The story about fiery and beautiful Gypsy girl who would forever remain a symbol of longing, beauty, melancholy, passion, unfulfilled dreams, lamentation for one's youth, but also a symbol of provocation that inspires fury, anger, malice, hatred... Kostana is a symbol of beauty and talent, predestined to experience suffering.
Play is written in 1902. by Bora Stankovic. His bittersweet story of Kostana's amorous conquest of an entire provincial town is interwined with quasi-philosophical musing about the meaning of life and the passing of youth. Movies "The Gypsy Girl" (1953) and "Kostana" (1976) were inspired by Stankovic's play.
Petar Konjovic's opera "Kostana" had premieres in three leading Yugoslav opera houses in 1931. After six decades since the previous performance, one of the most popular Serbian operas has become a part of regular repertory of the National Theatre.
The protagonists of both the play and the opera were real people who lived in Vranje in the 19th century.