Tivat Music Festival
2025

August 12, 10 p.m.
Gornja Lastva

Partneri programa:

Our Lady Of The Rocks

NATALIJA RADIĆ, SOPRAN
DUBRAVKA DRAKIĆ, ACTOR
DORIS FRANOVIĆ, CHILDREN’S VOICE
BOKA ENSEMBLE:

Tamara Knežević, flute
Nenad Jovanović, violin
Željko Ivović, violoncello
Marina Mikić, piano
Nikola Šašković, percussion

Irena Popović (1974)
Libretto: Jelena Novak
Or Lady of the Rocks, chamber opera for a child’s
voice, narrator, operatic voice, and chamber ensemble

Roles:
Jacinta – Natalija Radić
Jacinta as a girl – Doris Franović
Narrator: Dubravka Drakić
* A world premiere of commissioned work

While waiting for her husband to return from a sea voyage, Jacinta Kunić from Perast devoted herself to embroidering a tapestry. Alongside damask and pearls of various colors, Jacinta used strands of her own hair in the embroidery. For 25 long years, she worked on the tapestry, hoping to welcome back the man who never returned. According to legend, Jacinta lost her sight while completing the tapestry. The overture alternates between turbulent and intimate sections, metaphorically portraying the life of a woman who, despite her profound sorrow, endures – tirelessly and devotedly weaving a tapestry that becomes a symbol of her love for the man she will never see again. The opera is guided by three voices: a narrator (spoken by an actress), an operatic singer, and a girl’s voice. Together, through poetic imagery, they tell one of the most moving legends of the Bay of Kotor. Jacinta, now the narrator, recalls her childhood as a young girl, while the adult Jacinta (the operatic singer) remains unaware that she will live her life enclosed in a solitary world. The libretto
shift s between past and present, dream and reality, and incorporates some of the most beautiful verses of women’s poetry. The 25 years of fear, longing, waiting, and solitude are echoed by the Boka Chamber Ensemble, whose role extends beyond playing music – they also speak or whisper lines, becoming an amplifi ed voice of Jacinta herself. This opera departs from conventional operatic vocal styles and transforms into a kind of outcry – a voice for all those who wait faithfully.

Artists

Natalija Radić graduated in Vocal Studies from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade in 2006, under the mentorship of Professor Radmila Smiljanić. With the Collegium Musicum academic choir, she has performed in concerts across North Macedonia, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Russia, and China. As a member of the opera studio at the National Theater in Belgrade, she performed roles in the following operas: A Would-be Lady by Mihovil Logar, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini, and Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss. She has appeared as a soloist in numerous concerts featuring the works of composers Ivan Brkljačić and Aleksandar Simić, and has performed in dramatic productions at the Belgrade Drama Theater, including Amadeus directed by Alisa
Stojanović. She has also performed with the Slovenian Philharmonic Quartet at the Bled Festival, and at KotorArt, where she took part in the premiere of Stella’s Passion by Antonije Pušić – Rambo Amadeus, as well as at the NEO Festival in Novi Sad. Natalija Radić currently lives and works in Ljubljana as a freelance artist. She teaches
Vocal Arts and conducts children’s and youth choirs. She is actively involved in music therapy, particularly in working with individuals suffering from dementia. As an active member of the Slovenian Association of Music Therapists, she participates in various projects and training programs dedicated to the therapeutic application of music.

Dubravka Drakić, actress, graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Cetinje in 1999, under Professor Borislav Stjepanović. In 2014, she was appointed as an Assistant Professor at the same faculty, teaching
the Speech course. She served as the Director of the City Theater of Podgorica and was appointed President of the Council of the Budo Tomović Cultural Information Center. She has appeared in numerous feature and documentary films, television dramas and series, as well as in a wide range of theatre roles, including: the Peasant Woman (Novela od Ljubavi by Stevan Koprivica), the Innkeeper (The Three Musketeers by Aleksandra Glovacki), the Witch (The Mountain Wreath by Petar II Petrović Njegoš), Gospava Radomirova (The Marriage of King Vukašin
by Igor Bojović), Georgette (The School for Wives by Molière), and the Washerwoman (Yerma by Federico García Lorca). She has performed at the City Theater of Podgorica on both children’s and main stages, at the Montenegrin National Theater, in the municipal theaters of Nikšić and Herceg Novi, and at festivals throughout Montenegro and the region. She has collaborated with directors including Milan Karadžić, Jagoš Marković, Branislav Mićunović, Ljubosav Majer, Blagota Eraković, Petar Božović, Ana Vukotić, Nikola Zavišić, Radmila Vojvodić, Stefan
Sablić, and Boris Liješević, among others. Dubravka Drakić has received numerous professional awards and honors, including the 2014 Annual Award of the City of Podgorica.

Doris Franović is a sixth-grade student at the Drago Milović Primary School in Tivat and the Tivat Music School. She plays the piano and is a member of the school choir and the Vokalni Nonet vocal ensemble. She has won numerous awards at music competitions. At Solfest, the solfeggio festival in Cetinje, she received the First Prize – the Golden Note – for the best vocal a prima vista performance. With the Vokalni Nonet ensemble, she won First Prize and a Special Award at the Montenegrin Youth Music Festival. She consistently achieves high
rankings in piano competitions. Doris Franović has also practiced ballet and played volleyball.

Tamara Knežević completed her primary and secondary music education at the Vida Matjan Primary and Secondary Music School in Kotor, studying under Professors Jasminka Terzić and Žana Marinković. She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Flute from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, under Professor Ljubiša Jovanović. She has won numerous gold and special prizes at competitions both in Montenegro and abroad. As a soloist, she has performed at the String Festival in Kotor, KotorArt, and Purgatorije, in Tivat. In 2013, she
gave a solo concert for an Italian audience at the Nei suoni dei luoghi festival. Tamara is a regular member of the ensembles Talija Quartet, Providenca Trio, and Amiccie Duo. She has taught at music schools in Bijelo Polje, Podgorica (Vasa Pavić Music School), Kotor (Vida Matjan Music School), and in Budva. Her students have won numerous awards at competitions both nationally and across the region. Tamara Knežević has served as a jury member at the Davorin Jenko International Competition and multiple times at the Montenegrin National Music Competition. As Principal Flutist of the Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra, she has performed with renowned conductors and soloists such as Roman Simović, Maja Bogdanović, Ivo Pogorelić, Uroš Lajovic, Bujan Suđić, and Gordan Nikolić, as well as at festivals including BEMUS, Barski Ljetopis, A Tempo, and KotorArt.

Nenad Jovanović, violin, completed his primary and secondary music education at the School for Musical Talents in Ćuprija, and his undergraduate and master’s studies at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, under Professor Ljubomir Mihailović. As a student at the School for Musical Talents, he received numerous first prizes and special awards
at competitions both nationally and internationally. He was a long-time member of the orchestra of the National Theater in Belgrade and the St. George String Chamber Orchestra, collaborating with orchestras such as Camerata Serbica and Symphonia Vienna. Nenad Jovanović has performed in countries of the former Yugoslavia, Norway, Hungary, China, Poland, and Slovakia, collaborating with renowned soloists and conductors such as Roman Simović, Uroš Lajovic, Ivo Pogorelić, Stefan Milenkovich, Bojan Suđić, Darinka Matić Marović, and Gordan Nikolić. He
has participated in festivals such as BEMUS, the Ohrid Summer Festival, the Split Summer Festival, the Ljubljana Festival, and NIMUS. Nenad Jovanović is a member of the Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra, where he serves as the Principal Second Violin, and the Montenegrin Chamber Orchestra. As a member of the string quartet of the Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra, he has performed a series of concerts in Montenegro and Albania. Additionally, he is engaged in pedagogical work as a violin teacher at the Music School in Tivat.

Željko Ivović, cello, began playing at the age of six under Professor Zorana Prvulović and was a student at the School for Musical Talents in Ćuprija, under Professor Relja Ćetković. Željko Ivović graduated from the Faculty
of Music in Belgrade, under Dejan Božić, and completed his postgraduate studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, under Professor Tobias Stosiek. He has served as a member of the Dušan Skovran Belgrade String Orchestra and the Banja Luka Philharmonic, and as the Principal Cello in the KotorArt Festival Orchestra. Since 2011, he has been a member of the Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra in Novi Sad. Željko Ivović occasionally performs as a freelance member with the Belgrade Philharmonic and the Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra. Since
2022, he has been the Principal Cello in the Serafim Chamber Orchestra. Željko Ivović has performed throughout Serbia and Montenegro, as well as in Belgium, Hungary, the Netherlands, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Austria, France, Italy, and Greece. He has been a member of the IL Belpaese String Quartet since 2011, and has been performing in a duo with violinist Igor Vasiljević since 2017. Željko Ivović has been employed as a cello teacher at the School for Musical Talents in Ćuprija since 2010, teaching Cello, Orchestra, Sight-reading, and Chamber Music.

Nikola Šašković is a musician whose artistic development is rooted in years of experience playing percussion instruments. He entered the world of rhythm during his time at the Stanković Music School in Belgrade, where he dedicated himself to studying and performing various percussion instruments. He completed a degree in Jazz Piano,
further expanding his performance abilities and opening the door to collaborations within diverse musical ensembles. He studied at the Jazz Academy in Graz, where he deepened his understanding of contemporary
rhythms and jazz expression. Nikola Šašković is actively involved in the music scene, performing both as a member of original ensembles and as a sideman in a wide range of projects. Since 2024, he has been a permanent
member of the band led by singer Beti Đorđević. He collaborates with numerous prominent musicians from the domestic jazz and world music scenes. He has performed at a number of festivals and events, including the Belgrade Jazz Festival (2023, 2024), Bluzika Jazz Festival (2023), Jazz in the Garden (2023, 2024, 2025), Belgrade Winter (2023, 2024), Family Days (2023, 2024), and Montenegro Statehood Day in Bar (2024).