‘Stanac’ marks a historic milestone as the first opera performed on the HNK2 stage.Opera — 21. March 2026.
Last night, the opera Stanac by Jakov Gotovac was performed on the new HNK2 stage, marking a historic milestone as the first opera ever presented on that stage. The audience rewarded the performance with prolonged applause and ovations for the ensemble, the Orchestra and the Chorus of the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb.
Stanac is a work by one of Croatia’s greatest opera composers, created in the 1950s in collaboration with librettist Vojmilo Rabadan, based on Marin Držić’s renowned Renaissance comedy Novela od Stanca. Gotovac himself described Stanac as an operatic scherzo – a swift, witty and musically playful stage miniature set during Carnival time, when, as Držić wrote, 'everything is possible'.
The production on the HNK2 stage, conducted by Josip Šego and directed by Hrvoje Korbar, continues the mission of the Zagreb Opera to bring the most valuable works of Croatian musical and theatrical heritage closer to audiences. The performance comes at a symbolic moment, as last year the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb marked the 130th anniversary of Jakov Gotovac’s birth with a major exhibition.
The title role of Stanac is performed by Ozren Bilušić, with the cast also featuring Roko Radovan, Josipa Bilić, Damir Klačar, Josip Galić and Maruška Aras, alongside the ensemble of dancers, and the Orchestra and Chorus of the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. With the new HNK2 stage and this spirited operatic scherzo, Gotovac’s Stanac once again wins over audiences, just as it has done since its Zagreb premiere more than six decades ago.
Performances are scheduled for 23 and 25 March, and the work continues to enchant with scenes imbued with vivid Dubrovnik colour and humorous plots centred on the naïve peasant Stanac. It is precisely this blend of Renaissance satire and Gotovac’s virtuosic music that makes Stanac one of the jewels of Croatian operatic literature.
