Ondrej Bernat to Become New General Director of State Opera in Banska Bystrica

Banska Bystrica, 31 December (TASR) - Ondrej Bernat, who previously worked at the National Theatre in Kosice, will become the new general director of the State Opera in Banska Bystrica on 1 January as he was temporarily appointed to the post by Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) and will serve as head of the opera until a proper selection process is completed, TASR was told by ministry's communications department director Petra Demkova on Wednesday. "Following a thorough analysis, the Culture Ministry expects the new statutory representative to ensure effective management of economic processes, ensuring the programme structure in terms of finance, as well as high-quality preparation and implementation of necessary public procurement," said Demkova. Ondrej Bernat is a graduate of the Faculty of Management at the University of Economics in Kosice and worked as the director of the economic and administrative-legal department at the National Theatre in Kosice. In the past, he also held several positions in Kosice self-governing region, was the chief auditor of the city of Kosice, and worked at the Central Tax Directorate in Kosice. Ondrej Bernat will head the State Opera in Banska Bystrica after the current general director, Simon Svitok, resigned due to personal reasons on 31 December. Svitok will continue to work at the opera as a soloist and artistic director. am/mcs