On this page you can discover the beautiful voices of great, but sadly forgotten, Slovenian singers who have their time, and find out more about them. Their work is a testimony to the rich musical culture and the quality of the music institutions and music education in Slovenia.
You will also find an extensive selection of recordings of Slovenian of Slovenian folk songs and samosongs from the beginning of the 20th century, performed by both Slovenian and Croatian singers.

The recordings are Slovenia's cultural heritage, important from both a historical and artistic point of view. Among They include several lesser-known folk songs (also previously unknown to me), which are a valuable part of the folk tradition.

At first, the shots will seem strange to many people. The recording techniques weremore simple/basic, and the conditions for performers more difficult. The full range of sound cannot be heard, aliquots of tones are lost, the sound is sometimes distorted. What we hear is only the essence, one could say 'extract'; but it is possible to get used to listening to old recordings - then see we can imagine what the recorded music really sounded like and appreciate the beauty and quality of the voices and performances. The ages of the recordings despite the age of the recordings, these full and brilliant voices, trained in the bel canto tradition, enchant with their natural colour and depth, uniformity of registers throughout the vocal range, apparent simplicity and musical performance.

Old recordings of Slovenian songs

For your information: on several recordings, two songs follow each other in the original, but the the selection here is arranged in such a way that each song listed below the clip is played directly (even if the the original link does not have it at the beginning). Some songs, those that are at the beginning of the original, are thus followed by the next song.

Blog for interesting facts

Zdenka Zika sings the aria Aida in Slovenian

▼

In this recording, Czech soprano Zdenka Zika (Zdeňka Zíková 1902-1990) sings the famous aria Aida 'O patria mia' from Verdi's opera of the same name in Slovenian. She worked in Ljubljana, Zagreb, Prague, Belgrade and Vienna. (Interesting fact - her mother's maiden mother's maiden name was Krainz; it is possible that her ancestors were also from Kranjsko.)

You can read more about it at the following links:

• 🇸🇮 Slovenian Biographical Lexicon
• 🇭🇷 Opera.hr

Giuseppe Verdi: Aria Aide

- 02.05.2021 -

Zinka Kunc Milanov sings Slovenian songs

▼

Zinka Kunc Milanov (1906-1989), Croatian soprano (on her father's side also of Slovenian descent) still today is considered one of the greatest singers of the 20th century. She made her debut at the Ljubljana Opera with the role of Leonore in Verdi's Il trovatore. For most of her career she sang in New York's Metropolitan Opera. She rose to fame with the roles of Aida, Leonora, Tosca, Norma and Gioconda. Total with her brother, the composer and pianist Božidar Kunc, they also performed Slovenian songs.

You can read more about it at the following links:

• 🇸🇮 wikipedia
• 🇬🇧 wikipedia
• 🇭🇷 Opera.hr

Gor’ čez jezero (ljudska) - Up' across the lake (folk)

Recorded in 1944

Ko lani sem tam mimo šel (ljudska) - When I passed by there last year (folk)

Recorded in 1944

Josip Pavčič: The Shepherdess (text by Dr Ivan Robida) 1955

Božidar Kunc at the piano. Recorded in 1955.

- 28.05.2021 -

Tenorist Juan Spiwak

▼

On several websites we can find information that the great tenor Juan Spiwak (aka Spiwak and Spiwack) was born in Slovenia. This is probably not true, in all likelihood he was born in Philadelphia (USA) to Russian parents of Jewish origin, childhood He spent his childhood in Odessa with his grandparents. He worked first in Vienna and then all over Germany, most recently Berlin. Due to the political situation, he immigrated to America, where he reapplied for the American citizenship. More information at historicaltenors.net.
His videos are excellent, I definitely recommend them. listening - here a duet from Richard's opera Lohengrin Wagner with Czech-Austrian soprano Maria Jeritza.

You can read more about it at the following links:

• 🇬🇧 forgottenoperasingers
• 🇩🇪 Ostinato

Richard Wagner: Duet from the opera Lohengrin

Sung by Juan Spiwak and Maria Jeritza. Filmed in Vienna 1908.

- 06.06.2021 -

About me

I was inspired to take up music by my grandmother, who is a choir director. She taught me a lot of songs, but most of all that music should be appreciated, and that the preparation and performance should show respect for it. I attended Conservatory of Music in Ljubljana and Klagenfurt, singing I studied at the Universität der Künste in Berlin. My studies were also made possible by scholarships from the Municipality of Kranj and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.
I don't like to talk about myself too much. . .
The way of singing in the so-called golden age of opera, at the turn of the century, is very dear to my heart, I admire the masterly command of voices and dramatically meaningful and convincing interpretations. So I rehearse, listen, read and research everything in this direction. I have discovered a lot of interesting things, and if I can share them with someone else, so much the better!
During the pandemic I lost two. I hope it will be a pleasure for many people.

I would welcome your suggestions, corrections and additional information.