Josipa Lisac

Cankarjev dom Music Josipa Lisac

The Croatian diva with an incredible singing talent and unique repertoire that has influenced several generations returns to Gallus Hall.

While raised on Monteverdi, Bach and Beethoven Josipa devoted herself to rock music in the Sixties and became a singer with the bands O'Hara and Zlatni akordi. With an exceptional singing talent, stunning timbral palette, a vocal range spanning from contralto to soprano, inspired interpretations, as well as her inimitable charisma and stage presence, the Zagreb-born artist quickly rose to rock stardom building up a devoted fan base from all over the former Yugoslavia.

In the rock milieu she met the love of her life, Karl Metikoš, a well-known vocalist and composer. Their relationship and shared passion for music led to some ten of Josipa’s albums with Karlo as composer, and evergreen lyrics by Ivica Krajač or Alka Vuica. Their first album, Dnevnik jedne ljubavi (Diary of a Love), released in 1973, was the first conceptual album in the former Yugoslavia and is now an essential part of any Yugoslav rock anthology. Last year’s 50th anniversary of this iconic album, which marked a turning point in her career, Josipa Lisac commemorated with a tour of various cities across the former Yugoslavia.

In addition to a passionate commitment to music Josip Lisac expresses her artistic individuality and vision through a refined sense of stage performance and a bold visual style. The costumes and hairstyles complement the stage performance as if the compositions were clothed in theatrical attire. However, the singer is convinced that the costumes must never overshadow a song.

Josipa Lisac is a cult phenomenon, an open-eyed dreamer and an incorrigible idealist, a visionary who devoted her life to battling against banality and mediocrity with originality, inspiration and provocativeness.

Josipa’s repertoire is invariably a mixture of unforgettable melodies and lyrics that have marked several generations in the wider area of the former Yugoslavia. These are the hits of the Eighties; Magla, Hazarder, Danas sam luda, Gdje Dunav ljubi nebo, Kraljica divljine, Ja bolujem and the unforgettable Blijede sijene, Što me čini sretnom, Hir, hir, hir, Ležaj od suza, Ave Maria, Boginja, Ispočetka, O jednoj mladosti, Dok razmišljam o nama and 1000 razloga (1000 Reasons).

So, a thousand reasons, not to miss a concert by the unparalleled diva Josipa Lisac.