Croatia: New life for Opatija, the 'Nice of the Adriatic'

the telegraph: friday 08 april 2011

Julia Warren reports on a festival that aims to bring back the glory days of a Croatian resort beloved of the Viennese.

Next month, the Croatian resort of Opatija will resonate to the sounds of a musical event which aims to recall the glory days of somewhere once termed the "Nice of the Adriatic" by the great and the good of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

The event – a concert featuring music by Mozart, Dvorak and Bartok – will be held on April 23 in the Crystal Ballroom of the Hotel Kvarner, a grand old establishment that was built soon after a railway link was established between Vienna and Opatija in 1873. And it will feature musicians from Austria playing in the Orchestra Academy Ossiach, an ensemble based in the south of Austria with direct links to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

The idea for the concert – or rather a series of concerts to be held as part of the Festival Kvarner this year – came from Michael Fendre, a 36-year-old Austrian with a passion for music and vivid memories of the tales of his grandparents detailing how they attended concerts, partied and fell in love in Opatija.

On a whim, two years ago, Fendre got in his car and drove the four hours from his home near Salzburg to the place he had heard so much about. And he too fell in love with it.