Tribute to Kostas Paskalis

The GNO honours Kostas Paskalis, one of the greatest Greek baritones. He set out on his path from the GNO chorus, and in 1951 he starred in Rigoletto. In 1958 he began his international career at the Vienna State Opera, where he continued to appear for 25 years. He also appeared at major theatres and festivals (Glyndebourne & Salzburg Festivals, Royal Opera House, London, La Scala, Milan, New York Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco, New Orleans and Houston operas, etc). He was admired for his dark, masculine voice, his beautiful singing diction, as well as his acting skills and stage presence. In the GNO he starred in productions at the Olympia Theatre and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus and he directed Don Giovanni, Cavalleria rusticana and Simon Boccanegra. In 1988/89 he served as General Director of the GNO. 

BIOGRAPHIES

Kostas Paskalis

Greek baritone, he was born in Livadia, central Greece, on September 1, 1929. He studied piano and voice at the National Conservatory, Athens. In 1947 he joined the Chorus of the Greek National Opera. In 1951, he interpreted the leading role in the opera Rigoletto. He proceeded to sing leading baritone roles in many operas each artistic season during the years 1951-1958 such as Rigoletto, Un ballo in maschera, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Lucia di Lammermoor, La forza del destino, Ernani, Cavalleria rusticana, ll trovatore, etc. In 1958, he began his international career at the Vienna State Opera, where he continued to perform regularly for 25 years, singing mostly Italian repertoire. He interpreted the leading role in Macbeth at the Glyndebourne Festival (1964) and at the Royal Opera House in London (1969). He performed in the world premiere of Henze’s opera Die Bassariden at the Salzburg Festival (1966) and its subsequent staging at La Scala in Milan (1967). He performed in almost all major European opera houses. During the years 1965-1967, he appeared repeatedly at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and also sang in the operas of San Francisco, New Orleans, Houston, etc. He was admired for his dark, masculine voice, his compelling rendering of the song and his lively stage presence. He collaborated regularly with the Greek National Opera, interpreting leading roles in major productions at the Olympia Theatre and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. At the GNO he also directed Don Giovanni, Cavalleria rusticana and Simon Boccanegra. When he retired from the stage, he taught singing and participated in panels of judges at competitions. During the 1988/89 season, he served as Director General of the GNO. His last stage appearance at the GNO was in 1995 interpreting the title role in the opera Simon Boccanegra. He was married to famous soprano Marina Krilovici. He passed away in Athens on February 9, 2007.

Lukas Karytinos Conductor

Born in Athens, he studied at the Athens Conservatory, the Berlin University of the Arts and the Mozarteum, Salzburg. He is a graduate of the Athens Law School. He worked as a conductor first in Germany and since 1985 for the Greek National Opera. In 1992 he became music director of the Greek National Opera and later its artistic director (1999-2005). He has conducted at the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, Arena di Verona Opera Festival, Rome Opera Festival, Las Palmas Opera Festival, Torre del Lago Puccini Festival, Festival d’Opéra Avanches. He has worked for opera houses in Berlin, Barcelona, Cologne, Monte Carlo, Detroit, Bern, Salzburg, Rome and Catania. He has conducted in most European cities, Korea, USA, Australia, Turkey and Egypt. He has recorded for BMG, WEA, CBS, ETERNA and Dynamic. He has been honoured with the title “Commander of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity” and has been awarded the Grand Music Prize of the Association of Greek Theatre and Music Critics.

Marina Krilovici Artistic curator, soloist

Internationally renowned soprano of Greek origin, she has been awarded numerous prizes at international competitions. Marina Krilovici has appeared at the most important theatres worldwide, including the New York Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House (Covent Garden) and opera houses in Hamburg, Vienna, Chicago, Rome, Berlin, Paris, Lisbon, Munich, Montreal, Amsterdam, etc. She has co-starred in productions alongside such famous singers as Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Tito Gobbi, José Carreras, Renato Bruson, Nicola Martinucci, under the baton of famous conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Renato Bruson, Georg Solti, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Muti, and others. Admired for the quality of her voice as well as her stage presence, she has sung all major roles for her type of voice. In 1980s she started collaborating with the Greek National Opera, starring in such operas as Cavalleria rusticana, Manon Lescaut, Macbeth, Madama Butterfly, Iphigénie en Tauride, Falstaff, Tosca, Fedora, etc. As a vocal teacher she has been active worldwide and often she participates as a committee member in vocal competitions.

Dimitris Paksoglou Soloist

Greek tenor, he was born in Piraeus and studied drama at the Veaki School. As a theatre actor he performed in prestigious stages such as Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, National Theatre of Greece and Art Theatre of Karolos Koun. He graduated from the Athenaeum Conservatory, where he studied under Kostas Paskalis and Marina Krilovici. Later he went to France, where he worked in various theatres and made his debut as Radamès (Aida) at the national stadium of the country. He has worked with leading conductors such as Laurent Campellone, Gabriel Chmura, Philippe Forget, Errico Fresis, Lukas Karytinos, Juanjo Mena, Myron Michailidis, Alexandros Myrat, Ondrej Olos, and directors like Hugo de Ana, Giancarlo del Monaco, Stephen Langridge, Lorenzo Mariani and David Pountney. He has sung, among others, Don José (Carmen), Turiddu (Cavalleria rusticana), Macduff (Macbeth), Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Des Grieux (Manon Lescaut), Mario Cavaradossi (Tosca), Alfredo (La traviata), Canio (Pagliacci) and Albert Gregor (Věc Makropulos). Since 2012 he has been a permanent member of the Greek National Opera.

Dimitri Platanias Soloist

Greek baritone, he studied guitar with George Mavreas and voice with Maria Μarketou at the Kalamata Municipal Conservatory. He continued his studies in Italy under Masako Tanaka Protti (“Alexandra Trianti” scholarship, 2000). Since 2004 he has been studying under Aris Christofellis. He has worked with numerous Greek and foreign orchestras. He made his debut at the Greek National Opera as Alfio (Cavalleria rusticana, 2004) and since then he has sung numerous roles such as Marcello (La bohème), Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Master (The Masterbuilder), Renato (Un ballo in maschera), Rigoletto, Amonasro (Aida), Germont (La traviata), Scarpia (Tosca), Di Luna (Il trovatore) and Telramund (Lohengrin). He has performed in distinguished theatres and festivals worldwide such as Teatro La Fenice (Venice), Teatro Nacional de São Carlos (Lisbon), Munich State Opera, Frankfurt Opera, La Monnaie (Brussels), Bregenz and Salzburg festivals, Royal Opera House (Covent Garden, London), Bavarian State Opera, Opera di Firenze, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (Valencia) and Stuttgart State Opera.

Christophoros Stamboglis Soloist

Greek bass, he has performed at the world’s most prestigious opera houses and festivals such as the MET (New York), Royal Opera House (Covent Garden, London), Teatro Real (Madrid), Grand Théâtre de Genève, Bavarian State Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, etc. The Maria Callas scholarships, the late Christos Lambrakis and Kostas Paskalis, as well as the famous Greek bass Dimitri Kavrakos, with whom he still studies, played an important role in his musical and technical formation. He considers himself as an “artistic child” of the Greek National Opera, where he made his first important steps, and of the Athens Concert Hall, where he had the fortune to collaborate with leading artists. He has also worked several times with the Athens State Orchestra as well as with the National Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation. He has given many personal recitals and religious music concerts. His repertoire surpasses a total of 90 works. He has recorded for EMI Classics, Bongiovanni, Rossini Opera Festival and LYRA.

Tassis Christoyannis Soloist

Greek baritone, he was born in Piraeus. Since 1989 he has been singing with the Greek National Opera, at the Athens Concert Hall and at the most prestigious theatres worldwide. His repertoire includes leading roles in such operas as Il barbiere di Siviglia, Macbeth, Don Giovanni, Don Carlos, La traviata, Die Zauberflӧte, Eugene Onegin, Faust, Hamlet, Un ballo in maschera, Falstaff, Il trovatore. He has recorded operas (Tamerlano, La traviata, Falstaff, etc), songs by French composers (Camille Saint-Saëns, Felicien David, etc), as well as works by Greek composers (Manos Hadjidakis, Mikis Theodorakis, Nikos Mamagkakis, George Kouroupos, Thanos Mikroutsikos, Yannis Markopoulos, etc). He also composes music. He has written the music for the musicals Christmas story, Once upon a time there was a young prince, the ballets On the road, Labyrinth, and the song circles E.E.Cummings, Thomas Moore, which are presented in Greece and abroad. He received the Prix de l’Academie Charles Cros (“Best French songs Interpreter”, category: opera).