The Lesson of Darkness

In this unconventional concert bridging the virtuosic vocal chamber music of the French Baroque with 20th-century poetry, Alexandros Gκonis combines the third motet from the Leçons de ténèbres (1714) by composer François Couperin (1668-1733), written for the Tenebrae service of Holy Week and based on the text of Jeremiah's Lamentations, with the poem by the Italian Nobel laureate Eugenio Montale "To my friend Pea" (Greek translation by Nikos Aliferis). By interweaving these two heterogeneous narratives in one musical work, a conductor, two singers, an actress and a string quartet create the path for a coexistence –perhaps even a conversation– between two disparate groups who would like to become one.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Alexandros Gkonis

Born in Athens, Greece. He studied violoncello at the Philippos Nakas Conservatory and political science at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He continued his studies at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, in the Netherlands, where he studied conducting and composition. Since 2012, he has been working steadily on both theatre and music productions. As a musician and composer, he has collaborated with the National Theatre of Greece, the National Theatre of Northern Greece, the Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Greek National Opera, the Municipal and Regional Theatres of Kavala, Serres and Crete, Porta Theatre, Vassilakou Theatre, New Hellenic Theatre of Giorgos Armenis etc. Ηe has participated in festivals such as All of Greece, One Culture, Filippoi-Kavala Festival, Open Sails Festival in Chania (Crete) etc. He has given concerts in Korzo Theatre Den Haag, Splendor Amsterdam, Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht, Parnassos Literary Society in Athens etc.

Katerina Patsiani

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is a graduate of the National Theatre of Greece Drama School and the Linguistics Department of the School of Philology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She has been working in theatre since 2011, having performed in classical and contemporary repertoire at the National Theatre of Greece, Athens Epidaurus Festival, in Municipal and Regional Theatres across Greece as well as at Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Onassis Stegi, Poreia Theatre, Neos Kosmos Theatre, Megaron – The Athens Concert Hall etc. She has collaborated with the directors: Vasilis Papavasileiou, Yannis Moschos, Yannis Kalavrianos, Ektoras Lygizos, Thodoris Gkonis, Martha Frintzila, Georgia Mavragani, Sofia Vgenopoulou, Kostas Filippoglou, Aris Laskos, Sofia Paschou, Manos Vavadakis, Dimitris Lignadis etc. She collaborates with Little Things Orchestra (Hamlet, The Massacre at Paris, The Tragedy of King Richard III). In 2024 she started collaborating with the group RMS Mataroa.

Marietta Sarri

Dramatic coloratura soprano, she holds degrees in music theory and piano and a voice diploma. She made her debut at the Music Theatre Workshop of the Municipal and Regional Theatre of Patras performing the role of Susanna from Le nozze di Figaro. She has been a member of the GNO Opera Studio. She has attended masterclasses and taken voice and interpretation lessons with many musicians in Greece and abroad such as Christos Marinos, Kharálampos Goyós, Myrsini Margariti, Dimitris Tiliakos, Tassis Christoyannis, Romina Basso, Markellos Chryssicos, Mary Mills, Janet Williams, Graciela Araya, Susanne Winter, Angelo Cavallaro, Anastasios Pappas, Dimitris Yakas, Sofia Kyanidou etc. She has participated in international competitions and collaborated with many stage directors and conductors. In May 2023 she founded, with Marilena Souri, the Duo Amorsima which concentrates on the interpretation of art songs.

Despina Panagiotou

Born in a musical family, she received her Voice Diploma from the International Athens Conservatory (2015). She was trained at the Greek National Opera’s Youth Opera programme (first artistic season, 2017-2018) and performed the parts of Ilia in Mozart’s Idomeneo (Alternative Stage), of the Alm Sister in Suor Angelica and one of the Lovers in Giacomo Puccini’s Il tabarro (Stavros Niarchos Hall). She worked at the Opera and Ballet Theatre in Perm, under Teodor Currentzis’ artistic direction (2018-2020), and performed at international stages and theatres as a member of the MusicAeterna choir. She performed the roles of Noémie in Massenet’s Cendrillon (d: Georgy Isaakyan, cond: Valentin Uryupin, November 2018); Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte (d: Remus Matthias, cond: Teodor Currentzis, May 2019); Susanna in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro (d: Philipp Himmelmann, cond: Petr Belyakin, June 2019).