Serious Ensemble Zagreb (SEZ) presented Serious, Actually, an evening where contemporary music, multimedia, and dramaturgy blended into a continuous artistic experience. Soprano Irma Dragičević and pianist Viktor Čižić guided the audience through a program designed as a single, uninterrupted narrative, highlighting contrasting artistic voices in dialogue.

The performance opened with Krešimir Klarić’s Preludij za poslijepodnevnu kavu, a performative miniature combining piano, gesture, and spoken word, setting the tone for a dramaturgically cohesive evening. Works by Matko Brekalo (Pater Noster) and Ivan Violić (Lux Aeterna) provided a reflective, contemporary approach to sacred texts, followed by Helena Skljarov’s multimedia AI Meditation, where voice, electronics, and video explored imperfection and the intrusion of modern anxieties.

The concert featured Croatian premieres of international contemporary works, including Bracha Bdil’s Memory, Jude Duane’s Numb, and Leonardo Kristek’s Fear, addressing psychological depth, inner conflict, and transformation. Stylistic contrast was offered by a selection of George Gershwin songs, integrated not as relief but as part of the program’s dramaturgical flow.

The evening culminated in Milko Kelemen’s Die Sieben Plagen (Sedam Pošasti) and a multimedia rendition of Amazing Grace, emphasizing SEZ’s commitment to critical, socially engaged musical expression. Spoken “advertisements” between pieces reflected contemporary life and consumer culture, while visual and stage elements created dialogue with the music, sometimes in counterpoint, challenging perception and deepening engagement.

A recurring motif – the rose – framed the concert’s arc, underscoring the evening’s central message: artistic experience as a space for reflection, awareness, and emotional engagement. This was a particularly important statement because a week before the concert, at a rally commemorating victims of femicide in Croatia, roses representing killed women were destroyed by a counter-protestor.

Program:

Krešimir Klarić: Preludij za poslijepodnevnu kavu, piano solo

Matko Brekalo: Pater Noster, soprano and piano

Ivan Violić: Lux Aeterna, soprano and piano

Helena Skljarov: AI Meditation, video and electronics

Leonardo Kristek: Fear, soprano and piano

Bracha Bdil: Memory, from The Inner Soul, soprano and piano

Jude Duane: Numb, soprano and piano

George Gershwin: selected songs

Milko Kelemen: Die Sieben Plagen (Sedam Pošasti), soprano solo

Amazing Grace, soprano, piano, and video