The world premiere of Nikola Šubić Zrinjski by Ivan Pl. Zajc, the founder and organiser of the Zagreb Opera House, was a pivotal cultural moment in 1876, as it paved the way for developing a new artistic discipline within the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb – ballet. Centred on the final days of Croatian hero Nikola Šubić Zrinjski and his heroic demise, the work was incredibly well-received and has since become a classic in Croatian opera. The most potent reaction was ignited by the moving vow of the Sziget defenders and the opera’s final number, To Battle, To Battle, which was written as a choral composition a decade ahead of the opera’s completion. The work's enduring popularity is primarily due to its depiction of an actual historical figure who managed to save Slavonia from complete subjugation amid the harsh onslaught of the Turks. While he failed to stop the Ottoman conquest of several towns, Zrinski perished courageously in the defence of Sziget. Aside from the opera’s intense patriotic atmosphere, a notable hallmark of Zajc’s composition is his nuanced depiction of two contrasting worlds, each imbued with its unique features. While meticulously crafting the historical figures of Zrinski and Sultan Suleiman, Zajc also introduced their dramatic counterparts, Eva and Jelena, two vital female roles in Croatian opera, and attributed them an essential dramaturgical and musical task.
There are operas, and then there is Zrinjski.— Boris Papandopulo
The highlight of Zajec’s opera, accentuated by Dolenčić’s direction and further emphasized by the performances of Marof and Franetović, is the meeting between Zrinjski and Sokolović in Act II, when the Turkish vizier offers the Count a royal crown in return for the keys to Siget which Zrinjski rejects by replying: ‘The banus is a king to the Croats, he rules in the king’s stead.’— Vjesnik
