Those Who Know Tears
Have the Most Beautiful Eyes in the World
Theatrical recital for voice and harpsichord
Whether real or forced, born of sorrow, joy, love, anger or grief, tears bind us to one another through the powerful emotions that give rise to them.
Out of darkness, a distant song rises. Lit by a single candle, a figure emerges at the back of the hall and slowly makes his way through the audience. Reaching the harpsichord, the singer finishes Flow My Tears and blows out the candle. At once, a dozen others flicker to life. And so it begins...
Those Who Know Tears Have the Most Beautiful Eyes in the World is a theatrical recital for voice and harpsichord, conceived and performed by Zeljko Drion-Manic. Inspired by John Dowland’s Seven Tears, it brings Elizabethan England into dialogue with the Balkans, early music with the present, and the spoken word with song.
The Lachrimæ pavans of Dowland, Farnaby, Morley and Sweelinck meet the music of Serbian composers Dejan Despić and Miloš Petrović, alongside the words of Shakespeare and Ragusan poet Savo Bobaljević. From the English Channel to the Adriatic Sea, music and words cross centuries and borders, as the same emotions return in different guises.
Of Dowland’s seven tears, one was missing: the tear of joy.
Zeljko Drion-Manic then imagines a new piece : Huitième larme. Drawing on Balkan folk dances and the theme of Flow My Tears, the piece carries the world of Dowland’s Lachrimæ into the present, allowing Zeljko’s own musical roots to emerge within it.
Between voice, harpsichord, poetry and theatre, this one-man show crosses centuries, cultures and languages, turning a deeply personal performance into a search for a universal language.
1st Prize for composition & Prix Margherita Porfido
2026 Wanda Landowska Competition, Terlizzi (IT)
Tour
09/10/2022 | Les Concerts Ch’Toots • Brussels, BE
04/12/2022 | Point d’orgue • Wissant (62)
09/12/2025 | Parlement Européen • Brussels, BE
14/06/2026 | Chez Mireille Cardot • Paris (75)
16/07/2026 | Pastorale de tourisme • Audembert (62) FR
06/12/2026 | Chambre à Part • Lille (62)
17/12/2026 | Conscious Paris • Paris (75)
Jadi - D. Despić [voice & harpsichord]
Words from the audience
“It’s extraordinary to hear someone sing and play at the same time.”
“A dynamic harpsichord!”
“With such a title, we were expecting something melancholic, but the artist’s energy, the music and the theatricality left us full of joy.”
“I never imagined a harpsichord could sound like that.”
“A jazz band inside the instrument.”
“So full of emotion. I cried when you started singing in Serbian.”
“I loved the final piece [Huitième larme — Z. Drion-Manic].”
Live in concert