In this episode of Opera Road Trip, host Sebastian F. Schwarz turns to Croatia as a revealing case study for the operatic realities of smaller European countries. Blessed with one of the most striking Mediterranean coastlines and internationally known cities such as Split and Dubrovnik, Croatia attracts nearly five times as many visitors each year as it has inhabitants. Yet this global visibility is highly seasonal and geographically concentrated — while the country's operatic infrastructure functions largely inland, year-round, and far from the tourist gaze.

The episode argues that Croatia exemplifies a broader structural paradox: strong national institutions, permanent ensembles, and a rich operatic tradition operating under conditions of limited scale, modest international visibility, and constant pressure to justify public funding. Tracing the development of opera from Austro-Hungarian and Italian influences through the Yugoslav period and into the present, the discussion shows how history, politics, and geography continue to shape artistic life today.

Alongside historical context, the episode features voices from within the Croatian operatic ecosystem — Iva Hraste-Sočo, general and artistic director of the Croatian National Theatre, Diana Haller and Marko Mimica, two Croatian born and raised and internationally sought-after singers— reflecting on training, career paths, international mobility, and the delicate balance between national repertoire and the international canon. Croatia emerges not as a peripheral operatic culture, but as a concentrated laboratory for many of the questions currently facing opera across Europe.

Opera Road Trip is hosted by Sebastian F. Schwarz whose curriculum as an opera manager includes positions at Theater an der Wien, Glyndebourne, Teatro Regio Torino, Festival della Valle d'Itria, Hamburgische Staatsoper and Wexford Festival Opera. He is Vice-president of the International Richard Strauss Society, member of the board of the European Musical Theatre Academy and co-founder of the Cesti Competition for Baroque Opera.

All episodes: https://operavision.eu/feature/operav...

Music extracts for Episode 6:

Introduction: Fidelio (Beethoven): Overture, op. 72

Two excerpts from Judita (Frano Parać): ensemble, chorus and orchestra of the Croatian National Theatre Zagreb, 2025

Excerpt from Ero s onoga svijeta – Ero the Joker (Jakov Gotovac): ensemble, chorus and orchestra of the Croatian National Theatre Zagreb, 2025

D'Oreste, d'Ajace from Idomeneo (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart): Diana Haller, Staatsoper Stuttgart, 2025

Nella pace del mesto riposo from Maria Stuarda (Gaetano Donizetti): Diana Haller, Croatian National Theatre Varaždin, 2026

Bonus:

Final chorus from Nikola Šubić Zrinjski (Ivan pl. Zajc): ensemble, chorus and orchestra of the Croatian National Theatre Zagreb, 2025

OperaVision is a freeview opera streaming platform, supported by the European Union's Creative Europe programme.

Watch live streams as the performances themselves unfold in the opera house. Enjoy a variety of shows - including opera, operetta, musical theatre, dance, ballet and concerts. Opera connaisseur or curious newcomer, there is something for everyone on OperaVision.

Opera Road Trip is Operavision's new two-year podcast series, a journey through the 17 countries that currently partner with OperaVision, discovering their operatic history and current relationship with the artform, and meeting along the way young talents finding their voice and seasoned professionals who have devoted their lives to the stage, discovering the diverse paths that have led them to opera and the enduring belief in its relevance, past, present, and future.

Opera Road Trip's fourth episode is dedicated to opera in Vienna. We hear from Kristine Tornquist and Jury Everhartz, founders and directors of Sirene Operntheater about the work of the independent opera companies and their newest opera Abendsonne, set in a retirement home. We speak with Stefan Herheim, Intendant of Theater an der Wien about his thoughts on running an opera house. 200 years ago, Vienna's most prominent music critic Eduard Hanslick was born – known for his scathing reviews especially of Richard Wagner's work. Time to have a look at the role of the critic – back then and today - with Vienna's leading music journalist and critic Walter Weidringer.

Opera Road Trip is hosted by Sebastian F. Schwarz whose curriculum as an opera manager includes positions at Theater an der Wien, Glyndebourne, Teatro Regio Torino, Festival della Valle d'Itria, Hamburgische Staatsoper and Wexford Festival Opera. He is Vice-president of the International Richard Strauss Society, member of the board of the European Musical Theatre Academy and co-founder of the Cesti Competition for Baroque Opera.

All episodes: https://operavision.eu/feature/operav...

Music extracts for Episode 4:

Introduction: Fidelio (Beethoven): Overture, op. 72

Champagner hat's verschuldet from Die Fledermaus (Johann Strauss jun.): Zoryana Kushpler, Ensemble der Wiener Staatsoper

Toast au champagne from Die Fledermaus (Johann Strauss jun.): Héloïse Mas, Marie-Eve Munger and Guillaume Andrieux from Opéra de Lille

Tarot Scene from Abendsonne (Tomasz Skweres): Juliette Mars from Sirene Operntheater, Vienna

Ouverture, from Die Fledermaus (Johann Strauss jun.): Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, Franz Welser-Möst

OperaVision is a freeview opera streaming platform, supported by the European Union's Creative Europe programme.

Watch live streams as the performances themselves unfold in the opera house. Enjoy a variety of shows - including opera, operetta, musical theatre, dance, ballet and concerts. Opera connaisseur or curious newcomer, there is something for everyone on OperaVision.