 Jun 20 - Sept 3

The 72nd Ljubljana Festival, Slovenia's leading, will feature around 100 events between 20 June and 3 September, from classical music concerts, opera and ballet shows, to musicals and pop concerts.

For opera fans there will be Puccini's Tosca and Verdi's The Troubadour, the latter featuring acclaimed conductor Zubin Mehta. Mehta will also conduct the Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino festival from Italy for a concert of Beethoven music.

Ballet enthusiasts will be able to enjoy Zorba the Greek, and Spartacus by the Opera and Ballet Theatre from Kazakhstan' Astana. Prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova will appear in the new double bill Modanse in a homage to Coco Chanel.

Classical music ensembles on the programme include the Wroclaw Baroque Ensemble, the London Symphony Orchestra, La Scala's Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Concerto Budapest Orchestra.

The opening gala Summer Night concert will pay tribute to three pop singers born in Maribor, Ditka Haberl, Alenka Pinterič and Neca Falk with their greatest hits interpreted by several singers, accompanied by the RTV Slovenija Symphony Orchestra, Big Band and the Youth Choir.

The festival will also feature The Bodyguard, a musical directed and choreographed by Mykal Rand, and a concert by Margareth Menezes, Brazilian culture minister.

Slovenian singer-songwriter Vlado Kreslin will have his annual Ljubljana Festival concert in August, featuring Slovenian hip hop singer Masayah as a special guest.

The closing concert will be performed by the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra with Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit and Argentinean pianist Martha Argerich.

For the full programme, click here.