Ohrid, 13 July 2025 (MIA) – The 65th Ohrid Summer Festival opened at the Ancient Theatre on Saturday with a gala concert performance by American pianist Claire Huangci together with the orchestra of the Macedonian Philharmonic and groundbreaking conductor Edwin Outwater. 

President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova opened the event, pointing out that true art is not indifferent, but deeply humane, not bloodless, but rebellious, not temporary, but timeless...

"On the shores of the ancient and ever beautiful lake, beneath the starry vault and Samuel's Fortress, difficult and happy times flowed, millennia and centuries passed, empires, slavery, occupations and liberations changed, churches, monasteries, schools and houses were built and consecrated, alphabets and books were written, frescoes and icons were painted with God's help, prayers were sung, as well as wedding songs, faith was encouraged, the mind was tempered, love was nurtured, passion was expressed... Ohrid is a city of centuries-old dialogues: the past communicates with the present, saints and priests with believers, fish with fishermen and gulls, artists with the lake's embrace, with the mountains and the sky, hosts with guests... The first Macedonian romanticist, Konstantin Miladinov, and the first Albanian modernist, Lasgush Poradeci, drew inspiration across both shores of the lake," said the President. 

On festival nights, Siljanovska Davkova added, when the tired sun burns and disappears, and art sings and dances with the universe, when Ohrid residents welcome famous, but also ordinary newcomers as close friends, when the city becomes a world artistic republic, whose seasonal residents are thirsty and eager for art, everyone knows and feels that the Ohrid Summer [Festival] is happening, bringing together top cultural creators and activists.  

"For sixty-five years, the Ohrid Summer has been our precious artistic mirror, a prestigious art centre. For sixty-five years, art has entered through the Ohrid gates and circled the city. Every note, every verse and thought, every voice and step merge into the Ohrid summer symphony. Just as ancient Ohrid is eternal with its cultural, spiritual and civilizational layers, so too, the Ohrid Summer Festival is growing into a recognizable tradition, sprouted on solid foundations and built upon through artistic bridges of unification, awakening the beautiful, the humane and the cultural," President Siljanovska Davkova said, calling on everyone to open their hearts, to allow art to captivate and transform them. 

Minister of Culture and Tourism, Zoran Ljutkov, also addressed the audience at the Ancient Theatre, pointing out that the Ohrid Summer Festival is not just a festival, but a spiritual testament, a living connection between the past and the future, between the splendour of Ohrid as an eternal spiritual capital and its modern, European cultural vitality.

"The Ohrid Summer is not just a festival program – it is a chronicle of unforgettable artistic encounters, a spiritual calendar of life that shines in its purest form every summer... Here music resonates not only in space, but also in time. Here art is not performed – it happens, it is remembered and embedded in our collective cultural memory," he said.

Macedonian actor Gjorgji Jolevski conveyed the artistic message on behalf of participants in the festival. He stressed that every concert, every performance, every word uttered on stage - is not a reflection of the world as it is, but an attempt to make it better.

"We live at a time of war, where human life is devalued, and political rhetoric is theatre without catharsis. In such a world, art is not a luxury - it is a necessity. A necessity and an appeal to remember what it means to be Human... "Every act of art is an act of hope". We celebrate such hope tonight. Hope that humanity still has a voice. And hope that the voice, when heard in the dark, awakens not only applause in the audience, but also conscience... The role of the artist is not to solve problems, but to pose them correctly. That is what we will do this summer in Ohrid. We will ask questions. With music, with words, with silence. And with the hope that someone out there - in the audience, deep within themselves - will find part of the answer," said Jolevski. 

The 65th edition of the Ohrid Summer Festival takes place from July 12 through August 20, bringing together more than 500 artists from around 20 countries, as well as art-lovers to indulge in music, concerts, theatre performances and lasting audiovisual impressions.

The Ohrid Summer Festival was launched back in 1961, with the magical voice of the unforgettable Ana Lipsha Tofovic, who sowed the seed of love, and eternity, to the festival.

Relying on the longstanding rich tradition, the Ohrid Summer Festival undoubtedly steps towards new challenges, reaching the highest peaks in musical and dramatic arts worldwide.

The festival has been part of the family of the European Association of Festivals since 1994, when it officially took a step towards achieving its mission - a cultural Europe with shared cultural values.

Photo: MIA