Aleko & Bluebeard’s Castle

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Five years after the great success of the production Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, the unique French actress and director Fanny Ardant returns to the Greek National Opera to direct yet another significant work from the Russian School, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s one-act opera Aleko, in an unexpected opera double bill. The second part of the bill will feature Béla Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, directed by Themelis Glynatsis. Both operas will be conducted by Fabrizio Ventura.

Aleko (new production)

Famous for his symphonic pieces and piano works, Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff also composed three operas. The first of them, the one-act Aleko, was written in 1892 and is based on Alexander Pushkin’s poem The Gypsies. The opera was composed on the occasion of Rachmaninoff’s graduation from the Moscow Conservatoire, when he was only 19 years old. The result was highly appreciated and the work was honoured with the Golden Medal. A year later, it was first performed to great success by the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow thanks to Tchaikovsky’s support. In 1899, on the 100th anniversary of Pushkin’s birth, Aleko was presented again in Saint Petersburg, starring the then young but later renowned bass Feodor Chaliapin in the leading role. Thanks to his performance, the work became a staple in the repertoire of opera houses across the world.

For the first staging of Rachmaninoff’s masterpiece in Greece, the Greek National Opera invited the leading figure of French cinema and theatre, Fanny Ardant, to direct. Alongside her, Pierre-André Weitz –known from his long collaboration with Olivier Py– will design the sets and the award-winning costume designer Katarzyna Lewińska will be responsible for the costumes. Aleko will be sung by the internationally acclaimed Greek baritone Tassis Christoyannis. Alongside him performing will be the renowned protagonists from the GNO Yannis Christopoulos, Myrsini Margariti, and Yanni Yannissis.

Bluebeard’s Castle (revival)

Bluebeard’s Castle by Béla Bartók, a highly condensed and emotionally intense opera, features only two characters, Bluebeard and his newly married wife, Judith. Béla Balázs’ symbolist libretto gave Bartók the chance to compose one of his most remarkable scores. He made use of the instrumental timbres of an exceptionally large orchestra, including even the majestic sound of the organ, to effectively capture the work’s mystical imagery. For the 2023 production, director Themelis Glynatsis chose to place the two characters of the opera in an impressive stage installation portraying a universe of multiple realities, mental traumas, hidden memories, and unfamiliar places. In this installation the tower, where the story unfolds, emerges as a constantly shifting palimpsest of different locations. In the title role performing will be the internationally acclaimed bass from the GNO Tassos Apostolou, and in Judith’s, soprano Violetta Lousta.