News

(Prevalje, Slovenia, December 1, 1928 – Zagreb, Croatia, February 25, 2025)

The memorial service for the versatile, unique and one of a kind artist - ballet dancer, pedagogue, dramaturge, director, but before all choreographer Milko Šparemblek was held on March 5, 2025 at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. His family, friends, colleagues and admirers of his opus gathered and reminisced about maturing and collaborating with the great artist, about his ballets and his specific choreographic style. In his rich opus and long international career, the intensive and dedicated cooperation with the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb had a special place. Generations of dancers grew and developed with his ballets and his specific choreographic style, and his artistic legacy is beyond doubt the most significant and extensive in our entire dance history.

Šparemblek was born in Slovenia, but was educated in Zagreb where he studied comparative literature at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. At the same time he studied classical ballet with the renowned Croatian dancers and ballet pedagogues Ana Roje and Oskar Harmoš. In 1948, he became a member of the Ballet of the CNT in Zagreb. As its principal dancer he excelled in leading roles in the classical, modern and national repertoire. In 1953, he left for Paris where he perfected his technique with Olga Preobrazenska, A. Ilich and Sergey Perreti. He was a prominent member of dance troupes of Janine Charrat, Milorad Mišković, Ludmila Tcherina and Maurice Béjart. He studied contemporary dance techniques in New York with Martha Graham and Jose Limón.

Along numerous anthological dance interpretations he performed on many famous ballet stages Milko Šparemblek worked as a ballet master at the Ballet du XXe Siecle of Maurice Béjart in Brussels: he was the ballet director of the Ballet of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, four years he was the director of the Gulbenkian Ballet, three years the director of Ballet de Lyon, and from 1992 to 1994 he was the director of the Ballet of the CNT in Zagreb.

He started choreographing in 1955 and since then he staged more than one hundred ballets, operas, dramas, and recorded a series of film and TV ballets. He acquired international acclaim as a collaborator of a large number of ballet and opera theatres. His works were staged in Paris, Brussels, Verona, Naples, Lisbon, London, Athens, New York, Rio de Janeiro and other cities.

For the Ballet of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb he successfully staged and choreographed Gustav Mahlerꞌs Songs of Love and Death, Frano Paraćꞌs Carmina Krležijana and W. A. Mozartꞌs Amadeus monumentum. He was the choreographer and co-director of Gundulićꞌs Osman directed by Georgij Paro, Carl Orffꞌs Triumph of Aphrodite as well as Bela Bartókꞌs The Miraculous Mandarin. He also created the scenario, choreography and stage direction for choreodrama Johannes Faust passion to the music of J. S. Bach, Neven Frangeš and unknown medieval authors. He worked with ballet ensembles of the Croatian National Theatres in Split and Rijeka and was a frequent collaborator of theatre directors in drama and opera performances.

For his work he was granted the Slovenian Prešern Award, the Tito Strozzi award of the CNT in Zagreb for the scenario, choreography and direction of Johannes Faust passion, the Croatian Theatresꞌ Award for the best choreography of The Miraculous Mandarin and the Life Achievement award of the Croatian Society of Professional Ballet Artists.

We express our deepest condolences to the family, ballet artists and all fans of our Milko!

Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb