The Cultural Element and the International Solo Singers Competition "Lazar Jovanović" continued their mission of affirming the best young vocal artists through the prestigious "Winners" edition. On this occasion, a solo concert by the talented mezzo-soprano Jovana Timotijević was held on September 29, 2024, in the beautiful ambiance of the Guarnerius Art Centre.
The concert was officially opened with a welcoming speech by Tadija Miletić. Following this, accompanied by the virtuoso piano collaboration of Milivoje Veljić, laureate Jovana Timotijević performed a brilliant and highly demanding operatic program. The audience enjoyed the most beautiful arias from operas by composers such as Mozart, Verdi, Bizet, Massenet, Cilea, and Saint-Saëns. Tenor Marko Kostić performed as a special guest at the concert, whose solo numbers and duets with Jovana Timotijević brought additional dynamics and stage magic to this special musical event.
Jovana Timotijević (mezzo-soprano) was born in Bor, where she completed her primary music education in the piano department. She continued her high school education in Belgrade at the "Mokranjac" Music School in the solo singing department under the guidance of Prof. Valentina Taškova. After that, she enrolled and successfully completed her undergraduate studies at the prestigious Mozarteum University in Salzburg (Austria), in the class of Prof. Michèle Crider, where she is currently finalizing her master's studies.
Her talent has been crowned with numerous awards at national and international competitions, among which the prizes at the competitions "Lazar Jovanović", "Nikola Cvejić", "Mita Topalović", and "Serbian Solo Song" stand out. In these competitions, she received the highest marks from renowned professors and eminent artists, such as the Serbian prima donna Radmila Bakočević and numerous European experts. During her development, she achieved significant collaboration with the famous mezzo-soprano Vesselina Kasarova.
She built her stage experience through exceptional projects and productions. In 2024, she made her debut at the Vienna Opera Festival in the famous Musikverein, portraying the role of Dorabella in Mozart's opera "Così fan tutte". That same year, she performed as the Princess Aunt in Puccini's opera "Suor Angelica" at the Mozarteum University. Previously, in 2022, she collaborated with maestro George Pehlivanian as part of the Pehlivanian Opera Academy, singing the roles of Carmen and Mercédès in 12 cities across Slovenia. Her beginnings are also linked to the Opera Studio of the Madlenianum Theatre, where in 2019 she worked on stage skills with director Tadija Miletić and singer Tanja Obrenović, making her debut in the opera "Il matrimonio segreto". This solo concert in Guarnerius is yet another confirmation of her steady stride toward major European opera stages.