I Want to See the Pope!

Alternative Stage Founding Donor

Alternative Stage sponsor: PPC (Public Power Company)

The legendary operetta I Want to See the Pope! by Theophrastos Sakellaridis, creator of The Godson – the most popular Greek operetta of all time –, is coming to challenge Athenian audiences a century later, in a new, ambitious production.

The work I Want to See the Pope! (1920) delves deeply into the contemporary urban issues explored by Sakellaridis, who also penned the libretto, while undermining the foundations of bourgeois life and strongly questioning the institution of family.

During her honeymoon trip in Italy, Anna, a newlywed bride, expresses the desire to see the Pope up close. When her husband doesn’t meet her wish, their marriage comes on the verge of falling apart. Upon their return to Athens, those close to them blatantly intervene in the couple’s shaken relationship, revealing in a comic-tragic light all the malaises and hypocrisy of the bourgeois class.

Following the genre’s standards, the composer exhibits a special musico-theatrical resourcefulness in the portrayal of his characters, who sabotage the constants of family life. The libretto of the operetta is a domestic adaptation of Maurice Hennequin’s farce Les joies du foyer (1894). Through a flowing theatrical language, Sakellaridis brings to life Hennequin’s densely-woven farce, achieving an ideal musico-theatrical dramaturgy, and enriching the plot with fifteen musical numbers.

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