Mister Morgen – Ivo Robić

The multimedia exhibition MISTER MORGEN – IVO ROBIĆ from the Zagreb City Museum arrived to Opatija, after being shown in Zagreb. It was open for visitors from July 7th until August 23rd of 2008.

The grand opening was held on Monday, July 7th, at 8:00 p.m. at the art pavilion Juraj Šporer.

The exhibition examines the life and work of the Croatian singer and songwriter Ivo Robić (1923 – 2000). Robić has left his mark in Croatian music and pop culture of the second half of the 20th century. His legacy also includes a unique discography and a sensational international career. One can easily say that the history of Ivo Robić is older than the history of Croatian entertainment music. The beginning of his history goes back to 1943, when he started performing at the Grill Room bar in Zagreb and on the radio. He is the veteran of all our festivals, from the first Zagreb festival in 1953, until the Krapina festival in 1998. He is also a recognized composer of songs which are still popular today and are a trademark of the Croatian songbook (Samo jednom se ljubi, Srce laku noć, Mužikaši, Moje plavo more and others). Although he is a pop singer (the so called soft wave), Robić made our first rock and roll record (Shake, rattle and roll, 1956). Our first solo long-play record was also made by Robić (Pjeva vam Ivo Robić, 1956).

Ivo Robić is the first singer in history who made it on the American Billboard Chart the British UK Top Singles singing in German, with his song Morgen (1959), which he received a Polydor Golden Record for. He won the Lions of Radio Luxembourg twice as the most popular radio hit singer. Robić became a true Croatian brand and original export, well known in the world of pop, even today, especially in Germany and Austria (German Bear Family Records published his CD in 2006). He performed on TV shows around the world, the most famous of which were the American Perry Como Show, the Dick Clark Show and the Ed Sullivan Show.

The exhibition is divided into six main themes and three intermezzos, which are comprised of around seven hundred items (posters, photographs, notations, records, newspaper articles, books, discography awards, personal objects and other). A number of multimedia installations provide visitors a means of interactive communication with the presented content, as well as a heightened museum experience. At the Grill Room karaoke, visitors can sing the greatest hits by Ivo Robić. The exhibition is supplemented with a bilingual (Croatian/German) catalogue. An integral part of the catalogue is a CD with a selection of the 14 most successful songs by Ivo Robić. The catalogue presents results of the research into the life and work of Ivo Robić, as well as the post-war evolution of Croatian pop-music in the context of the socio-political environment of the time. Additional materials include the complete discography of Ivo Robić, a list of his songs, festival performances, awards, and a bibliography. Many notable people from the Croatian cultural scene participated in this project. The major legends in the exhibition are written in Croatian, German and English, in order to make the exhibition more approachable to foreign tourists and an exceptional cultural and touristic product.

The exhibition is a continuation of the Zagreb Music Legends cycle, started with the Welcome Friend – Viki Glovacki exhibition which was realized at the Zagreb City Museum in 2006. The exhibition Mister Morgen – Ivo Robić was shown at the Zagreb City Museum in 2007.

The purpose of this cycle was primarily to stimulate the gathering and analysis of material and non-material heritage of the Croatian 20th century music and pop culture, as well as to supplement the music collection of the Zagreb City Museum.

The opening was followed by a music program on the terrace of the hotel Kvarner by performers: maestro Stjepan Mihaljinec, Mirko Cetinski, Višnja Korbar, Đani Stipaničev and Elvira Voća. The director was Robert Anić.