Director
Suliman the Magnificent and his Ottoman army are on the march to Vienna. Only one fortified town lies in their way, but its Croatian commander and small garrison of men are determined to stand their ground. Ivan Zajc’s patriotic opera retells the story of Nikola Šubić Zrinjski’s daring leadership and heroic sacrifice during the real life Siege of Siget. Packed with powerful music – including the rousing male chorus ‘U boj, u boj!’ – it has held a treasured place in the Croatian repertoire ever since its wildly successful premiere in 1876.
Doktor
Janko, a police officer/veteran of the war, who is suffering from insomnia caused by post-traumatic stress disorder, now works as a guard in front of the Russian embassy in Zagreb. Having abandoned his former paramour, the daughter of his police chief, he marries a kleptomaniacal hairdresser named Nana, whom he once caught in the act of picking pockets. He then embarks on an affair with the beautiful Marta, the widow of the war profiteer Dragutin Karlo Stajner, who has left behind him a bankrupted firm, a worthless limousine, several bastards, and at least one angry woman. While Janko and Marta persistently try to divvy up what loot remains before any number of others can claim it, Karlo unexpectedly turns up alive and jumps into the middle of a fray between Marta; Karlo's lover, Julija, a Czech bar-singer; and Julija's husband Vlado, a former henchman of Karlo's who is now trying to lay claim to Stajner's limo.
