March 14, 1897 – Verdi's opera Rigoletto, first performance at the National Hall.

National House in Celje, 1898, kept by the Celje Central Library

The first Slovenian performance on the big stage of the National Hall was the Ljubljana Opera's guest performance on March 14, 1897, with Verdi's opera Rigoletto. A chronicler in Celje's Domovina wrote: "Sunday, March 14, a historically significant day for Celje and the Slovenes of Celje. The first opera in Celje was sung in the Slovene language. Those who were faced with a few years ago on the road, if they heard a German-Skutarist speaking Slovenian, feel how much cultural significance this is for us."

Source: Homeland, March 19, 1897

Link: http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-1E8PS32I/9493a58d-296a-419e-8aab-550a5581217a/PDF

We also recommend Tatjana Kač's contribution entitled They played, sang and danced – in short, they had fun. published in Celjske zbornik 1997 on pp. 45-70 or at the link:

http://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:doc-A8JWZAJX/9bf1764b-5c95-4415-a9cd-9c144e6bd773/PDF

Celje anthology 1997, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the National House. Held by the Celje Central Library, fully accessible at dLib.