Jadranka Jovanović OKZ ( sr-cyr, Јадранка Јовановић; ; born 8 January 1958) is a Serbian operatic

prima donna In opera or ''commedia dell'arte'', a prima donna (; Italian for 'first lady'; : ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the ''prime'' roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage pe ...

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

who has an active career natively and internationally. Associated with the

National Theatre in Belgrade The National Theatre ( sr-cyr, Народно позориште, Narodno pozorište) is a theatre located in Belgrade, Serbia. Founded in the latter half of the 19th century, it is located on the Republic Square, at the corner of Vasina and Fr ...

, she has also been a member of the

National Assembly of Serbia The National Assembly ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Народна скупштина, Narodna skupština, ), fully the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia (), is the unicameral legislature of Serbia. The assembly is composed of 250 deputies who are ...

since 2016.

Life and musical career

Jovanović was born in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. In her native town she graduated B.A. in theory of music and solo singing and M.A. in solo singing. She debuted as Rosina in

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...

's ''

Il barbiere di Siviglia ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy '' ...

'' at the National Theater in Belgrade, where she interpreted all main mezzo-soprano roles. Her international career started at

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was a church). The premiere performance was Antonio Salieri's ''Europa r ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

where she appeared in ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'' (Mercedes) and ''

Andrea Chénier ''Andrea Chénier'' () is a verismo opera in four acts by Umberto Giordano, set to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica, and first performed on 28 March 1896 at La Scala, Milan. The story is based loosely on the life of the French poet An ...

'' (Bersi), conducted by

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharm ...

and

Riccardo Chailly Riccardo Chailly (, ; born 20 February 1953) is an Italian conductor. He is currently music director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and of La Scala. Prior to this, he held chief conducting positions at the Gewandhausorchester (2005–20 ...

. At La Scala she also appeared in the leading role in the world premiere staging of '' Orfeo'' by

Luigi Rossi Luigi Rossi (c. 1597 – 20 February 1653) was an Italian Baroque composer. Born in Torremaggiore, a small town near Foggia, in the ancient kingdom of Naples, at an early age he went to Naples where he studied music with the Franco-Flemish comp ...

. She mostly performed in Italian theatres, opera houses and festivals: * Roma ( Teatro Argentino) and Milano (

Teatro Carcano The Teatro Carcano is a theatre in Milan, Italy, located at 63 Corso di Porta Romana. Although now exclusively devoted to plays and dance, it served as an opera house for much of the 19th century and saw the premieres of several important operas. ...

), she appeared with

José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Catalan operatic tenor from Spain who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, ...

in fantasy based on Carmen; * Firenze (Teatro Comunale) The Gambler (Blanche) by

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

, with Daniela Dessi, Dimiter Petkov and maestro

Edoardo Mata Edoardo is the Italy, Italian form of the England, English male given name Edward. Notable people named Edoardo include: * Edoardo Agnelli (industrialist) (1892–1935), Italian industrialist * Edoardo Alfieri (1913–1998), Italian sculptor * Edoa ...

. * Parma ( Teatro Reggio),

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

(Mrs. Slender) by A.Salieri; * The

Donizetti Festival Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''be ...

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

–

Il Diluvio Universale ''Il diluvio universale'' (''The great flood'') is an azione tragico-sacra, or opera, by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Domenico Gilardoni after Lord Byron's '' Heaven and Earth'' and Francesco Ringhieri's tragedy '' ...

(Ada), and Fausta (Irella); * Palermo (

Teatro Massimo The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele is an opera house and opera company located on the Piazza Verdi in Palermo, Sicily. It was dedicated to King Victor Emanuel II. It is the biggest in Italy, and one of the largest of Europe (at the time of its ...

)

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

(Maddalena); * Cagliari ( Teatro Romano) La Forza del Destino (Preziosilla); * Catania ( Teatro Bellini) Il Capello di Paglia Firenza (La baronessa de Champigny) conducted by M.Arena and the Countess of Czardas (Silva); * Pesaro – The Rossini Festival: Mose in Egitto, conducted by D.Renzetti; * Trieste (Teatro Verdi) The Countess Maritza by E.Kalman, The Little White horse by R.Benatchy, Hary Janos by Z.Kodally, Miss Juliette by A.Bibalo with Jose Cura. She sang in various operas in other countries: * Barcelona (Teatro Liceo)

Adriana Lecouvreur ''Adriana Lecouvreur'' () is an opera in four acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the 1849 play '' Adrienne Lecouvreur'' by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé. It was first performed on 6 November 1902 ...

(Principessa de Bouillon) with

Mirella Freni Mirella Freni (born Mirella Fregni, 27February 19359February 2020) was an Italian operatic soprano who had a career of 50 years and appeared at major international opera houses. She received international attention at the Glyndebourne Festiva ...

and

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

, and

Roberto Devereux ''Roberto Devereux'' (in full , ; "Robert Devereux, or the Earl of Essex") is an 1837 (tragic opera) in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The opera is loosely based on the life of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, an influential member of the ...

(Sara) conducted by

Richard Bonynge Richard Alan Bonynge ( ) (born 29 September 1930) is an Australian conductor and pianist. He is the widower of Australian dramatic coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland. Bonynge conducted virtually all of Sutherland's operatic performances ...

; * Lissabon (Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos) she sang Elena in

Mephistopheles Mephistopheles ( , ), also known as Mephostophilis or Mephisto, is a demon featured in German folklore, originating as the chief devil in the Faust legend. He has since become a stock character appearing in Mephistopheles in the arts and popular ...

by A.Boito conducted by Daniel Nazareth, and Mass in c-minor by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

in Gulbenkian Foundation with maestro Claudio Schimone; * Rio de Janeiro ( Teatro Municipal): * Carmen (Carmen) with

and Justino Dias;

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

– G.Verdi, conducted by

Anton Guadagno Anton Guadagno (2 May 1923 – 16 August 2002) was an Italian operatic conductor. Born in Castellammare del Golfo, Italy, Anton Guadagno studied at the Vincenzo Bellini Conservatory in Palermo and the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He ...

, Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Rosina) and Ariadne auf Naxos (Compositor) conducted by Eugene Kohn. * São Paulo (Teatro Municipal) Carmen (Carmen) conducted by Isaac Karabtchevsky, * Tokyo (Bunka Kaikan)- Carmen (Carmen); * Athens Festival (Irodion)- Carmen (Carmen) * In National theatre in Dublin, she sang Eboli in

Don Carlo ''Don Carlos'' is an 1867 five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the 1787 play '' Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

, and in Mexico City (

Teatro de la Ciudad The (Theater of the City) was built as the (Esperanza Iris Theatre) in 1918 and is now one of Mexico City’s public venues for cultural events. The theater is located in the historic center of Mexico City on Donceles Street 36. The former Esp ...

) Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Rosina). * At the

Palm Beach Opera Palm Beach Opera, a professional opera company in West Palm Beach, Florida performs at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts as well as other locations throughout South Florida, was founded in 1961 as "Civic Opera of the Palm Beaches." Over its ...

(USA) she interpreted main roles in LA: Cenerentola and L`Italiana in Algeri, also Eboli in Don Carlo with maestro

. * Amneris in opera

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

she sang in Austria in the festival

Gars am Kamp Gars am Kamp is a market town at the Kamp river (Kamptal) in the district of Horn, region Waldviertel in the Austrian state Lower Austria with 3,542 inhabitants (2016). History Gars was between 1075 - 1095, during the reign of the House of Babenb ...

, Opera Zagreb, and samer festival `Split-Peristil` in Croatia. * At Georges Enescu Festival in Bucharest (Romania) she was Abigaille (

Nabucco ''Nabucco'' (; short for ''Nabucodonosor'' , i.e. "Nebuchadnezzar II, Nebuchadnezzar") is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on the biblic ...

), as well as in Festival in Split, end Festival in Skopje (Macedonia). * In Bulgaria National opera Sofia she sang Adalgisa (

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) ** Norma Lizbeth Ramos, a Mexican bullying victim Astronomy *Norma (constellation) * 555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral ...

), * Toronto – Glenn Gould Hall, Recital. Jovanović sung leading role in the first performance of Carmen in the Middle -East, in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

. She also sang at The Royal Opera de Vallonie(Liege), L'Opera de Nice, L`Opera de Toulon, L`Opera de Bordeaux, Teatro Cervantes (Malaga), Teatro della Maestranza (Siviglia), Teatro Victoria Eugenia (San Sebastian), Teatro Vittorio Emanuele (Messina), Bedzih Smetana Hall (Prag), Opera Budapest, Opera Odessa (Ukraina), Salzburg (Mozarteum), Dubrovnik Samer Festival, Opera Ljubljana i Opera Maribor (Slovenia), Thessaloniki, Brno, Beijing... At Figeras (Spain) she participated first world performance fragment of the opera Être Dieu with libretto of

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

. She has performed two recitals at Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C) as well as a performance at Carnegie Hall (New York).

Political career

Her political career started as nominee on Serbian Progressive Party's ''

Aleksandar Vučić Aleksandar Vučić, (born 5 March 1970) is a Serbian politician serving as President of Serbia since 2017. A founding member of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), he previously served as President of the SNS from 2012 to 2023, Deputy Prim ...

– Serbia Is Winning''

electoral list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...

in the

2016 Serbian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Serbia on 24 April 2016. Initially, the election were originally due to be held by March 2018, but on 17 January 2016 Prime Minister of Serbia, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić called for a snap election cla ...

. She is not herself a member of the party but ran as an aligned

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

candidate. The list won a landslide victory with 131 out of 250 parliamentary mandates, and Jovanović was sworn in as a legislator on 3 June 2016. During the 2016–20 assembly, she was a member of the parliamentary committee on the diaspora and

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

in the region; a member of the culture and information committee; the leader of Serbia's delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the

Francophonie The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

(where Serbia has associate member status); and a member of the parliamentary friendship groups with

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, and the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

. She received the twenty-third position on the Progressive Party's list in the 2020 election and was elected to a second term when the list won another landslide majority with 188 mandates. She continues to serve on the diaspora and culture committees and lead Serbia's delegation to the Francophonie.

Awards

In 2021, she was awarded the

Order of Karađorđe's Star Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...

References

External links

*
Jadranka Jovanović
at Belgrade National Theater website {{DEFAULTSORT:Jovanovic, Jadranka 1958 births Living people Members of the National Assembly (Serbia) Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie 20th-century Serbian women opera singers Operatic mezzo-sopranos 21st-century Serbian women opera singers