What was a construction-site promise during the European Capital of Culture year has become a summer ritual. Between mid-June and the first of September, the new open-air Amphitheater of the Slovenian National Theatre (SNG) Nova Gorica — a venue built on the occasion of GO! 2025 Nova Gorica–Gorizia — welcomed roughly 500 spectators per night to a season that refused to stay in one genre: opera and theatre, contemporary dance, chanson evenings, clown shows for families, arthouse cinema and anniversary rock concerts all shared the same open sky.

Aida, unchained: an opening night to remember

The season opened on 19 June with the Slovenian premiere of Aida osvobojena / Aïda déchaînée, a contemporary chamber reworking of Verdi's masterpiece co-produced by Opéra Grand Avignon, the Piccolo Opera Festival and SNG Nova Gorica. Freed from monumental choruses and triumphal marches, this Aida kept the Italian master's vocal lines intact while interweaving them with live electronics by French composer Solère — shifting the spotlight onto the intimate, human side of the love triangle, watched over by the omnipresent "Man from the Shadow." Directed and designed by Frederic Roels, with singers Alina Tabolina, Sarvenaz Forghani, Zizhao Guo and Tamon Inoue, the production had premiered in Switzerland and Italy before arriving in Nova Gorica, where it played in Italian with Slovenian surtitles — a gift performance for the theatre's subscribers.

Dance without borders

Late June brought Within – Beyond, a dance diptych by Michal Rynia, Nastja Bremec Rynia and Miloš Isailović, premiered by MN Dance Company in collaboration with SNG Nova Gorica. The movement programme closed with the final showing of Brezmejni gib ("Borderless Movement"), a ten-day international contemporary dance residency — preceded by a screening of the documentary Od dueta do ansambla, presented with the Kinoatelje Institute. Cross-border by design, the residencies underlined what the venue was built for: a Euro-regional meeting point rather than just a stage.

"A modern venue built on the occasion of the European Capital of Culture — set to become a focal point for cross-border artistic gatherings."

Guitars, chansons and clowns

The popular-music strand opened on 1 July with Slovenian ska-punk veterans Elvis Jackson, joined on stage by actors from the SNG production Kekec proti Kekcu, for which the band wrote the music. Bakalina Velika followed with special guests, and the cabaret evenings saw actress Lara Jankovič (Pred vami stojim gola) and actor Branko Završan performing Jacques Brel chansons in Senca tvoj'ga psa. In late August, hometown band Avtomobili marked forty years on the scene with an anniversary concert on home turf.

Families got their own night too: Clown City, produced with the Klovnbuf and Muja Buskers festivals, filled an evening with interactive performances by Bufeto, Globus Hystericus and Dušan Đukić's Dr. Ulooźe. And when the stage lights dimmed, the screen lit up — Kinoatelje's film programme ranged from the beloved Slovenian classic Srečno, Kekec! to the Shakespeare drama Hamnet and a fantasy-action reimagining of Homer's Odyssey.

Theatre under the open sky

The theatrical selection leaned into comedy: Usje se je dalu directed by Tereza Gregorič (SNG Nova Gorica), Ta veseli dan ali Matiček se ženi directed by Diego de Brea (Mestno gledališče ljubljansko) and Jure Karas's Budale (Klapa Produkcija / Špas Teater) proved that laughter carries well in an amphitheater of 500. The weather contingency — moving shows to the theatre's main indoor stage when skies turned — kept the season running seamlessly, with only a handful of performances too site-specific to relocate.

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A legacy that outlives the title year

The Capital of Culture title passed at the end of 2025, but its infrastructure keeps working. Developed with international co-producers from Avignon to Friuli, this first full summer season has done exactly what the amphitheater was designed to do — turn a border city into a shared cultural living room, where on any given evening you might find chamber opera, Brel chansons or a 40-year-old rock band, all a short walk from a border that no longer divides.

As the final performances approach on 1 September, one thing is already clear: Nova Gorica's summer nights now have a permanent address.

Programme details: sng-ng.si/en/amphitheatre · Event listing: go2025.eu