Grad theater Budva opened with a concert by the RTS Big Band: The Night of Remembrance of Mim Mitrović

This year's 33rd Grad Teatar Budva festival, which for the first time in its history bears the prestigious European label EFFE (Europe for festivals - Festivals for Europe), officially began last night with the RTS Big Band concert "Mimo od Budva", which is a tribute to the legendary jazz artist Nikola Mim Mitrović.

One of the most ambitious and longest editions of the City of Theater (it will last until August 30) was declared open, together with the audience, by theater director Boris Liješević.

The man from Budva, whose career is today one of the most successful in the region, and an inseparable part of this festival, greeted his fellow citizens and guests of the City of Theater with a memory of that time.

"Many years have passed since as a boy I looked forward to every performance at this festival, when I sat in the back rows of these or those above stands, and loved the festival, and admired it, and envied it, because it was great, and beautiful, and significant, and prestigious, and unattainable, and I thought I would never live up to him. When I got this call a few weeks ago, I realized it was time to meet that boy who has some wisdom in those back rows, and in fact, he hides his sensitivity, insecurity, and let me tell him: accept this invitation, you've grown up, you've grown up, you've matured, you already have a career behind you that started right here, and because of this right here," said Liješević, emphasizing that for him, this is not just a speech, but the most beautiful, solemn, holy night, a night in which shame, fear, confrontation, transition, growing up, honor, privilege, proof, confirmation, love and return meet. A return, because every time I pass by that olive tree that the great painter Dragan Mojović planted there once upon a time, thus marking the center of the world, and I believe that many of you remember that performance, and when I approach these stands, I also return home. To the house I left exactly a quarter of a century ago," Liješević said.

Homecomings, according to Liješević, are not always beautiful, nostalgic, wistful, sentimental, because they bring up beautiful memories, but also bitter ones, and Krleža knew that with his returnees, Filip Latinović, Leone Glembay, Shakespeare, Joyce, and the greatest among them, Homer, whose homecomings are the most dramatic.

"And we know that too, who are here tonight, and who have been waiting for years for this festival to return to its home, its fortress, the Citadel, from which it was driven. It is no longer important whose fault and mistake, what matters is that the one who manages to return the Citadel to this festival, and to return to the Citadel the theater without which it is nothing, that it will get a place in the alley of the greats of this city. That it will be written in golden letters in the hearts of all the people who year after year with their presence, interest and love are holding this festival. And when there was talk that it should be shut down, you were there, and with your presence you testified that there are still people in this city who need Grad Theater, and thank you for that," Liješević said.

Liješević also said that he did not want, and could not, declare this year's Grad Theater open by himself, and asked the audience to do it together with him - that everyone close their eyes for a moment, imagine one door on their hearts and open it with their hands , so that this night and the upcoming 33rd Grad Theater would enter their hearts.

Before the official opening of the festival, Marko Carević, president of the Municipality of Budva, which is the founder of the City of Theater, addressed the packed audience of the stage Between the Churches.

"Budva has long been recognized as the cradle of culture, which confirms the reputation of this festival, which has been going on for more than 30 years. During the days of the festival, our Old Town, our squares and squares are transformed into a large open-air artistic scene, and this makes for a special Mediterranean experience for all the visitors of our metropolis of tourism. Without false modesty, we can say that this is one of the most beautiful summer festivals, not only in the region, but also in this part of Europe, which is visited by over fifteen thousand visitors every year," said Tsarević, emphasizing that the time in which we live, an era of rapid changes, in which there is less and less space for culture and tradition.

"Nevertheless, even in this time there are certain exceptions - the Budva City Theater festival is one of them. For us, the City Theater has become a cultural tradition and a gathering place for all art lovers. There is no theater without an audience, that's why you are the ones who have been visiting this festival with joy for three decades the most deserving is its duration. The motto of this year's festival is "Healing the heart by entertaining the mind", and it is the best invitation for people to come to this beautiful environment and enjoy the charms of culture," said Tsarević.

He reminded that 40 years ago, Budva was mercilessly destroyed by the forces of nature, and that the walls and houses were again extended by the hands of good builders.

"City - the stage was designed to bring people back to the destroyed city. Today we can say that the mission of the City Theater is reversed - that its task is to return the city to the people. The city as an idea that we share the space for which we are jointly responsible, that in that space we meet, have fun, learn from each other, become better. That we have more understanding for each other, for ourselves, for those we love, for those who are different from us. In this name, I wish you to enjoy the culture in the next fifty-eight days which always has its prestigious place in our city", said the President of the Municipality of Budva.

We will not forget you

With the "Mimo od Budva" concert, the compact disc of the same name was presented for the first time, realized in the joint cooperation of the City of Theater, the Municipality of Budva and PGP RTS, that is, Radio Belgrade, as a tribute to the character and work of Mim Mitrović ((1941-2010).

The audience gave Big Band RTS a standing ovation, and as Dragoslav Fredi Stanisavljević, the first trumpet of the Big Band and its responsible editor, said after the concert, this evening had a special emotional significance for them.

"Mimo is one of the biggest representatives of jazz in the former Yugoslavia, and thanks to the idea of ​​Milena Lubarda Marojević, the director of the City Theater, we made something together that will leave a mark. I think there will be sequels, that another edition of this disc will be released, that there will also be some awards. I'm sure that all people in the region who love jazz know very well who Mimo Mitrović is, and it's up to us to remind them. As the composition we performed for the encore says, "We will not forget you", and that is our mission that we owe to Mim," Fredi Stanisavljević pointed out.

An exciting program

The opening ceremony of the festival was led by Svetlana Ivanović, the selector of the Literary Program of the City Theater, who welcomed the audience on behalf of the employees of this public institution, emphasizing that this summer, in all selections, she expects an exciting and significant program.

"This year's conceptual starting point of the festival is re-examining the phenomenon and importance of artistic activity in times that are not favorable to the arts, and thus to people. Therefore, in the next fifty-eight days of the festival, we will try to show that art and the artistic act are important in all times - both to us, and the city we live in," said Svetlana Ivanovic.