Blessed Are the Breasts That Never Gave Suck…

Alternative Stage Founding Donor

Major Sponsor of the Greek National Opera

The highly successful performance Blessed Are the Breasts That Never Gave Suck…, based on the pieces Via crucis by Franz Liszt and The Way of The Cross by Paul Claudel, which premiered as part of the 2^nd Sacred Music Festival in April 2024, will be revived on the GNO Alternative Stage. Conceived by Markellos Chryssicos, the performance will be conducted under his direction, with arrangements and adaptations made by Panos Iliopoulos.  Performing as narrator will be the actress Karyofyllia Karabeti.

The Way of the Cross (Via Crucis), also known as the Path of Martyrdom, is a pilgrimage route that captures in the faithful's memory the journey of Christ from the Praetorium to the Holy Sepulchre. This route can be taken literally in Jerusalem or other designated places of worship, but it is also customary for it to have a purely symbolic character, with the faithful, following the iconography or narrative, having the opportunity to pray and spiritually walk the road to Calvary and the Crucifixion.

Franz Liszt's late composition Via crucis for soloists, mixed choir and organ references the fourteen intervening Stations that the Western Church tradition has established. In conductor Markellos Chryssicos' approach, the work, transcribed for soloists, clarinet, two keyboards and string quintet by Panos Iliopoulos, enters into a dialogue with Paul Claudel's poem of the same name and the other texts read by the actress Karyofyllia Karabeti.

Co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and National Resources.