Biography
Heartfelt and candid, soaked in childhood memories of her native land and the sea, the music of Elis Lovrić conjures profound emotions by means of her captivating voice and a guitar. This gifted Croatian singer - songwriter, actress and poet explores the rich musical tradition of her native region (Istria, a peninsula located in the North - West of Croatia), blending acoustic guitar, traditional instrumentation, and contemporary production in a deeply personal, evocative sound. Singing in her local Labinian dialect (‘Labinjonski’), but also in nine other languages Elis believes that one language connects us all: it's the language of the soul, expressed through music, poetry and performance.
After graduating at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb, Elis Lovrić played many leading roles in Croatian and Italian theatres, winning several awards for her theatre work. Fluent in five languages, Elis has worked in several international productions: she performed in “Francesco, il musical” written by Oscar nominee Vincenzo Cerami with music composed by Benoit Jutras (Cirque du Soleil), and in the Italian musical “Salvatore Giuliano”, amongst many others.
In 2014 she wrote and produced her own first musical, “Kolarići”, for the Istrian National Theatre INK Pula, and was selected to perform the Croatian National Anthem at the opening of the 59th Pula Film Festival. It is due to be released as an album in 2021.
In 2015 Elis wrote and produced “Kanat od Mora” (Song of the Sea), a book and musical performance, which evokes the ancestral landscapes of her native region, Istria, and her childhood memories. The plan was to record and release it in Labinian, but after a series of concerts in Sao Paulo in 2015, the enthusiastic response of the local audience to her music motivated Elis to release both the book and the album in Portuguese. The result was the first ever literary work featuring both Brazilian Portuguese and the Labinian dialect and publish the lyrics of her upcoming album, “Kanat Od Mora”, in Portuguese. As a result, the album “Kanat od mora” saw its first publication as a book, “Kanat od Mora - O Canto do Mar”, which the world’s first literary work in both Brazilian Portuguese and ‘Labinjonski’.
In 2016 she produced “Dva mora” (Two seas) with actor and writer Enes Kišević.
Released in May 2017, “Merika” is her first studio project: written and performed by Elis, the album is a blend of soulful folk with a pop sensibility, ancestral sounds and modernity, inner journeys and evocative outer landscapes. With her unique voice and intimate song writing, Elis takes her audience through the beautiful Istrian landscape, but also on an emotional journey within themselves: ‘to allow yourself to journey within your soul, is to travel the whole world’. “Merika” features 11 songs and the bonus track ‘O Canto do Mar’, sang in Portuguese.
As an actress, she has played numerous lead roles and received several prestigious awards and honours, and in 2018 she won the Istrian Culture Award “Istriana”. In 2019 she won the second prize of the Professional Jury at the “22nd Dalmatian Chanson Evenings” in Šibenik with her song “Od kad te poznon”.
After participating at DORA 2019, the Croatian National Finals for Eurovision, with the song “All I really want”, she became increasingly more prominent on the Croatian music scene, where she stands out as a unique musical and theatrical artist of uncompromising expression.
Her lyrics have become a required musical and literary read in schools all over Croatia and have achieved exceptional prominence at poetry festivals such as LiDraNo.
The city of Labin honoured her with a staircase bearing her lyrics from the song “Kolor” at the “Mate Blažina” secondary school, and soon after that, in November 2019, Labin Chakavian was declared a protected intangible cultural treasure of the Republic of Croatia. Elis made a major contribution to this, and as early as 2017, the Mayor of Labin proclaimed her the ambassador of the Labin Chakavian dialect.
After the 67th Zagreb Festival, where she performed the song “Vidim da si tu”, she also took part at DORA 2020, the Croatian National Finals for Eurovision, with her entry “JUŠTO”, which she performed in Labin Chakavian.
The opening night of the new play “Vježbanje života – drugi put” (Practising Life – Second Time) at the Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc in Rijeka, in which she again plays Fanica, a role that brought her many accolades and awards, and to which Elis dedicated a song, was scheduled for 17 March 2020, but postponed due to COVID-19. The play finally went through in June of 2020 abiding by all COVID-19 transmission and protective measures.
In August 2020 she won the Best Singer Songwriter Award at the “23rd Dalmatian Chanson Evenings” in Šibenik with her song “Je ča je”, and in September 2020 she won the Best Lyrics Award at the Festival del’Istrovenetto, a festival that nurtures the Istroveneto dialect of Istria.
Her effort to conserve her Labinian mother tongue was rewarded yet again by the end of the year when she received acknowledgement by the “Jurina i Franina” Istrian Chronicle for keeping the language alive.
Elis has widely performed her music on a national and international level, booking concerts in Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Italy, Germany, Poland, and Brazil.
