Ivo Tijardović was a Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

n composer, writer, and painter.

Tijardović studied music in Split and in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, where he also studied architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

. He graduated from the Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

 drama school in 1922. He then worked as conductor and stage designer at the Split Municipal Theatre (1922–9) before joining the music department of the Edison Bell Penkala recording company in Zagreb (1929–33). Returning to Split, he became director of the Croatian National Theatre

Croatian National Theatre

The Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb , commonly referred to as HNK Zagreb, is a theatre located in Zagreb, owned and operated by the Ministry of Culture. The theatre evolved out of the first city theatre built in 1836 housed in the present-day Old City Hall...

, stage director of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, and director of the State Symphony Orchestra (later, the Zagreb Philharmonic). As a composer, he relied on folklore and a national musical expression, especially of his native region of Dalmatia

Dalmatia

Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....

. He composed eight operetta

Operetta

Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...

s, the best known of which are Mala Floramye ("Little Floramye") and Splitski Akvarel ("The Split

Split (city)

Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...

 Aquarelle"), which conjure the magic of Split between to the two world wars. His opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

s dealt with historical themes. He also painted and worked as an illustrator.

Works

• Operettas
  • Pierrot Ilo, 1922 Split
  • Mala Floramye (Little Floramye), 1926 Split
  • Splitski Akvarel, 1928 Split
  • Zapovijed maršala Marmonta (Marshal Marmont's Order), 1929 Split
  • Jurek i Štefek, 1931 Zagreb
• Musicals
  • Katarina Velika (Katherine the Great, 1929 Zagreb
• Operas
  • Dimnjaci uz Jadran (Smokestacks on the Adriatic), 1951 Zagreb
  • Marko Polo, 1960 Zagreb
  • Dioklecijan (Diocletian), 1963 Zagreb

Sources

• Koraljka Kos. The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
  New Grove Dictionary of Opera
  The New Grove Dictionary of Opera is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes....
  
  , edited by Stanley Sadie (1992). ISBN 0-333-73432-7 and ISBN 1-56159-228-5