DANTE 700 Multimedia program

Tuesady, July 27
Plateau of the Our Lady’s Church, Prčanj, 10 p.m.
DANTE 700
Multimedia program 

Speech of Luca Zelioli, Ambassador of the Republic of Italy to Montenegro
Speech of Ratimir Martinović, General and Artistic Director of the International KotorArt Don Branko’ Music Days Festival 

PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROGRAM
Antun Sbutega, narrator
Sara Lakičević, narrator
Dolores Fabian, reciter
Antonia Vučinović, soprano
Vuk Sandić, guitar

MUSIC PART OF THE PROGRAM
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Prelude, BWV 998 

Niccolò Piccinni (1728–1800)
Se il ciel mi divide, aria con recitativo

Domenico Modugno (1928–1994)
Nel blu dipinto di blu

Concert supported by the Italian Embassy in Podgorica and the Italian Cultural Institute in Belgrade

Dante 700 is a multimedia play, an homage to Dante Alighieri, whose aim is to present the work of the great artist in a modern and attractive way, on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of his death, yet also to highlight the impact of his work. The play takes place on the Plateau of the monumental Our Lady’s Church in Prčanj, as at this location there is a bust of the Bishop of Kotor Frano Uccellini Tice, who in 1910 was the first author to do a complete translation of Dante’s masterpiece Divine Comedy into the then official Serbo-Croatian language. The combination of narration, verses, musical performances, and videos should evoke in an original way the enormous literary, artistic, and musical influence Dante’s work has had over the centuries.

Antun Sbutega, narrator, completed Grammar School in Kotor and graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade, where he received his master’s and doctoral degrees. He taught at the Faculty of Maritime Studies in Kotor until 1991, when he moved to Rome with his family. Until 2007, he worked at the Vatican (Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples), where he was involved in financing Catholic missions worldwide. Antun Sbutega was appointed the first Ambassador of Montenegro to the Holy See and the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta on January 1, 2007. He held this position until April 1, 2013. He was the Ambassador of Montenegro to the Republic of Italy, Malta, and San Marino until his retirement in late 2016. In June 2016, Antun Sbutega was elected Admiral of the Boka Navy Kotor. He is the Chairman of the Don Branko Sbutega Foundation Council, a holder of several decorations and a member of the Knights. Anton Sbutega has collaborated with several universities in Italy and has participated in numerous scientific gatherings. He is the author of over a hundred scientific and professional papers in the field of economics, maritime affairs, history, diplomacy, and art, as well as twelve books, including books of poetry and drama.

Sara Lakičević, narrator, completed three departments at the Vida Matjan Secondary Music School in Kotor: Piano, Trumpet, and Theory, and then graduated in Trumpet at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade under Professor Mladen Đorđević. She received her master’s degree in Trumpet in Barcelona, at the Conservatori Liceu under the tutelage of the prominent soloist and Professor Luis González Martí. During her studies, Sara Lakičević won numerous awards at national and international competitions and attended master classes held by many renowned professors and musicians. She has performed with the academic orchestras of Novi Sad, Belgrade, and Barcelona, the Symphony Orchestra of the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation, the Orchestra of the National Theater in Belgrade, the Banja Luka Philharmonic Orchestra, the Belgrade Philharmonic, the Sarajevo Philharmonic, the Novi Sad Big Band, as well as with the Brass Quintet. Sara Lakičević is currently a PhD student in Communication and Media at the University of Donja Gorica. She is the author of the textbook Trumpet – My Instrument for primary music schools. Sara Lakičević has been collaborating with KotorArt for several years, and is currently the Festival’s PR Manager.

Dolores Fabian, reciter, started acting as an amateur at the age of sixteen as a member of Theater 303. She continued to work as a radio host and host of various events. She is the author of several children’s and comedy plays that were written specifically for the opening of the Kotor Carnival festivities. Dolores Fabian is the founder of the Kotor Time Machine, whose creative productions the non-governmental association Ke Nova performed on the Kotor squares for two summers in a row, showing scenes from the town’s past as well as the characters who contributed to that past. An devotee of Kotor and the Bay of Kotor, Dolores Fabian is dedicated to preserving the local language, Dobrota lace, old recipes, and everything that makes this region unique. Since 2004, she has been a licensed tourist guide for tours in Italian and English.

Antonia Vučinović, soprano, has been studying singing since 2015. After completing Primary Music School in Tivat, she continued her education at the Vida Matjan Secondary Music School in Kotor, under Professor Lalošević and Professor Milanović. During her studies, she participated in numerous competitions and festivals. In 2020, at the Montenegrin National Theater, Antonia Vučinović performed in Giacomo Puccini’s opera La bohème. She has appeared as a soloist at the Christmas and Easter concerts at the St. Tryphon Cathedral in Kotor, accompanied by the church choir and mandolin orchestra. Antonia Vučinović has been an active participant in numerous master classes held by renowned professors: Marina Cuca Franović (Montenegro), Edita Garčević Koželj (Slovenia), Aleksandra Lazić Labarile (Italy), Antonella Muscente (Italy), Lilia Ilieva (Bulgaria), Ljiljana Lišković Serbia), Cynthia Hansell-Bakić (USA/Croatia), and Leon Cebovski (Croatia). She is currently a student at the Music Academy in Cetinje, in the Department of Music Theory.

Vuk Sandić, guitar, is an master’s student at the Music Academy in Cetinje under Professor Danijel Cerović. He started learning guitar at the age of six at the Vasa Pavić Music School in Podgorica, first under Professor Srđan Bulatović, then under Professor Borjan Radović and, finally, under Professor Bojana Brajović. Vuk Sandić has won Gold and Silver Lyres at numerous competitions, and has continued to enhance his skills at master classes held by eminent national and international professors, such as: Goran Krivokapić, Srđan Tošić, Vera Ogrizović, Aleksandar Hadži-Đorđević, Costas Cotsiolis, Thomas Offermann, Anabel Montesinos, and others. During his studies, he has participated in concerts in Podgorica, Bar, Nikšić, Tivat, Herceg Novi, and Cetinje.