A luxurious edition dedicated to the 80 years of history of the Greek National Opera
recounts the great history of the only Greek opera house. Discover it...
recounts the great history of the only Greek opera house. Discover it...
In summer 1971 the Greek National Opera presented Gluck’s opera Orfeo ed Euridice at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. The production was marked by the death of Italian conductor Fausto Cleva, who collapsed on the podium and was replaced by violinist and conductor Stelios Kafantaris. The production however stood out for its aesthetics, conceived by the famous Greek-born painter Giorgio de Chirico who designed the sets and costumes. The roles were performed by the mezzo-soprano of Greek descent Tatiana Troyanos (Orfeo), soprano Antigone Sgourda (Eurydice) and soprano Hara Savino (Eros).
Ariadne auf Naxos was Richard Strauss’ first opera to be added to the Greek National Opera’s repertory. Unlike other more famous works by the Bavarian composer, such as Salome, Elektra and Der Rosenkavalier, it requires only limited orchestral resources, a fact that facilitated its presentation at the Olympia Theatre which had a restricted orchestra pit. The production that first went up in February 1974 was conducted by Choo Hoey and directed by Dinos Giannopoulos. Ariadne’s role was performed by Antigone Sgourda, then at the peak of her career at the Vienna State Opera, while Bacchus was sung by tenor Gary Burgess.
In summer 1975 the Greek National Opera took the risk of presenting a very special work at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, La damnation de Faust, a “dramatic legend” according to its composer Hector Berlioz, and in essence, an oratorio which requires very specific conditions in order to be proven scenically convincing. These conditions were met thanks to conductor Dimitri Chorafas, then Director of the Greek National Opera, who had not only studied in Paris but also served as permanent conductor at the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg and was well acquainted with the characteristics of French music. The production was directed by Louis Erlo, who at the time was director of the Opéra-Studio de Paris and later director of the Aix-en-Provence Festival. The sets and costumes were designed by the eminent Greek painter Spyros Vassiliou. The leading role was performed by the famous tenor Guy Chauvet.
During the years after the fall of the military junta in Greece (1974) great efforts were made to renew and modernize the Greek National Opera’s repertoire. It was enriched with many new titles, including Luigi Dallapiccola’s I prigionero (The prisoner), which had first been heard on the Italian radio in 1940 and had been given its staged premiere in 1950. The performance was conducted by composer Theodore Antoniou and directed by Spyros Evangelatos. Spyros Sakkas performed the title role while tenor George Zervanos that of the Great Inquisitor.
Composer Manos Hadjidakis contributed decisively to the rebirth of the Greek National Opera during the years after the fall of the military junta in Greece (1974), acting as Deputy Director, making proposals for the repertory and the artists. Characteristically, he introduced Kurt Weill’s opera Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny [Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny], which was directed by Minos Volanakis, with sets by Dionysis Fotopoulos and costumes by Ioanna Papantoniou. The performance starring Vasso Papantoniou (Jenny), Kiki Morfoniou (Begbick) and Zachos Terzakis (Jim), was to be conducted by Hadjidakis himself, but in the end, the baton was taken over by Hans-Werner Pintgen.
Boris Godunov was frequently staged both at the Olympia Theatre and at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus since March 1960, when it was first introduced to the Greek National Opera’s repertoire. The 1985 production directed by Spyros Evangelatos had an exceptional protagonist, the then just 30-year-old Georgian bass Paata Burchuladze, who was still largely unknown in the West. His cavernous voice made the Olympia Theatre tremble and his interpretation was made unforgettable also thanks to Odysseas Dimitriadis, a conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, who was regularly invited by the Greek National Opera.
In summer 1994 the Greek National Opera Ballet presented at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus a work that was very demanding not only for the dancers but also for the orchestra: Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet. The production was choreographed by Dutch Rudi van Dantzig, conducted by Ukrainian Fedor Glushchenko, and the leading couple was brilliantly performed by Maria Miliopoulou and Yiannis Dontsakis. The successful production continued over the next season at the Olympia Theatre, where the photograph was taken.
In spring 1997 the Greek National Opera invited the famous Italian film director Lina Wertmüller to direct a new production of Puccini’s highly popular opera, La Bohème. Wertmüller successfully conveyed the emotion of the story, and thanks to Enrico Job’s exceptional sets and costumes Toulouse Lautrec’s dreamy Parisian ambience was brought to life on the stage of the Olympia Theatre. The lead couple was performed by soprano Jenny Drivala (Mimi) and tenor Roberto Brugioni (Rodolfo).
Composer Manolis Kalomiris contributed in many ways to the creation and foundation of the Greek National Opera. At first he was a collaborator of Costis Bastias, founder of the GNO, whom he decisively helped in the formation of the first in-house production team, and later served as Director and then President of the organization’s Board. The Greek National Opera remains to this day the only organization that consistently and steadily presents works of Greek composers. In 1998 the GNO mounted Kalomiris’ The shadowy waters conducted by Byron Fidetzis, directed by Spyros Evangelatos and with sets and costumes by Yannis Metjikof, starring soprano Julia Souglakou (Detora) and tenor Angelo Simos (Forgael).
One of the most ambitious productions of the 1998/99 season was the ballet La Bayadère with music by Ludwig Minkus. It was based on Alice Elliot’s revival of Marius Petipa’s original choreography. The ravishing sets and costumes were created by Leonidas de Pian and the lead couple was brilliantly performed by stars of GNO’s Ballet Alina Stergianou (Nikiya) and Yiannis Dontsakis (Solor).
As part of the Cultural Olympiad the Greek National Opera undertook to present operas at the historical location where their plot unfolds. In 2002 at the foot of the rock of the Acrocorinth the Greek National Opera presented Rossini’s L’Assedio di Corinto [The Siege of Corinth], on a temporary stage constructed especially for the occasion. The production was conducted by Niels Muus, and directed by Nikos Petropoulos, who also designed the sets and costumes. Famous singers were invited for the occasion, such as bass Ildar Abdrazakov (Maometto Secondo), soprano Luciana Serra (Pamira) and mezzo-soprano Daniela Barcelona (Neocle).
In November 2014 the Greek National Opera presented for the first time Giorgos Koumendakis’ The Murderess (I Fonissa). The venture was daring since it was associated with an emblematic work of modern Greek literature, but proved extremely successful, as it highlighted the essential characteristics of the original. Koumendakis’ music transferred elements of Greek folk music into a modern, absolutely personal language and underlined the emotional tension of the central character. Alexandros Efklidis’ direction ensured the effortless flow of the action and Petros Touloudis’ suggestive, imaginative setting portrayed with simple means the story’s different locations. The performance continued the next season.
Editor-in-Chief, texts,
selection of photographs,
appendices, research, documentation
Nikos A. Dontas
Research, documentation, English captions
Sophia Kompotiati
Photo documentation
Evangelia Xanthopoulou
Konstantina Stafeta
Photographers’ credits
Yannis Svolos
Copy editing, index
Dimitris Karadimas
Translation of texts into English
Angeliki Boura
GNO artistic associate,
SNF grant coordinator
Maria Metaxaki
Head of GNO’s Music Library
and Historic Archive
Yannis Belonis
Stewardship of GNO’s
archival collections, indexing
of Historic Archive
Mina Soulantzou
Book design
Yannis Kouroudis
k2design
Yannis Kondilis
k2design
Maria Bougioukou
GNO
Photo editing
Maria Bougioukou GNO
Aria-Angeliki Bousoulegka GNO
Antonis Christopoulos k2design
Valeria Isaeva GNO
Eleni-Anysia Moustaka k2design
Cover design
Yannis Kouroudis
k2design
Yannis Kondilis
k2design
Cover photo
Dimitris Sakalakis
Production - Printing
Fotolio S.A.
Book binding
J. Mantis & Sons L.P.
The production of this book was made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach.
© Greek National Opera
First edition : Athens, March 2020
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ISBN 978-618-5319-60-1