip Slavenski Foundation in 2017. He is the author of the first Serbian concerto for accordion and orchestra, which premiered in 2017. Lazar Đorđević is currently employed as an assistant at the Department of Music Theory at the Faculty of Music Arts in Belgrade. Tamara Knežević (Serbia) – A Bloody Fairytale The concept of this work is to evoke series of mixed emotions through changes of various auditory imagery that lead to final Alleluia; games and boyhood are presented with whistles, finger-snapping, clapping, and they are interrupted with the march rhythm of the drums, woes, and intensity of the text that is barely pronounced. Whispers, screams, a trembling voice of a mother mourning her lost child, lead to bel canto and gradually bring clarity to the melody, Alleluia of composition – a prayer for little angels that will remain eternal heroes. Tamara Knežević holds a master’s degree in composition. She received her artistic education in the class of professor Miroslav Štatkić at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, where she is currently in the last year of Ph.D. studies. As a Ph.D. candidate with a scholarship, she is a participant in the project Identities of Serbian music from local to global: traditions, changes, challenges by the Institute of Musicology of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Art in Belgrade. Bracha Bdil (Izrael) - My father’s death The work My Father's Death is a neo-baroque lamentation based on the words of Pnina Avni. This composition is dedicated to Prof. Alexander Tamir (Wolkowyski), a Holocaust survivor who, as an 11-year-old boy in the Vilna ghetto, composed the melody for the poem about the massacre of Ponar, which became one of the symbols of the Holocaust. Composer, conductor, and pianist, has a Master's degree in Music Education and Composition from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. Bracha was awarded the 2019-2020 ACUM Award, Israel, won the first prize in the Wolf Durmashkin Composition Award, Germany (2018), and the first prize in the Yardena Alotin Composition Competition, Bar-Ilan University, Israel (2016). Her repertoire includes orchestral music, chamber, vocal and electronic music, as well as music for dance and theater. Jewish Chamber Orchestra Jewish Chamber Orchestra was founded in 2012 by Ladislav Mezei in cooperation with B'nei B'rit lodge of Serbia. The members of the orchestra are professional musicians of Jewish descent and their friends. The JCO's primary purpose is to present the music of Jewish composers, as well as the others, whose written work was inspired by Jewish themes. Their interpretations are related to tradition, culture and history of Jewish community of Serbia.

Program and participants of the third edition of the festival that will be held between 25. - 29. January 2022. The sixth edition of Rossi Fest January 27th - February 6th 2023 European premiere of the lost oratorio Ester, works by young composers and lectures by musicologists At the festival's opening concert, on January 27 , the works of the five finalists of the fifth Competition for young composers "Portraits and Memories" will be presented - on January 27th, commemorating World Holocaust Remembrance Day. The pieces from this year's edition of the competition are mostly inspired by the story and letters of Hilda Deich, which give a new perspective on the general social situation at her time and her experience in the Sajmište camp. By putting the spotlight on this topic, Rossi Fest continues its cultural mission and makes a significant contribution to the world's cultural heritage in the field of preserving the culture of memory. The finalists of the Competition, selected by the Artistic Committee of the Festival, come from four countries, and the fantastic Aratos Trio will perform their pieces in the Atrium of the National Museum in Belgrade. In the educational part of the festival program eminent musicologists Maja Vasiljević (Serbia) and Dora Lovrečić (Croatia) will hold lectures on the topics: "Jewish musicians in Serbia (from the Balfour Declaration to the Holocaust)" and "Aron Marko Rothmüller, composer and opera singer of Jewish origin" - on January 29th, in the museum of the National Theater, As the crown of this year's program, we would single out the European premiere of the oratorio "Esther" on February 6th, which will be performed in Europe for the first time after more than 200 years. The oratorio will be staged at the Grand stage of the National Theater in Belgrade, under the baton of festival director Stefan Zekić, directed by Ana Grigorović, and performed by our eminent artists in the main roles: Aneta Ilić (soprano), Sofija Pižurica (soprano), Marko Živković (tenor), Vuk Zekić (baritone); as well as the acclaimed instrumental in the instrumental solo parts: Mina Mendlsson (concertmaster), Ladislav Mezei and Milan Popović (continuo), together with Baruch Brothers Choir and the Jewish Chamber Orchestra. The scenography is signed by Dunja Kostić and the costumes are created by Sara Blam. The score of the oratorio "Esther" (1774) by the Italian composer Christian Giuseppe Lidarti was rediscovered only in 1997 and is still considered one of the richest and most monumental works of Jewish art music of the 17th century, and the 18th century. Saravalo's libretto, based on the text of the second version of Handel's oratorio (1732), "remained without music" until November 7, 1997, when Richard Andrews, a librarian at the University of Cambridge, found a handwritten score by Christian Giuseppe Lidarti called oratorio "Esther," in 1774. He then began to work on the reconstruction of the work, which resulted in the world premiere of the oratorio in May 2000 in Jerusalem, while the Belgrade audience will have the opportunity to attend the European premiere of this work. This edition of the Festival is supported by The Buki Finci Fund, the Jewish Municipality of Belgrade, the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Vlatacom Institute, Teri Engineering, the Italian Cultural Center, and the Belgrade National Theatre. Program 2023 January 27, Friday Atrium of the National Museum 20:0 0 Concert: Portraits and Remembrance Concert of the finalists selected at the international competition for young composers of the same name, dedicated to commemorating the International Holocaust Day organized in cooperation with Memorial Center "Staro sajmište" January 29, Sunday National The ater Museum 18:00 Lecture by Maja Vasiljević: Jewish musicians in Serbia (from the Balfour Declaration to the Holocaust) 19:30 Lecture by Dora Lovrečić (Croatia): Aron Marko Rothmüller, composer and opera singer of Jewish origin February 6, Monday National Theater, Main Stage 19:30 Oratorio Ester European premiere Portraits and Remembrance Lectures Esther Oratorio

Otvaranje festivala koncertom ansambla Salomon Rosi: Muzički cvetovi jevrejskog baroka Narodno pozorište, scena Raša Plaović 25. januar 2020. Concert: Inspirations for violin and harp Duo Edit National Theatre in Belgrade, "Raša Plaović" stage 28 January 2022 at 20:00 The concert of Inspiration for Violin and Harp, interpreted by Duo Edit (violinist Edit Makedonska and harpist Gorana Ćurgus) includes a wide range of program arranged specially for this unusual ensemble - from famous works of classical music to music from musicals, all composed by composers of Jewish descent. The duo was founded in 2011 and performs a wide range of repertoires - from virtuoso works, popular classics, evergreen music, as well as works by Serbian composers, some of which were specially commissioned for the duo. So far, Duo Edit has made notable appearances at numerous festivals in Serbia, as well as in important concert halls in Belgrade and other places across the country. The Association of Composers of Serbia, the Association of Music Artists of Serbia, as well as Organization of Music Authors of Serbia have recognized the importance of this duo and its contribution to the preservation and nurturing of Serbian cultural heritage. For the Lilac record company, the duo released two CDs (2021) - Rhapsody of Sound and Inspirations for Violin and Harp. Program: L. Grinski: Air Hebreic Rondino Soiréé Turque Danse Roumain J. Offenbach: Barcarola Princ von Arkadien F. Mendelson: Lied ohne Worte, op.30 J. Williams: Manha de carneval, Black Orfei L. Berenstain: Tonight, Somewhere (from the West Side Story) G. Gerswin: Rapsody In Blue Edit Makedonska comes from a musical family. She started learning to play the violin with her mother Dijana Raponđijeva-Stojanović, and she graduated from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade in the class of prof. Fern Raskovic. Makedonska completed her master's degree in violin and chamber music in Plovdiv, where she was engaged as an assistant at the Faculty of Music and Dance. She also graduated in solo singing at the Mokranjac Music School in Belgrade, as well as from the Ballet School in Sofia. She worked as a violin teacher at the Josif Marinković and Vladimir Đorđević Music Schools in Belgrade, as well as a professor of violin and sight reading at the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade. As a concertmaster she was engaged in the National Opera and Ballet in Skopje, in the opera houses in Varna and Plovdiv (Bulgaria), as well as in the Terazije Theater in Belgrade. She has been a member of the Association of Music Artists of Serbia (UMUS) since 1989. Makedonska is also the founder of the string quartet Edit (2000), which, among other things, performed at international festivals in Bulgaria in 2005 and 2006, performed chamber opera Romance, by Igor Ranković (under the baton of conductor Đorđe Stanković) and for which conductor Angel Šurev arranged Masne's opera Don Quixote - which was, with Živan Saramandić in the title role, performed for two years on the stage of Rasa Plaovic of the National Theater in Belgrade. She has given numerous concerts as a soloist and concertmaster throughout the former Yugoslavia, but also in Austria, Germany, England, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, Denmark, USA and Italy (Puccini Opera Festival 2017 in Torre del Lago). The repertoire of her solo concerts especially focuses on Serbian classical music. She has recorded for radio and television, and is also engaged in composing children's music (songs Apple and Butterfly; Sasha, Gypsy Dog; music for the book Fairy Tale for Children by Princess Jelisaveta Karadjordjevic). She wrote the theme for Ballad of the Field (for violin and chamber orchestra), a composition by Mirjana Živković, which she premiered in 2016. She is the first concertmaster of the National Theater listed in the Museum of the National Theater, and in 2021 she was awarded with the Seal of the National Theater, for her special contribution to work. Gorana Ćurgus graduated and obtained her master's degree in harp at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, in the class of prof. Milica Baric. She has been the harpist of the Opera of the National Theater for 20 years, and for many years she was a member of the Belgrade Philharmonic, the Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra, the RTS Symphony Orchestra and other renowned orchestras in Serbia. She won first and special awards at national and federal competitions, as well as at the international competition Petar Konjović. She received the Golden Angel Award for the best young musician in Serbia in 1994. She was a member of the music-conceptual group Secondhanders, with which she participated in the projects: Play for Music (2009), Gentle, Gentle, The gentlest (2011), Six (not so) easy pieces (2012), Irritations (2013) and Tri(p)bina (2014). In recent years, he closely collaborates with mezzo-soprano Nataša Jović-Trivić, oboist Marija Lazić, flutist Vanja Đorđević and oboist Borislav Čičovački. In 2015, she premiered Stockhausen's composition for two harps and voices, Radost, with the harpist of the Belgrade Philharmonic, Milana Zarić. With Vanja Djordjević, she premiered the Sonata for flute and harp by Ivan Jevtić, in 2017. Together with Borislav Čičovački, she premiered and recorded the Sonata for oboe and harp by Petar Stojanović, organized by the Committee for the Protection of the Serbian Musical Heritage of Serbian Academy of Science and Art. As part of the Committee's projects, she participated in the performance and recording of music by Josip Slavenski, Aleksandar Obradović and Ljudmila Frajt, as well as music by Isidora Žebeljan. She collaborates with young Serbian composers and regularly performs at the Composers' Forum of the Association of Composers of Serbia. From 2015, she is a member of the author team of the Music Opera and Theater Organization MOTO, and in recent years she has been successfully writing projects in culture.

Masterclass with a world-renowned opera singer, a professor of vocal pedagogy and long-term associate of Rossi Fest, Olga Makarina Masterclass with Olga Makarina Saturday and Sunday, January 30th - 31st Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment - Rossi Fest office 17-20h A world-renowned opera singer, a professor of vocal pedagogy, and a long-term associate of Rossi Fest, Olga Makarina, joined us in this festival edition as well and held a two-day masterclass for young opera singers. Having in mind current epidemiological measures and restrictions, Ms Makarina joined us online via Zoom, while the participants and pianist Srđan Jaraković worked from the office of Rossi Fest at Kolarac Endowment. The soprano from the Metropolitan Opera Olga Makarina was born in Archangel, Russia, where she earned her Masters in piano and voice from the St Petersburg Conservatory. She has won several important prizes and awards and is especially notable for her pedagogical work with young singers. Her first New York appearance was at the New York City Opera as Lucia di Lammermoor . She has performed as well Gilda in Rigoletto , Konstanze in Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio and Olympia in Les Contes d'Hoffmann , Ilia in Idomeneo (Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival), Violetta in La Traviata (Kirov Opera) and Eudoxie in La Juive (Opera Orchestra of New York). Apart from these, she has also appeared as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with the Minnesota Orchestra and Orff's Carmina Burana . She performed the demanding role of Elettra in Mozart's Idomeneo at the Metropolitan Opera with James Levine conducting, while at Opera Pacific she was Adina in the Jonathan Miller production of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore . She appeared twice at the Bard Festival , singing scenes from Meyerbeer's Robert le Diable and Les Huguenots as well as the final scene of Norma and then as a soloist in the Grand Messe of Franz Liszt. Apart from the Metropolitan Opera , Olga Makarina performed on various stages in Prague, Bratislava, Palm Beach, Warsaw, and in Carnegie Hall .