Children's Chorus

The Children’s Chorus of the Greek National Opera was founded in September 2012. It has an exclusively educational character and its goals, among others, are the study of choral singing, the cultivation of the wider musical education of its members and the development of the feeling of partnership and cooperation. Its priority is also the experiential music education, which is achieved through the participation of the children in performances, concerts and various artistic activities of the organisation.

Till today, the GNO Children’s Chorus has participated to great acclaim in such productions of the Greek National Opera as La bohème, Tosca, Werther, Otello, Die Zauberflöte, Carmen, Wozzeck, The Cunning Little Vixen, The Nutcracker, Suor Angelica, Carmencitas, The Murderess, Halima, Leporella, The Magic Pillows, Falstaff, Juditha triumphans, Gianni Schicchi, Le Voyage dans la Lune, Cavalleria rusticana, Pagliacci, as well as in the works The Era of Melissanthi, Magnus Eroticus and Sweet Movie by Manos Hadjidakis and 2nd Symphony by Mikis Theodorakis, in such venues as Olympia Theatre, Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Alexandra Trianti Hall (Athens Concert Hall), Stavros Niarchos Hall and Alternative Hall of the GNO (SNFCC), etc. In addition, the Chorus has participated in productions that were presented online such as When Will, When Will Summer Come, No! You Won't Get Up Our Noses!, A Shepherdess I Loved... and has given numerous concerts, performing a very extensive repertoire, at the Presidential Mansion, the Acropolis Museum, the Pnyx, the Archaeological site of Brauron (Vravrona), the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, etc.

The Children’s Chorus’ first mistress was soprano Mata Katsouli. Since autumn 2017, the ensemble has been directed by Konstantina Pitsiakou. The Chorus comprises about one hundred children aged 6 to 15 years old from all Attica. The participation is free of admission, while the members are selected through an audition, which takes place after a relevant announcement by the Greek National Opera.

Konstantina Pitsiakou - Chorus Mistress

A graduate of the Music Department of the University of Cardiff (Wales), she studied with a scholarship methodology of teaching, chorus conducting, classical singing and piano at the International Pedagogical Institute Zoltán Kodály (Franz Liszt Academy, Kecskemét, Hungary). Moreover, in Athens she studied singing (diploma) with Christina Yannakopoulou. She has sung with the Patras Contemporary Music Ensemble and the String Quartet of the Municipal Conservatory of Patras, while she has given concerts of Early music with the ensembles Ex Silentio and Os Orphicum. She has collaborated with the Choruses of the GNO and the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, as well as with the Patras Municipal Conservatory Chamber Chorus. She is a member of the Equábili vocal ensemble. She has taught at the Municipal Conservatory of Patras, as well as at the Drama Schools of the National Theatre of Greece and the Patras Municipal and Regional Theatre. Since September 2017 she is the mistress of the GNO Children’s Chorus with numerous productions at the Stavros Niarchos Hall and the Alternative Stage, Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Athens Concert Hall.