Greek National Opera programme announcement for the artistic season 2018/19

Almost six months before its official opening. This initiative aims at meeting the new standards created by its transfer at the new venues of the SNFCC, concerning the planning of visits of foreign visitors and the timely information of the Greek audience.

The season’s programme designed by the artistic director Giorgos Koumendakis for the Greek National Opera Main Stage (Stavros Niarchos Hall SNFCC and Odeon of Herodes Atticus) in 2018/19, turns the expansion of the repertory into reality, redefines the concept of extroversion with global scale and prestigious co-operations, opens the way for the connection of lyric art with visual arts, focuses on the sharp reading of classical works and aims at the return to the core of the art of opera, through a contemporary perspective and reflection.

Therefore, in the 2018/19 programme, which is based upon seven thematic cycles, we will find great works from the 18th, 19th and 20th century, from the most important opera schools (French, German, Italian, Russian, Slavic), we will be acquainted with masterpieces that will be presented for the first time in Greece, like Janáček’s Jenůfa, which officially launches the season, works that haven’t been staged at the GNO for many decades, like Massenet’s Manon (since 1965) and Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (since 1996), but also Verdi’s La Traviata for the first time at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. At the same time, the collaboration with the Royal Opera House brings to us Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra and the retun of Donizetti’s highly successful Lucia di Lammermoor, alongside new productions of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Bellini’s Norma.

For the new season, the GNO introduces great co-operations with artists from all fields of art, such as the emblematic figure of the French cinema and theatre Fanny Ardant, the Οscar-winning costume designer Milena Canonero, the great collective of La Fura dels Baus, German director Nicola Raab, international Greek visual artist Nikos Navridis, German set-designer Tobias Hoheisel, Pina Bausch’s work partner Daphnis Kokkinos, the director of the Berlin State Ballet Nacho Duato etc. It also meets again with important artists such as the outstanding theatre director Thomas Moschopoulos, international set-designer Giorgos Souglidis, the artistic director of the Alternative Stage Alexandros Eflkidis, the choreographer-director Apostolia Papadamaki etc.

The productions will be conducted by younger and established maestros such as Zoi Tsokanou, Vassilis Christopoulos, Giorgos Balatsinos, Kleanthe Russo, Giorgos Ziavras, Stathis Soulis, Marios Papadopoulos, Nikos Vassiliou, Pierre Dumoussaud and of course, the two conductors of the Greek National Opera, Lukas Karytinos and Elias Voudouris.

The GNO Ballet will present three new exceptionally ambitious productions: Swan Lake choreographed by the new Ballet Director Konstantinos Rigos, great Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato’s Herrumbre (Rust) and Stravinsky’s triptych From Russia with love, choreographed by Daphnis Kokkinos, outstanding German choreographer Marco Goecke and Konstantinos Rigos.

The Manos Hadjidakis Cycle continues with the presentation of his great works Magnus Eroticus, Amorgos, Gioconda’s Smile, Reflections at the Stavros Niarchos Hall, and with a day-long tribute on his birthday anniversary in all GNO venues at the SNFCC.

In January 2019 starts the Music and Visual Arts Cycle, in cooperation with the cultural organisation NEON. The first work has been commissioned to the artist Nikos Mavridis.

In April 2019, celebrated Greek baritone Dimitri Platanias will give his first recital at the Greek National Opera Stavros Niarchos Hall, with works of Verdi, Rossini, Leoncavallo, Giordano.

The Greek National Opera children’s stage will present for the first time in Greece Ernst Toch’s The Princess and the Pea.

The season will be unofficially launched with a Rossini Gala, while the theme of the new production of the series “Opera and Fashion” will be “Magic”.

The new cycle Operetta Restart will open with Nikos Kypourgos' operetta Medea, based on Medea by Bost.

Greek National Opera is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Sport

GNO Major donor