Greek National Opera Children's Chorus

The Greek National Opera Children’s Chorus under the direction of Konstantina Pitsiakou presents a programme of new Greek works that explore both traditional and modern aspects of the transcendent: a musical and poetic journey from hope in the Resurrection to existential angst, as reflected in the bodies and voices of its young members, heirs of an uncertain future. The concert begins with two compositions by Martha Mavroidi that recreate, in a contemporary manner, two songs that accompany customs of the annual holiday cycle: the traditional Lazarus Saturday Carol ("Lazarakia") and the Greek countryside Easter custom of the Cradle. They are followed by the premiere performance of Kharálampos Goyós’ new work Beasties of the Apocalypse, to lyrics by Foivos Dousos, a “tetramorph” (in the manner of the depictions of the Evangelists in the Christian iconographic tradition) inspired from a passage by the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek and consisting of four playful and idiosyncratic “prayers” addressed to four contemporary figures of the Sublime: the “Red Lizard” of the ecological crisis, the “Green Mouse” of the biogenetic revolution, the “Yellow Cricket” of economic imbalance and the “Black Pony” of social collapse.

Programme

Martha Mavroidi (b. 1977)
Lazarus Saturday Carol [Lazarakia, 2023]
Lyrics: Traditional Greek
GNO commission

Cradle [Kounia, 2023]
Lyrics: Traditional Greek

Kharálampos Goyós (b. 1977)
Beasties of the Apocalypse [Zoakia tis Apokalypsis, 2023]
Tetramorph for children's choir
Lyrics: Foivos Dousos
World premiere • GNO commission
1. The Red Lizard (of the ecological crisis)
2. The Green Mouse (of the biogenetic revolution)
3. The Yellow Cricket (of economic imbalance)
4. The Black Pony (of social collapse)

Kharálampos Goyós

He studied music theory with composers Philippos Tsalahouris and Dimitris Lionis. He is a graduate of the Department of Music Studies of the University of Athens. As a composer and conductor, he has collaborated with numerous institutions (Greek National Opera, Athens Epidaurus Festival, Athens and Thessaloniki Concert Halls, National Theatre of Greece, Greek Art Theatre “Karolos Koun”, Municipal Theatre of Piraeus, Onassis Stegi, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Michael Cacoyannis Foundation, BIOS, Neos Kosmos Theatre, Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, Orchestra of Colours, Hellenic Ensemble of Contemporary Music, dissonArt ensemble, ARTéfacts ensemble, CHÓRES female choral ensemble, Documenta, Art Athina, Neuköllner Oper Berlin etc.) and distinguished figures in music, theatre, literature and art. His music has won awards in Greece, the UK and Czechia. His music for Sophocles’ Antigone (National Theatre of Greece, 2016) was awarded Best Music in the Cyprus Theatre Awards. He is a co-founder of the independent Athens music theatre company “The Beggars’ Operas”, with which he has appeared in Greece and abroad. From 2013 to 2015, he was Head of Studies of the Music Theatre Workshop of the Municipal and Regional Theatre of Patras. He is Head of Dramaturgy and Publications for the Greek National Opera Alternative Stage and General Director of the CHÓRES female choral ensemble. He teaches at the Athens Conservatoire and the Drama School of the National Theatre of Greece.

Martha Mavroidi

She graduated from Pallini Music High School. She studied musicology in Athens, ethnomusicology in London and Los Angeles, and contemporary music in Amsterdam. With her Quartet she has toured Europe and America. She is a member of the music group "Smari" and the vocal ensemble "Jasemi". She has composed music for dance and theatre performances, which have been presented at the Greek National Opera, National Theatre of Greece, Athens Festival, Onassis Stegi, Théâtre de Nîmes, SIDance Seoul, etc. She coordinates polyphonic singing workshops and she conducts the traditional music chorus “I rodia” (“The Pomegranate”). She has published five personal records and a book with compositions for vocal ensemble.

Konstantina Pitsiakou
A graduate of the Music Department of the University of Cardiff (Wales), she studied with a scholarship methodology of teaching, chorus conducting, classical singing and piano at the International Pedagogical Institute Zoltán Kodály (Franz Liszt Academy, Kecskemét, Hungary). Moreover, in Athens she studied singing (diploma) with Christina Yannakopoulou. She has sung with the Patras Contemporary Music Ensemble and the String Quartet of the Municipal Conservatory of Patras, while she has given concerts of Early music with the ensembles Ex Silentio and Os Orphicum. She has collaborated with the Choruses of the GNO and the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, as well as with the Patras Municipal Conservatory Chamber Chorus. She is a member of the Equábili vocal ensemble. She has taught at the Municipal Conservatory of Patras, as well as at the Drama Schools of the National Theatre of Greece and the Patras Municipal and Regional Theatre. Since September 2017 she is the mistress of the GNO Children’s Chorus with numerous productions at the Stavros Niarchos Hall and the Alternative Stage, Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Athens Concert Hall.