Today, we have lost Mirjana Donadini Perić forever, a retired soloist of the Opera of the Croatian National Theater Split. She was a singer who embedded her artistry into the Split Opera. "I am tied to the theater with my whole soul, all my feelings, everything that exists. If I were born a hundred times, I would wish to become what I am again," she once said.
Born in 1933, she became a member of the opera choir in her native Split in 1956 and became a soloist in 1960, thanks to Prof. Petar Marković Šilan, who taught her solo singing. A favorite of the Split audience, she carried the soprano operatic and operetta repertoire for decades, achieving numerous significant roles. Besides Split, she performed in Sarajevo, Zagreb, Rijeka, and Osijek. She excelled on stage as Đula in "Ero from the Other World," Jelena in "Nikola Šubić Zrinjski," Mařenka in "The Bartered Bride," Melka in "Adel and Mara," Musetta in "La Bohème," Lola in "Cavalleria Rusticana," Bersi in "Andrea Chénier," the High Priestess in "Aida," and Rosalinda in "Die Fledermaus," among many other roles. Her creations in the operettas of Ivo Tijardović were particularly significant. She was unforgettable as Marica and Perina Štrambera in "Split's Watercolor," Floramye and Miss Eveline Beautyflower in "Little Floramye," and Min in the musical comedy "Adventures in Shanghai."
The last farewell for Mirjana Donadini Perić will be at Lovrinac cemetery in Split on Friday, February 14, at 8:45 AM, and the burial will take place on the same day at the cemetery in Zadar.