Greek National Opera (GNO)
“Surpassing limits”: The complete program for the 2024/2025 season
The GNO starts the new season with the first performance of Rachmaninov's Aleko in Greece, new productions of Turandot, Flira mirabilis, La forza del destino, Iphigénie en Aulide and Iphigénie en Tauride, a co-production with the Royal Opera House of Lucia di Lammermoor directed by Katie Mitchell and many other opera and ballet productions.
Opera double bill – New production
Iphigénie en Aulide & Iphigénie en Tauride
Christoph Willibald Gluck
10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 27, 30 October 2024
Starts at: 17.30 • Intermission of 90 minutes between the two works
Stavros Niarchos Hall of the GNO – Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
A co-production with the Aix-en-Provence Festival and Opéra national de Paris
Conductor: Michael Hofstetter
Stage director, sets: Dmitri Tcherniakov
Costumes: Elena Zaytseva
Lighting: Gleb Filshtinsky
Featured in the main roles of Iphigénie en Aulide will be Corinne Winters, Véronique Gens, Tassis Christoyannis
Featured in the main roles of Iphigénie en Tauride will be Corinne Winters, Alexandre Duhamel, Dionysios Sourbis, Stanislas de Barbeyrac
With Soloists, the Orchestra and Chorus of the Greek National Opera
The production is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) [www.SNF.org] to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach.
The Greek National Opera opens the 2024/25 season with an exceptional international co-production that redefines the boundaries of opera. The leading Russian director of our time Dmitri Tcherniakov will present both Iphigénies by Gluck in one evening. The journey will start at the esteemed European opera festival of Aix-en-Provence, continue through the Greek National Opera, and conclude at the Opéra national de Paris.
The double bill presentation of Christoph Willibald Gluck’s two operas aims to shed light on the core of the Atreides curse, which perpetuates a never-ending cycle of violence. How does the victim in Aulis become the executioner in Tauris? This is the earthshaking question posed by Dmitri Tcherniakov, as he seeks to find the answers in a family hearth haunted by its dead, through a relentlessly evolving process of dehumanisation with modern-day implications. To illustrate the tragic fate of the Atreides myth, which has turned domestic violence into a universal experience, Tcherniakov selects a house without a specific time period as his stage set – a structure that at times appears opaque and at other times absolutely transparent.
Iphigénie en Aulide and Iphigénie en Tauride –two of the most significant operas of the classicism period, written during the last quarter of the 18th century– led to Christoph Willibald Gluck’s emergence as the “reformer” of opera. The two pieces move away from the world of Baroque opera seria, characterised by extensive independent arias and embellished musical compositions that famous performers used to showcase their skills. Gluck introduced a new, dramatic style, where the libretto and its enunciation hold major significance. His works consist of larger musical movements, as the music transitions seamlessly from one movement to the next. The orchestra has an enhanced role, not just accompanying the voices, but also illuminating the meaning of the words and highlighting the emotions of the main characters. The two operas are not directly based on Euripides’ works, but on French 18th-century texts: Racine’s Iphigénie en Aulide and Claude Guymond de la Touche’s Iphigénie en Tauride. Gluck composed Iphigénie en Aulide without having received a commission, but still managed to present it in Paris in 1774, scoring huge success. The composer produced many more operas for the French capital, before turning his attention to Iphigénie en Tauride, which was first performed in 1779.
Tcherniakov is considered one of the most influential directors of our time. He has been awarded the most prestigious opera prizes not only for his stage direction but also for his scenography work. Exceptionally prolific and inspired, he has received rave reviews for all of his productions, staged in various venues across the world, including the Mariinsky and Bolshoi Theatres, the State Operas of Berlin, Bavaria, and Vienna, La Scala in Milan, Opéra national de Paris, English National Opera, New York Metropolitan Opera, the Bayreuth and Aix-en-Provence Festivals, and more. He closely collaborates with some of the top conductors of our times, such as Teodor Currentzis, Daniel Barenboim, Kent Nagano, Philippe Jordan, Alain Altinoglu, and others.
Famous for his consistent guidance of the singers’ stage performance and his insistence on having the first and final word in cast selection, he has chosen the great American soprano Corinne Winters to perform both Iphigénies, in a unique vocal and stage challenge. Alongside her performing will be the internationally acclaimed opera protagonists Tassis Christoyannis, Véronique Gens, Dionysios Sourbis, Alexandre Duhamel, and Stanislas de Barbeyrac.
Production sponsor: PPC
Lead Donor of the GNO & Production donor: The Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Opera double bill
Aleko – Sergei Rachmaninoff & Bluebeard’s Castle – Béla Bartók
12, 14, 16, 19, 21, 23 November 2024 | Starts at: 19.30
Stavros Niarchos Hall of the GNO – Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
Conductor: Fabrizio Ventura
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)
Stage director: Fanny Ardant
Sets: Pierre-André Weitz
Costumes: Katarzyna Lewińska
Lighting: César Godefroy
Chorus master: Agathangelos Georgakatos
Aleko: Tassis Christoyannis
Young Gypsy man: Yannis Christopoulos
Zemfira: Myrsini Margariti
An old man, Zemfira’s father: Yanni Yannissis
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)
Stage director: Themelis Glynatsis
Sets, costumes: Leslie Travers
Movement coach: Katerina Gevetzi
Lighting: Stella Kaltsou
Projections: Marios Gampierakis, Chrysoula Korovesi
Sound design: Tasos Tsigkas
Bluebeard: Tassos Apostolou
Judith: Violetta Lousta
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.
Production sponsor: Metlen
Lead Donor of the GNO: The Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Ballet • Revival
Don Quixote
Thiago Bordin, Marius Petipa / Ludwig Minkus
5, 7, 8, 15, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28 December 2024
Starts at: 19.30 (Sunday & Christmas Eve: 18.30)
Stavros Niarchos Hall of the GNO – Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
Conductor: Stathis Soulis
Choreography: Thiago Bordin, based on the classical choreography by Marius Petipa
Sets: George Souglides
Costumes: Mary Katrantzou
Animation: Eirini Vianelli
Lighting: Christos Tziogkas
With the Orchestra, Principal Dancers, Soloists, Demi-Soloists and the Corps de ballet of the Greek National Opera
The GNO Ballet launches the 2024/25 season with one of the most famous ballets of all time: Don Quixote by Ludwig Minkus, in the captivating production of Thiago Bordin, who creatively revives Marius Petipa’s classical choreography.
The sets are designed by acclaimed set designer George Souglides and the costumes by internationally acclaimed Greek fashion designer Mary Katrantzou. Responsible for the animation design is Eirini Vianelli, and Christos Tziogkas is in charge of the lighting.
Don Quixote is one of the most significant and most popular works in the classical ballet repertoire. Through Minkus’ unique music, the choreography tells an enduringly moving story about the high ideals of chivalry, combining comic and romantic elements.
Don Quixote is based on episodes from Miguel de Cervantes’ (1547-1616) famous novel of the same title, which was published in two volumes, in 1605 and 1615 respectively. The plot mainly draws upon the second volume, focusing on the turbulent romance between Quiteria –renamed as Kitri in the ballet– and barber Basilio.
Austrian composer Ludwig Minkus studied music in Vienna. Already at the age of twenty he played the violin, composed music, and conducted orchestras. A few years after emigrating to Russia, he was appointed inspector of the orchestras of the imperial theatres in Moscow. Marius Petipa travelled at a young age to Spain, where he was particularly enchanted by its traditional folk dances. In his Don Quixote, Petipa tries to convey the images and colours of Spain, exceptionally portraying its dance tradition through his choreography. The fruit of the collaboration between Minkus and Petipa was met with great success right from the beginning. As a result, Don Quixote was established as a timeless masterpiece in the world’s ballet repertoire.
As Thiago Bordin notes: “One can experience this story through the eyes of the main characters but also through the eyes of the villagers, toreadors, Gypsies, and nymphs. It is filled with pantomime and characteristic Spanish dances, and also features that classic dream sequence. I hope you all enjoy your evening at the ballet with this story, which for me has one main theme: love always wins in the end.”
Production sponsor: Prodea
Lead Donor of the GNO: The Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Opera • Revival
La bohème
Giacomo Puccini
21, 27, 29, 31 December 2024 & 2, 5 January 2025
Starts at: 19.30 (Sunday & New Year’s Eve: 18.30)
Stavros Niarchos Hall of the GNO – Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
Conductor: Jacques Lacombe
Stage director: Graham Vick
Revival stage director: Katerina Petsatodi
Sets, costumes: Richard Hudson
Movement director: Ron Howell
Lighting: Giuseppe di Iorio
Chorus master: Agathangelos Georgakatos
Children’s chorus mistress: Konstantina Pitsiakou
Performing in the main roles will be Yannis Christopoulos, Vassiliki Karayanni, Nikos Kotenidis, Danae Kontora
Giacomo Puccini’s heart-wrenching opera La bohème returns to the Stavros Niarchos Hall for six performances, from 21 December 2024 to 5 January 2025. The story portrays the romance between poet Rodolfo and seamstress Mimì, against the backdrop of a freezing Christmas Paris. A relationship that starts from the moment they meet and ends with Mimì’s death of tuberculosis.
La bohème is often referred to as the absolute opera, as it combines a wonderful spectacle with a moving storyline, extreme emotions, and unique music. Most opera houses consider La bohème as the most suitable work for introducing a new audience to the world of opera. Through the captivating music of La bohème Puccini portrayed the full palette of emotions – from great love, joy, and carefreeness to betrayal, despair, and the pain of loss.
In the esteemed British director Graham Vick’s staging, the group of these young bohemian artists is moved from 19th-century Paris to 21st-century Athens, in a landmark performance for Greek opera standards. “We attempted to reveal the essence of the work so as to have something that was universal to any time. Not so much as timelessness as the fact that humanity never changes; death is death, poverty is poverty, students are students,” explains Vick in his note. A director known for his experimental approach, exploring and breaking down clichés in the art of opera.
Zu den Darstellern gehören sowohl bekannte als auch aufstrebende Protagonisten wie Yannis Christopoulos, Vassiliki Karayanni, Nikos Kotenidis und Danae Kontora.
Sponsor der Produktion: PPC
Hauptsponsor der GNO: Stavros Niarchos Stiftung
Opera • New production
La forza del destino
Giuseppe Verdi
26, 29 January & 2, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 February 2025
Starts at: 19.30 (Sunday: 18.30)
Stavros Niarchos Hall of the GNO – Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
Conductor: Paolo Carignani
Stage director: Rodoula Gaitanou
Sets, costumes: George Souglides
Video: Dick Straker
Lighting: Simon Corder
Chorus master: Agathangelos Georgakatos
Performing in the main roles will be Dimitri Platanias, Cellia Costea, Arsen Soghomonyan, Petros Magoulas, Yanni Yannissis
The Greek National Opera kicks off 2025 with an ambitious new production of one of Verdi’s most popular works, La forza del destino. The new production of the opera, 27 years after it was last presented at the GNO, will be directed by the internationally acclaimed Greek director Rodoula Gaitanou. The production will feature sets and costumes designed by George Souglides and lighting designed by Simon Corder. Conducting will be one of the most renowned conductors of our time, Paolo Carignani.
La forza del destino was written in a time when Verdi was already a famous and established composer. Just as in Il trovatore and Don Carlo, Verdi continues his exploration of Spanish themes in La forza del destino, as Spain has always been a timeless source of inspiration for him. The opera is based on Ángel de Saavedra’s play Don Álvaro o La fuerza del sino [Don Alvaro or The Force of Destiny], while also drawing upon the first part of the drama trilogy Wallensteins Lager [Wallenstein’s Camp] by Friedrich Schiller, a work dedicated to General Albrecht von Wallenstein. Verdi was commissioned to write the opera by the Imperial Theatre in Saint Petersburg, where the opera was eventually staged on 29 October 1862. After that, it was presented in numerous places around the world, from Madrid and Vienna to New York and Buenos Aires. For each new staging Verdi made revisions to the score. In 1869, La forza del destino was performed at La Scala, Milan. On this occasion, the composer gave the opera what is now considered as its final form. Apart from its well-known overture, which is often performed as an independent piece during symphonic concerts, La forza del destino is full of highly melodious arias and duets, mostly for the three leading roles: Leonora, her brother, Don Carlo, and her beloved, Don Álvaro. In this opera, Verdi maintains a fine balance between tragic and dramatic elements and a comic flair, featuring extensive scenes that highlight the large chorus as a central character.
As the director notes: “La forza del destino is a story about an original sin, which perpetuates and defines the actions and choices of the members of a dysfunctional family to the very end. It is also an exploration of the consequences of psychological traumas, obsessions, and the power of revenge. The story is set before, during, and after the end of a war. The desire to destroy the opponent, hostility, misanthropy, and the horrors that come with war, as well as the need to survive, draw parallels to one of the plot’s major lines: the hatred expressed by Don Carlo, who wants to take revenge for his father’s death. Therefore, the story can be read on two levels: inner turmoil is reflected in external chaos, increasing in both scale and intensity. The trajectory of these three main characters ultimately leads to a frantic pursuit of personal peace and redemption.”
Production sponsor: Piraeus Bank
Lead Donor of the GNO: The Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Ballet • New production
Tchaikovsky
Cayetano Soto / Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
14, 16, 21, 22, 23 February 2025
Starts at: 19.30 (Sunday: 18.30)
Stavros Niarchos Hall of the GNO – Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
Conductor: Philippe Forget
Stage director, concept, choreography: Cayetano Soto
Dramaturgy: Anna Diepold
Concept, sets, costumes, lighting: Dario Suša
With the Principal Dancers, Soloists, Demi-soloists and the Corps de ballet of the Greek National Opera
The Greek National Opera Ballet presents a new fascinating dance performance inspired by the life of the great Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreographed by Cayetano Soto. Although we are well aware of the unsurpassable music he composed and the way it has influenced and shaped classical ballet, it remains largely unknown that the renowned composer did not get to live his life as he had hoped. Distinguished choreographer Cayetano Soto, in collaboration with Dario Suša, creates a highly intense performance about the inner division of the composer of The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and The Sleeping Beauty.
Tchaikovsky seems to have been torn between the societal conventions of 19th-century Russian society and his personal desires. Although he struggled to accept his true nature in order to find himself, the pressure of society dominated his entire life until his tragic death. With their distinct dance vocabulary, comprising nuanced details and grotesque adaptations of traditional movements, Soto and Suša create a ballet inspired by the unreleased letters and other archival documents from the state Tchaikovsky House-Museum, published in Moscow in 2009.
Through this modern and avant-garde performance, the audience will have the chance to gain insight into the less glamorous moments of the life of a legendary music figure, and discover the challenges he faced, his courage, and his exceptional genius. At the same time, dancers are called upon to handle the piece with exceptional technical aptitude, imagination, and immense sensitivity.
Cayetano Soto has drawn the attention of the dance community since his debut choreography, Plenilunio, created for the Bayerisches Staatsballett (Munich). This piece earned him the title of “Best Young Choreographer to Watch” from the German magazine Tanz Aktuell. He has collaborated with some of the most important companies worldwide, such as Nederlands Dans Theater, Stuttgarter Ballett, Royal Ballet of Flanders, Ballett Zürich, Compañía Nacional de Danza, Czech National Ballet, Balé da Cidade de São Paulo, Perm Opera Ballet Theatre, and others. He has received the first prize at the “Uncontainable” competition at the Royal Ballet of Flanders for his piece 24FPS, while in 2018 he taught in the modern dance programme “Jacob’s Pillow”.
The musical script accompanying the choreography features compositions by Tchaikovsky, both choral and orchestral. These include: Hymn No. 6 from the All-Night Vigil, Op. 52, the amazing Finale of the “Pathétique” Symphony, the masterful “Elegy” from the Serenade for Strings in C major, Op. 48, the famous “Polonaise” from Act III of his opera Eugene Onegin, the “Canzonetta” from the Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35, the “Scherzo” from his Symphony No. 2 (Little Russian Symphony), and other pieces.
Production sponsor: Alpha Bank
Lead Donor of the GNO: The Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Opera • New production
Flora mirabilis
Spyridon Samaras
POSTPONED to the next season
Stavros Niarchos Hall of the GNO – Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
Conductor: Konstantinos Terzakis
Musical score restored and curated by: Yannis Samprovalakis
Stage director: Yannis Skourletis – bijoux de kant
Sets, costumes: Konstantinos Skourletis – bijoux de kant
Chorus master: Agathangelos Georgakatos
In the leading roles performing will be Anna Stylianaki, Dimitris Tiliakos, Konstantinos Klironomos, Yanni Yannissis
The Greek National Opera introduces an unknown jewel of the Ionian Music School to the public. Following its remarkable success in late-19th century Europe, Flora mirabilis returns to meet the Greek audience in March 2025. The opera will be presented in a new, restored form, with the aim of reintroducing it into the European operatic repertoire. The masterful music of the prolific cosmopolitan Corfiot composer Spyridon-Filiskos Samaras, known for its effortless melodic inspiration, imaginative harmonious language, intricate arrangement, deep understanding of vocal composition, and an innate theatrical perception of musical dramaturgy, positions him as an equal to the renowned European composers of his era.
Flora mirabilis is described as “a musical legend in three acts”. The Italian libretto was penned by Ferdinando Fontana, who also wrote the librettos for Puccini’s first two melodramas. Its allegorical plot is set in medieval Sweden. The opera was first performed at the Carcano Theatre in Milan, on 16 May 1886. It was so successful that the next year it was staged at La Scala, Milan, with a creative team of famous figures. The performance was conducted by the renowned conductor Franco Fazzio, while the leading role of Lydia was sung by Emma Calvé, one of the most famous female opera singers of the belle époque, known for her performance in Carmen. Flora mirabilis was Samaras’ first significant international success and was showcased at various Italian theatres, as well as venues in Cologne and Vienna. Its music is aligned with the spirit of the late 19th-century Italian composers, such as Puccini, Mascagni, and Leoncavallo.
Unfortunately, the opera’s score was destroyed, along with a large part of the archive of the Italian publishing house Casa Musicale Sonzogno in 1943, during the bombardment of Milan by the forces of the Allies. The only thing that survived was the edition of the reduction for voices and piano, which had been released in many copies and was widespread in libraries and private collections. It was on this edition that the Greek National Opera based the work’s revival in April 1979, with a new arrangement by the legendary conductor Odysseas Dimitriadis, who also conducted the performances.
However, almost a decade ago, a significant portion of the original orchestral musical material was discovered in the musical archives of the Philharmonic Company “Mantzaros” on Corfu. In 2016, a copy of this material was exclusively entrusted to the Greek National Opera. This new material, along with the existing original arrangement of two dance excerpts stored in the GNO Musical Library, was reviewed by musicologist and clarinetist Yannis Samprovalakis, who is also an Associate Professor at the Ionian University. Samprovalakis complemented and restored the opera’s original arrangement, and also curated the score’s new edition. The work will be performed by the GNO in its restored form for the first time.
Director Yannis Skourletis remarks on the production: “Winter 1889. An elegant ribbon tied to the flower-decorated boxes of San Giacomo Theatre, in Corfu, next to the bass-relief griffons and the lit lampposts, would read in golden letters: ‘Long live Samaras, the Greek composer, the composer of Flora.’ Following its triumphant debut at Italian theatres, the time had come for Flora mirabilis to return and be listened to in its homeland. Samaras’ case is one of a kind. He was placed on an equal footing on the international scene with the circles of the famous operatic “Giovane Scuola” (New School). The New School represented a period of transition and renewal for Italian opera, characterised by the rise of the verismo movement, which included prominent figures such as Puccini, Mascagni, and Leoncavallo. The libretto of Flora mirabilis penned by Ferdinando Fontana and inspired by a medieval Swedish legend from the 15th century, hides a story from Boccaccio’s Decameron in its core. Aligned with the aesthetics of Romanticism, Flora mirabilis allows me to attempt a return to the dark woods of the elves, the roots of an old yet so modern and necessary sentiment. Romanticism, eerie and unfamiliar, rebuilds the ruins of a life devastated by desire. Flora mirabilis comes back to sing again of the love that transcends through centuries as the only truth. The dance of flowers and demons reveals a miracle: love can make roses bloom even in the snow.”
Lead Donor of the GNO: The Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Opera • Revival
Lucia di Lammermoor
Gaetano Donizetti
A co-production with the Royal Opera House, London
6, 8, 10, 12, 23, 27, 29 April & 4, 11 May 2025
Starts at: 19.30 (Sunday: 18.30)
Stavros Niarchos Hall of the GNO – Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
Conductor: Lukas Karytinos
Stage director: Katie Mitchell
Revival stage director: Ion Kessoulis
Sets, costumes: Vicki Mortimer
Movement, choreography: Joseph Alford
Lighting: Jon Clark
Chorus master: Agathangelos Georgakatos
Performing in the main roles will be Vassiliki Karayanni, Yannis Christopoulos, Dionysios Sourbis, Tassis Christoyannis
Lucia di Lammermoor, a co-production of the Greek National Opera with the Royal Opera House, London returns to the Stavros Niarchos Hall, on 6 April 2025 for nine performances. Gaetano Donizetti’s masterpiece is presented in a remarkable production with high aesthetics that garnered praise in London and Athens, directed by the famous British director Katie Mitchell and conducted by Lukas Karytinos.
Lucia di Lammermoor, the emblematic masterpiece of romantic bel canto, is based on one of the most popular 19th-century novels, the Bride of Lammermoor by Sir Walter Scott. The opera premiered in 1835 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples to great success. It is rightfully seen as the work that brought out Donizetti’s talent, despite the fact that he had already composed several notable pieces, including L’elisir d’amore, Lucrezia Borgia, Anna Bolena, and others.
The story is about Lucia’s love for Edgardo of the house of Ravenswood, a man strongly hated by her brother, Enrico Ashton. Determined to end their relationship, Enrico arranges for his sister to marry Arturo Bucklaw. During the wedding ceremony, Edgardo arrives in a furious state and starts cursing Lucia. She loses her mind, kills Arturo, and collapses. Hearing that his beloved has died, Edgardo kills himself.
Katie Mitchell attempts to gain insight into the world of 19th-century women by following the plot through the eyes of the main heroine. As a contrasting foil to the dark, male-dominated world of the North, as imagined by Sir Walter Scott, the director brings to the foreground the female perspective, situating the overall work within the literary context of the time, reminiscent of the atmosphere depicted in the works of the Brontë sisters. Mitchell, in collaboration with the renowned British set and costume designer Vicki Mortimer, creates a stage setting divided into two parts, which allows us not only to observe everything that occurs in every scene of the performance, but also to witness simultaneous events unfolding throughout the story, bridging any gaps.
Katie Mitchell is one of the most authentic and interesting figures in European theatre. She was an Associate Director at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Court Theatre in London, while since 2000 she has been directing opera at the world’s most prestigious opera houses, including the Royal Opera House in London, Dutch National Opera, Opéra-Comique de Paris, Berlin State Opera, La Monnaie in Brussels, the Aix-en-Provence and Munich Festivals, and other venues.
Starring in the performance will be internationally acclaimed soloists, such as Vassiliki Karayanni, Yannis Christopoulos, Dionysios Sourbis, Tassis Christoyannis, and more.
Production sponsor: Prodea
Lead Donor of the GNO: The Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Ballet • New production
The Golden Age
Konstantinos Rigos
9, 10, 14, 16, 17 May 2025
Starts at: 19.30
Stavros Niarchos Hall of the GNO – Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
Stage director, choreography, sets: Konstantinos Rigos
With the Principal Dancers, Soloists, Demi-soloists and the Corps de ballet of the Greek National Opera
Konstantinos Rigos creates a new modular dance performance titled The Golden Age. In it, he tries to summarise the references that have left a mark on him, the obsessions that accompanied his coming-of-age process, the images that have defined him, the dance vocabulary he has crafted, his unique interpretation of stage performance, and the diverse music styles always playing in his earphones.
The Golden Age –a reference to the legendary Bossa Nova performance he presented at the National Theatre of Greece in 2008– does not point to a specific time period. Instead it could be described as an emotional mixtape of Rigos’ 35-year journey in the world of dance, where the concepts of irony and nostalgia emerge as identical. From the National School of Dance (KSOT) to the peak of the Greek dance scene in the 1990s and the Oktana Dance Theatre, the National Theatre of Northern Greece, the National Theatre of Greece, the Athens Epidaurus Festival, and the Greek National Opera, Konstantinos Rigos’ iconoclastic artistic imprint transcends the confines of dance, sparking a dialogue with the other art forms intersecting with it. His artistic identity remains restless, subversive, provocative, poignant, but at the same time also corny and nostalgic.
Looking back on the performances he has created from 1990 to the present day, Rigos notes: “A golden age, a new wave will sweep everything away, images from the past or the future, thoughts about love, faith, absence, and abandonment. The person and the place. Are we dressed or naked, like the emperor? Are we free or besieged? Are we God’s marionettes or travellers into the winter, always carrying inside of us the summer nights?
Within a ring, we fight with our own selves or our own shadows, in both dark and clear blue lakes. Do we live in the Neverland, utopian Arcadias, enchanted Cithaerons, utopias, or in invisible cities?
Events that have left a lasting impact on our lives and humanity, a mixtape of music and songs played on gramophones, reels, record players, Walkmans, and boomboxes, along with a small orchestra accompanying, just like in Titanic, the perishing humanity. A musical Babel. Are we looking for peace or a piece of “America”? What is this white noise surrounding us? Perhaps, it’s a wind that blows away these 35 creative years, exceeding the boundaries of thought, movement, performance, and physical constraints.
Besides the body remembers! Once I had encountered a sad scuba diver. He talked to me about wild happiness that resembles the sleeping beauty lying within us, ready to burst forth after an abrupt release in a hotel where the seasons drift past us.
And finally we go back to the initial question: Are you coming along on the excursion? Happy End.”
Lead Donor of the GNO: The Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Opera • New production
Turandot
Giacomo Puccini
1, 2, 5, 6, 8 June 2025 • Starts at: 21.00
Odeon of Herodes Atticus
As part of the Athens Epidaurus Festival
Conductor: Pier Giorgio Morandi
Stage director: Andrei Şerban
Sets, costumes: Chloe Obolensky
Choreography, movement: Kate Flatt´
Lighting: Jean Kalman
Chorus master: Agathangelos Georgakatos
Children’s chorus mistress: Konstantina Pitsiakou
Featured in the main roles will be Ekaterina Semenchuk, Catherine Foster, Riccardo Massi, Cellia Costea, and others.
With Soloists, the Orchestra, Chorus and Children’s Chorus of the GNO
The Greek National Opera will open the 2025 summer season at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus with a new majestic production of Turandot by Puccini. The production will be directed by one of the world’s most prominent theatre and opera directors, Andrei Şerban, who has won international acclaim for his groundbreaking and iconoclastic stagings. Along with his successful career in theatre in Europe and the United States, and his teaching role at Columbia University in New York, Şerban has also directed iconic opera productions at the globe’s most prestigious opera houses and festivals. Some of them, like Turandot in London, Werther in Vienna, and Lucia di Lammermoor in Paris, have become a staple in the theatre’s repertoire and continue to be performed regularly for decades.
The sets and costumes for the production will be designed by the internationally acclaimed Greek set and costume designer Chloe Obolensky, in her first collaboration with the GNO. Obolensky began her career in theatre as an assistant to Yannis Tsarouchis and Visconti’s collaborator Lila de Nobili. She also worked closely with Peter Brook, designing sets and costumes for many of his theatre and film productions, such as Mahabharata. She made significant contributions to historic opera productions in various venues all over the world, like in Salzburg, Aix-en-Provence, La Scala in Milan, the New York Metropolitan Opera, the English National Opera, La Monnaie, and Opéra-Comique de Paris. One of the highlights of her career was her collaboration with Lefteris Vogiatzis on his production of Antigone at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus.
Turandot, Puccini’s last opera, is the most majestic of them all. The plot is set in another time, in the distant and exotic China, where Princess Turandot will marry only the one man who can solve her three riddles. All those who have tried, have failed, and have paid the price with their lives. Stunned by her amazing beauty, an unknown prince insists on trying his luck, and he is indeed successful. However, after he solves the riddles, Turandot refuses to marry him. The prince offers her a chance to release herself from her commitment, if she can guess his name, before the break of dawn. The origins of this tale go back to 12th-century Persian poetry. In 1762, the Venetian Carlo Gozzi adapted the story of Turandot into a play. His example was later followed by the German poet Friedrich Schiller. Puccini was inspired by the latter’s version. His score combines the light elements of Commedia dell’arte, referencing Gozzi, a profound lyricism present in all of his operas, and moreover an element of grandeur that reflects the fantastical imperial China. The opera remained unfinished, as Puccini passed away in 1924, before completing it. It was finished by composer Franco Alfano (1926), based on Puccini’s drafts, while another composer, Luciano Berio, proposed a second ending in 2001.
The main roles will be performed by internationally acclaimed opera singers, such as Ekaterina Semenchuk, Catherine Foster, Riccardo Massi, Cellia Costea, and others.
Production sponsor: PPC
Lead Donor of the GNO: The Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Opera • Revival
Rigoletto
Giuseppe Verdi
26, 27, 29, 30 July 2025 • Starts at: 21.00
Odeon of Herodes Atticus
As part of the Athens Epidaurus Festival
Conductor: Derrick Inouye
Stage director: Katerina Evangelatos
Sets: Eva Manidaki
Costumes: Alan Hranitelj
Choreography, movement: Patricia Apergi
Lighting: Eleftheria Deko
Chorus master: Agathangelos Georgakatos
In the title role: Dimitri Platanias and Tassis Christoyannis
With Soloists, the Orchestra and Chorus of the Greek National Opera
The 2024/2025 season will come complete at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus with the revival of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Rigoletto.
In Rigoletto –one of the most popular operas in the repertoire– Verdi transitions to a new chapter in his compositional career, presenting a musical composition with a distinct mark and an increased mood for experimentation. The shifts between lyrical and dramatic scenes ensure a continuous flow of the plot at a high speed.
The story talks about the love of Gilda, daughter of the hunchback jester of the court, for the promiscuous Duke of Mantua, who presents himself to her as a poor student. To take revenge for his daughter’s lost honour, Rigoletto plans the Duke’s murder. When Gilda finds out about her father’s plans, she decides to save her beloved, by sacrificing herself in his place.
The distinguished theatre and opera director, who also serves as the Director of the Athens Epidaurus Festival, relocated the storyline of Rigoletto to the decadent Italian countryside of the 1980s, in a superstitious society that deeply undermines women: “The cycle of violence portrayed by Verdi in Rigoletto is transferred to the microcosm of the Italian countryside in the 1980s, where organised crime holds the reins. Corruption, crimes, and rapes are the true face of a religionist, conservative, and superstitious society,” notes the director. With a strong and consistent directorial approach, loyal to the libretto and the music of the opera, and along with the assistance of her creative team (sets by Eva Manidaki, costumes by Alan Hranitelj, choreography-movement by Patricia Apergi, lighting by Eleftheria Deko), Evangelatos aims to illuminate the controversial and dark personality of Rigoletto’s character.
Lead Donor of the GNO: The Stavros Niarchos Foundations