She proudly represented her neighbouring country at Eurovision 2016. And this Wednesday at 5am, Croatian cellist Ana Rucner welcomed the first rays of sunshine on top of Dubrovnik’s scenic hill of Srđ.
As part of local World Music Day festival, Ana held a special concert for the 8th consecutive year. The event has been a platform for many Croatian and international musicians over the years, and this year she was joined by young pianist Domagoj Lucic and singer Marko Bosnjak as a headline act. Also joining her was the String Quarter Rucner consisting of her family members. Music is DNA, y’all!
As with every year, Ana worked her magic before more than one hundred spectators in the amphitheatre. Perfectly timed to welcome the first rays, a 1-hour concert featured compositions from Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song” and “Childhood”, Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and “Say Something” by Christina Aguilera and Colin Smith. Ana also included several spiritual songs — “Mary did you know”, “Milost” and “Gledaj On Te Gleda”, which lifted the atmosphere to new heights. The event concluded with “Heal the World”.
The headline act Marko Bosnjak may only be 14, but he already has big achievements under his belt. He won the second season of pan-Balkan music show for kids Pinkove Zvezdice. His performance of the traditional song “Sto te nema” has clocked almost 8 million views on Youtube — and also made the jury cry their hearts out. Milan Stanković, Jelena Matošević and Hari Mata Hari were all on the panel that year!
Marko and Ana covered Celine Dion’s Deadpool 2 classic “Ashes”. Shot in an abandoned castle in the city of Sveta Nedelja in Croatia, Ana’s cello melodies shined through Marko’s angelic voice.
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA AT EUROVISION
While Ana’s native Croatia has already revealed its intentions to participate at next year’s competition, Bosnia and Herzegovina may struggle to RSVP for 2019. BHRT, the state broadcaster, confirmed last month that the EBU have sanctioned them owing to immense debts. This not just prevents the country from competing at Eurovision 2019 but also from sister events Junior Eurovision 2018 in Minsk, Eurovision Young Musicians 2018 in Edinburgh and Eurovision Young Dancers next year.
The country’s last appearance was in 2016 when Deen, Dalal, Jala and Ana herself sang “Ljubav Je” and failed to qualify from their semifinal.
Read more news from Bosnia & Herzegovina here
Photo credit: Ana Rucner
