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BR Klassik

Frano Parac: Judita

$19.99

Details

Composer
Frano Parac
Artist
Munich Radio Orchestra, Croatian Radio Choir (HRT Choir), Sofija Petrovic, Evelin Novak, Diana Halle
Format
CD
Label
BR Klassik
Released
Oct 10, 2025
Catalog #
BRK900357
UPC
4035719003574

About

On December 1, 2024, Ivan Repusic, chief conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra, conducted a concert performance of Frano Parac's opera Judita at Munich's Prinzregententheater. This two-act, seven-scene opera is about the siege of a city by brutal foreign invaders. The biblical story of Judith, who liberates her homeland of Bethulia from it's Assyrian occupiers by killing Holofernes, certainly has parallels with Croatian history, particularly that of the city of Split. From the mid-15th century onwards, the country repeatedly fought against incursions by the Ottoman Empire - and Split in Dalmatia was particularly vulnerable to the attacks of the Turks, who advanced to it's gates. The poet Marko Marulic (1450-1524) alludes to these events in allegorical form in his epic Judita, completed in 1501. One of the earliest poetic works in the Croatian language, it established Marulic's reputation as the father of Croatian literature. To celebrate the 550th anniversary of the author's birth in 2000, and in commemoration of the 1, 700th anniversary of the foundation of Split, Frano Parac, a composer born in Split in 1948, chose the epic Judita as the basis for his first opera. It premiered on July 14, 2000 at the Croatian National Theatre in Split. The live recording made in December 2023 is now being released on CD by BR-KLASSIK, supplemented by Dance of the Baroness (Ples Barunice) from Parac's 1985 dramatic ballet Carmina Krležiana, based on texts by the expressionist-modernist writer Miroslav Krleža. First published in 1990 in a piano version, the dance is a rewarding and effective piece for pianists - and it's orchestral version is equally impressive.

Tracklist 8 tracks

  1. 1 Act I Scene 1: Bože pomiluj nas! (Chorus, Akior, Eliakim, Ozija) 10:35
    Track
    1
    Title
    Act I Scene 1: Bože pomiluj nas! (Chorus, Akior, Eliakim, Ozija)
    Duration
    10:35
    Composer
    Frano Parać
    Performer
    Matteo Ivan Rašić, Sava Vemić, Stjepan Franetović
    Ensemble
    Croatian Radio and Television Choir, Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Ivan Repušić
  2. 2 Act I Scene 2: Bog, sud postav meu tobom i nami (First priest, Second priest, Eliakim, Ozija, Chorus) 07:55
    Track
    2
    Title
    Act I Scene 2: Bog, sud postav meu tobom i nami (First priest, Second priest, Eliakim, Ozija, Chorus)
    Duration
    07:55
    Composer
    Frano Parać
    Performer
    Mislav Lucić, Andro Bojanić, Sava Vemić, Stjepan Franetović
    Ensemble
    Croatian Radio and Television Choir, Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Ivan Repušić
  3. 3 Act I Scene 3: Bože! Svemogi naš (Chorus, Ozija, priests, Judita) 12:47
    Track
    3
    Title
    Act I Scene 3: Bože! Svemogi naš (Chorus, Ozija, priests, Judita)
    Duration
    12:47
    Composer
    Frano Parać
    Performer
    Stjepan Franetović, Mislav Lucić, Andro Bojanić, Sofija Petrović
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Ivan Repušić
  4. 4 Act I Scene 4: Kudi hitaš, Abra, za ino ne haješ? (Ruta, Abra, Judita) 07:21
    Track
    4
    Title
    Act I Scene 4: Kudi hitaš, Abra, za ino ne haješ? (Ruta, Abra, Judita)
    Duration
    07:21
    Composer
    Frano Parać
    Performer
    Evelin Novak, Diana Haller, Sofija Petrović
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Ivan Repušić
  5. 5 Act II Scene 5: Od kud? Kamo? (Chorus, Judita, Oloferne) 08:23
    Track
    5
    Title
    Act II Scene 5: Od kud? Kamo? (Chorus, Judita, Oloferne)
    Duration
    08:23
    Composer
    Frano Parać
    Performer
    Sofija Petrović, Ivica Čikeš
    Ensemble
    Croatian Radio and Television Choir, Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Ivan Repušić
  6. 6 Act II Scene 6: Zaćinjajmo pjesni! (Oloferne, Chorus, Judita, Vagav) 11:45
    Track
    6
    Title
    Act II Scene 6: Zaćinjajmo pjesni! (Oloferne, Chorus, Judita, Vagav)
    Duration
    11:45
    Composer
    Frano Parać
    Performer
    Ivica Čikeš, Sofija Petrović, Matija Meić
    Ensemble
    Croatian Radio and Television Choir, Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Ivan Repušić
  7. 7 Act II Scene 7: Ča je to, ča je to? (Chorus, Judita, Akior, Eliakim) 08:12
    Track
    7
    Title
    Act II Scene 7: Ča je to, ča je to? (Chorus, Judita, Akior, Eliakim)
    Duration
    08:12
    Composer
    Frano Parać
    Performer
    Sofija Petrović, Matteo Ivan Rašić, Sava Vemić
    Ensemble
    Croatian Radio and Television Choir, Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Ivan Repušić
  8. 8 Carmina Krležiana (Dance of the Baroness): Ples Barunice 02:59
    Track
    8
    Title
    Carmina Krležiana (Dance of the Baroness): Ples Barunice
    Duration
    02:59
    Composer
    Frano Parać
    Ensemble
    Münchner Rundfunkorchester
    Conductor
    Ivan Repušić