Slovenian-born opera & music theatre stage director, scenic designer, dramaturge, performance artist, artistic director and pedagogue Rocc (born in 1979 in Ljubljana) studied opera stage directing at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno, Czech Republic, followed up by postgraduate studies in scenography at the Universities of Art and Design in Zurich, Switzerland, and with rosalie in Offenbach am Main, Germany. He was granted a scholarship by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, as well as receiving support from the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. His pseudonym is a tribute to Marie Mrázková, Roccʼs professor of stage acting and his life mentor.
He has staged more than 70 different productions in Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Norway, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Slovakia, Great Britain, Israel and the USA. He has worked with opera houses in Ljubljana, Prague, Brno, Ostrava, Pilsen, Riga, Wrocław, with the Margravial Opera House in Bayreuth, with the Grieg Hall and the National Theatre in Bergen, with the Ljubljana Cankar Centre, with the Jerusalem Centre for the Performing Arts and elsewhere. His projects have been presented at several international festivals, such as ISCM World Music Days, Ljubljana Festival, Bergen International Festival, Gluck Festival Nürnberg, Musica Bayreuth, Prague Quadrennial, OPERA Festival in Prague, Janáček Brno Festival, Smetana's Litomyšl Festival, Moravian Autumn Music Festival in Brno, Smetana Opera Cycle Ostrava 2024, New Opera Days Ostrava, Musica non grata project in the Czech Republic, Warsaw Autumn Festival of Contemporary Music, Audio Art Festival in Kraków, Festival of Sacred Music in Pordenone, Day of the Composer in the Netherlands, Jerusalem Lyric Opera Festival, Festival of Czech Music in Texas. His work has also been broadcast on OperaVision, a global online opera streaming platform. Rocc has a special affinity for contemporary opera, combining alternative sound, performing and installation arts, new media and site-specific projects. He is the founder and Artistic Curator of Operativa, a platform dedicated to new/experimental music theatre aesthetics.
In the 2007/2008 season, he held the post of Dramaturge of the Slovenian National Opera in Maribor. The 2008/2009 season saw him as Deputy Artistic Director and Dramaturge of the Janáček Opera of the National Theatre in Brno. In 2009-2011, he was Artistic Director of the Janáček Opera and a member of the Programme Board of the International Janáček Brno Festival. In 2011-2013, he was Artistic Director of the Prague State Opera, which has been affiliated with the National Opera in Prague since 2012. In 2013-2019, he was Artistic Director of the Slovenian National Opera in his hometown, Ljubljana.
In 2018, Rocc received the Recognition for important works of art, the highest artistic title of the University of Ljubljana, which is equivalent to the scientific title of Doctor of Science. He is also active as an Associate Professor of stage directing and opera acting and as a member of professional juries.
Language skills: Slovene (mother tongue), English, German, Czech, basic knowledge of Italian and French
October 25
