Byron in Greece comes to GNO TV

Athos Danellis

Byron in Greece comes to GNO TV

An original historical shadow music theatre work in three acts

Free streaming on nationalopera.gr/GNOTV until 31 December 2021

As part of the tribute to the bicentennial of the Greek Revolution

Athos Danellis’ shadow music theatre performance Byron in Greece brings Karagiozis, our legendary childhood hero, and the Greek adventures of Lord Byron to your screen via GNO TV. The performance will be available on nationalopera.gr/GNOTV with Greek subtitles from 29 May to 31 December 2021.

In this new work commissioned by the GNO Alternative Stage, the first shadow music theatre work starring the historical figure of Lord Byron, the important shadow puppeteer Athos Danellis uses his cardboard figures to tell the story of Byron’s two visits to Greece (first as part of his youthful Grand Tour to Europe and then in the service of the Greek War of Independence) within the telescoped, dreamlike space-time of the “berdes” (the traditional backlit cloth that acts as screen-stage for the shadow play).

The shadow puppets and sets were crafted by Yannis Papadopoulos (Yuvan) after conducting a research in historical sources of that era. In fact, it is the first time that many of these shadow puppets (including those of Lord Byron in a traditional costume, the Maid of Athens, and doctor Francesco Bruno) are presented in a shadow theatre performance.

This production, part of a tribute to the 2021 bicentennial of the Greek Revolution, is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) [www.SNF.org].

Approaching the Greek adventures of Lord Byron by means of the tradition of the Greek folk shadow play known as “Karagiozis” is not an arbitrary choice, as might be imagined, given that the multifarious Lord is known to have been among the spectators of a performance of the early, Turkish version of the play in an Epirus coffee-shop in 1809!

In this new commission of the GNO Alternative Stage, the important shadow puppeteer Athos Danellis uses his cardboard figures to tell the story of Byron’s two visits to Greece (first as part of his youthful Grand Tour and then in the service of the Greek War of Independence) within the telescoped, dreamlike space-time of the “berdes” (the traditional backlit cloth that acts as screen-stage for the shadow play).

The gradual conversion of Lord Byron from a “superstar” Romantic tourist-poet to a conscious philhellene, a critic of Greek factionalism and benefactor of the Revolution, eventually gaining the status of a national hero in the Greek popular imaginary, is highlighted through his imaginative absorption by the archetypal world of Karagiozis and enriched by deft references to historical figures such as John Cam Hobhouse, Ali Pasha and Tereza Makri – better known as “Maid of Athens” from Byron’s poem of the same title that paid tribute to the twelve-year-old girl with whom the poet fell passionately in love while lodging in her mother’s house in 1810.

World premiere / Commissioned by the GNO Alternative Stage
Cycle “Odes to Byron”

Athos Danellis
Byron in Greece comes to GNO TV

An original historical shadow music theatre work in three acts

Free streaming on nationalopera.gr/GNOTV until 31 December 2021
As part of the tribute to the bicentennial of the Greek Revolution
Filmed on the GNO Alternative Stage at the SNFCC on 28 March 2021. 

Scenario, execution: Athos Danellis
Composer, arranger, music supervisor: Dimos Vougioukas|
Shadow puppets, set design: Yannis Papadopoulos (Yuvan)
Stage collaborators: Apostolos Gravvanis, Nikolas Tzivelekis
Musicians: Dimos Vougioukas (accordion), Kyriakos Gouventas (violin), Ioanna Riga (santouri), Dimitris Koufogiorgos (guitar, mandolin)