Mik Festival edition/ "Zbret" in the theater of Korça, the first Albanian operetta, "Agimi"

2024-07-13 10:59:00, Kulturë CNA

Mik Festival edition/ "Zbret" in the theater of Korça, the

Dawn Operetta

Yesterday evening at the Andon Zako Çajupi theater in Korça brought the climax of the MIK Festival programming. After 70 years, the Dawn Operetta was played on this stage, created by the artists from Korça, which was brought back as a work by the orchestra of the Armed Forces, the group of choir, soloists and dancers. A fantastic atmosphere that gripped the Korça audience for more than 2 hours in the theater hall, where they enjoyed the most special operetta created in Korça 70 years ago.

A fantastic scenography, brought to detail by the 3D artist, Lampros Tziampasis, with the stage where the artists performed, first of them with the wonderful orchestra conducted by the master Suzana Turku. Everything yesterday in this evening was fantastic, as befits Korça, honoring the work of the old Korça artists.

Zyle Rezha, who has been playing the flute instrument for 8 years, being part of the orchestra of the Armed Forces, shows the great emotions she feels this evening. Rexha says that it is a privilege for him to be playing Albanian music with such beautiful motifs that should never be lost.

"Today is actually a very special evening because after 70 years, the Operetta Agimi is being staged. We have the honor to play it tonight, together with soloists, choir and ballet. I feel very privileged to be playing Albanian music with such motives beautiful and I want these motives to never be lost as they have a lot of value for Albania. This orchestra is a very good opportunity for all the young people who study and dedicate themselves to this work. This is the second year of cooperation with MIK Festival it's a very good opportunity and it's very fruitful as many great artists join together."

Soprano Simona Karafili Demi, who also has the privilege of this role, had the great fortune to play the main role of this work, Hana. For the well-known soprano, this evening is a historic evening, of great importance and value for art, while it shows that there were also difficulties in finding the right temperament required by the character of Hana.

"I feel privileged. After 70 years, maybe I can be the second or third performer at the most, who plays the role of Hana in the operetta Agimi, and it is an incredible emotion. We are used to singing roles in foreign languages, foreign characters, but in Albanian there is always a special emotion even for the fact that today is a historical evening. It seems simple because it is a role in the Albanian context, but it has its difficulties regarding the fact that when it was written it was a story in a another era of Albania and I grew up in another era. As simple as it seems that the language unites us, it seems difficult to find the right temperament that the character is looking for. MIK festival is excellent, perhaps the only one in its size such within the territory of Albania. Of course, the fact that Inva does it, I think is the pearl of the whole MIK."

Arben Skënderi, the director of the Cultural Center of the Armed Forces, has told more about this work, the participants, the artists, as well as the innovations of putting the operetta back on the stage of the theater of Korça. Skenderi emphasizes that the novelty of this operetta is the inclusion of many young people in this experience, combining a series of experiences among them, for the first time for some of them. A rather large work has been successfully completed, continuing the tradition and preserving the heritage of generations, which the public has embraced with so much emotion, from the many applauses given to the stage artists yesterday.

Mik Festival edition/ "Zbret" in the theater of Korça, the

"A fantastic experience for every corner that participated, it is an added value because as you saw, a work that comes after 70 years which is the first operetta staged in Albania, is being performed again today in Korça. What can what I'm saying is that it is really Albanian music and what is another innovation is that many young people are involved in this experience, starting with the young people of the FA orchestra, which is coming for the umpteenth time, but above all the troops on stage , the singers, the dancers. So, all these combinations of experiences, for some for the first time, was the novelty of staging this work which is an added value in our non-material heritage. I say this because more works were needed of this nature, to be staged not only for the Albanian public but for our heritage for future generations. Old parts of that period have been found, a great deal of research has been done to bring the work as authentic as possible where before it was spoken, it was sung, it deserved such a work."

Of great importance in the organization of this operetta was the 3D artist from Greece, Lampros Tziampasis, who worked for several months straight to create the scenography according to the original decorations of Vangjush Mio. For Tziampasis, this has been a challenge, because he had to preserve the originality of the parts that were given to him to recreate, while he has shown that it is the first time for him to work for an operetta and also to visit the beautiful city of Korça.

Mik Festival edition/ "Zbret" in the theater of Korça, the

"For me as a 3D artist it was a challenge because I was asked to recreate pieces of art from what great artists have done before. I tried to recreate this style in 3D, it was very challenging but a beautiful experience, I enjoyed creating them .I tried to be as close as possible to the original sketches. It took almost 5 months, maybe a little more, since the modeling and rendering took most of the time. It's the first time I've worked on an operetta, yes It's the first time I'm in Korça. It's an honor for me to be part of MIK festival, because I haven't seen such big festivals. I've seen many art things in the cities big ones in Greece like Thessaloniki and Athens, but to have something like this in Korça is wonderful."

The Agimi operetta, one of the most beautiful and unique that the old artists from Korça bequeathed to the city, was restored on the stage of the Andon Zako Çajupi theater by young artists, accompanied by the orchestra of the Armed Forces. A fantastic evening that the Korça art-loving audience enjoyed for more than 2 hours, supporting and applauding the performers throughout the evening. This evening was the culminating point of MIK Festival in this 7th edition of its organization, while the program will continue for 2 more days, ending successfully in the tourist village of Voskopoja this Sunday./ CNA