The Love of Don Perlimplin, Opera in Two Acts

Miro Belamarić (1935-2017) studied conducting under Milan Horvat at the Music Academy in Zagreb. He graduated in 1962 under Igor Gjadrov. In 1975 he also graduated from the composition class of Stjepan Šulek. He further studied conducting under Lovro Matačić in Salzburg and Sergiu Celibidache in Siena. He served as Herbert von Karajan's assistant in Salzburg Festspiele and as Karl Böhm's assistant in Paris, Salzburg, Vienna and London. He moved to Vienna in 1990 (with dual Austrian and Croatian citizenship since 1995). His compositions reflect his developed sense of stage form, and the most notable are his three operas: The Love of don Perlimplin, which he wrote to his own libretto based on F. G. Lorca's work (premiered in Zagreb in 1975, performed in Prague in 1976 and in Kassel in 1983), Don Juan – The Rebel for All Time based on de Molina's work (1983; the first prize of the Viennese State Opera) and Tales from the Vienna Woods to his own libretto based on O. von Horvath's work (premiered in Karlsruhe in 1993, performed in Zagreb in 1997). He has received several national awards.