Theatre Breakfast Ahead of the Premiere of 'Tannhäuser': The Artist Against the WorldOpera — 07. May 2026.
Nearly a century after its last staging on the Zagreb stage, Richard Wagner’s opera Tannhäuser returns to the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, with its premiere on 15 May, as a powerful, provocative and deeply personal story of an artist who dares to create beyond the boundaries of what is permitted.
Ahead of the premiere, we invite you to a Theatre Breakfast with Tannhäuser, which will take place on Monday, 11 May at 11 a.m. in the foyer of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. This encounter with the artists and creative team will offer insight into the making of this remarkable production and open a conversation on the questions this opera continues to raise today.
The Theatre Breakfast is conceived as a space for encounter, exchange and connection - a place where audiences can glimpse behind the scenes and engage with art in the making. In the relaxed atmosphere of a morning gathering, the discussion will explore the director’s concept, the musical interpretation, the challenges of the production, as well as the very core of the work: what it means to be an artist today, and whether creative freedom can exist beyond the “judgment” of audiences, critics and institutions.
The discussion will feature distinguished artists and members of the creative team: soloists Evelin Novak, Eric Laporte and Ljubomir Puškarić, conductor Srba Dinić, director Frank Van Laecke, with Zrinka Matić as moderator.
At th heart of this staging lies the idea of Tannhäuser as an artist in search of 'ultimate beauty'. This production opens up the complex relationship between the artist and society—between creation and judgment, freedom and compromise. The journey to Rome becomes a metaphor for confronting authorities who claim the right to pass judgment on art, while the artist remains torn between his own truth and the expectations of the world.
The Theatre Breakfast with Tannhäuser is not merely an introduction to the production, but an invitation to a dialogue on art today: why it is needed, how vulnerable it is and what is its power.
