The International Opera Festival culminates tomorrow with the Gala evening organized in Prishtina. A day before, tenor Rame Lahaj and the Mayor of Prishtina, Përparim Rama, held a press conference emphasizing the importance of art for all ages.
Regarding the festival, it was mentioned that it has transformed temporary spaces into art stages and brought world-class artists, thereby creating bridges of cooperation for young talents.
“For me, it’s a kind of dream to have our fifth edition today in Prishtina. In the past, I couldn’t dream this much because I have seen and understood how theater works, how classical music works, and knowing the investment, I thought it would take much more time. I am thankful to everyone who believes in our project, everyone who invests in our project, and everyone who is with us through all the challenges and also the successes,” said Lahaj.
Tenor Rame Lahaj emphasized the importance of creating a platform which, according to him, will eventually become a tradition.
“What we need to do as professionals is to leave or create a platform that will one day turn into tradition. For me, it is completely unacceptable if children today do not go to the theater, but I believe cinema is more accessible. Not by chance, in our latest project, we tried to go to several cities because sometimes Prishtina has all the privileges but not all activities happen here. I wanted children to have the opportunity to see it up close, even children from Istog, where I grew up, or other cities,” he said.
He also revealed that they are working on another project, a show for children, and that they plan to visit remote areas of Kosovo for children who do not have the chance to experience opera.
On the other side, the Mayor of Prishtina, Përparim Rama, expressed support for the festival.
“Despite the fact that as a capital we are doing our best to push forward these processes, we already have the project of the world-renowned architect completed for the concert hall, and although politics is slowing things down, we will not stop. This concert hall and other spaces will be part of our near future. But what is even more important is that the city itself has transformed into a concert hall as a result of the efforts of the Rame Lahaj formation. Of course, we support it. Our agenda is for the capital to be a city of art and culture,” said Rama.
Former captain of Albania, Lorik Cana, emphasized that Rame Lahaj’s initiative feeds the spirit and passion of every person and that such an initiative will leave an iconic mark on Kosovar society.
“In this case, we are dealing with something that feeds the spirit first, and I believe that opera, music, art, and sport all nourish the spirit. We are fortunate to have a young society here in Kosovo, and Rama’s initiative is first and foremost to make this moment one that will last and become an iconic moment for our society. It is about giving opportunities through his art, through his passion, and through all the people he has met during his journey to leave a mark in his country, to bring people whom we have not had the chance to see, but also to feed these people with his passion, which fits very well with this year’s motto, ‘Dream without limits.’ It feeds the passion and spirit of everyone who follows it,” Cana emphasized.
Skanderbeg Square in the capital is being prepared to host the Gala Evening “Rame Lahaj & Friends” tomorrow at 8:30 pm. This is the culminating night of the Rame Lahaj International Opera Festival.
The most prestigious names of the world opera scene, such as Georgian soprano Nino Machaidze, Italian bass Dario Russo, and tenor Rame Lahaj, will take the stage to deliver indescribable emotions.
“Dream without limits, Opera without walls!” as the theme of this edition comes as a leading call for this fifth jubilee edition.
