It's a figure that makes you dizzy… Nearly 90 creations in just five years!
A figure that alone sums up the renewed ambition of the National Opera of Greece, since its anchorage in 2017 on the Athens Riviera, in the stunning glass temple designed by Renzo Piano for the Cultural Center of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
The Greek National Opera occupies 28,000 m2 of the entire left wing of the Centre.
Proudly displaying, under its transparent exterior, its modernity.
But also its openness to the city and the world.
And its accessibility.
With more than 80 years of history, much of which remains to be rediscovered, the institution now flourishes there with a hall whose capacity (1,400 seats) is double that which it had previously in the city center.
And above all, a set and the technical resources that allow it today to shine internationally by co-producing its shows with some of the biggest stages in the world.
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The incredible renaissance of the Athens Opera
This 2022-2023 season is the best illustration of this.
Royal Danish or Gothenburg Opera (
Don Giovanni
), Brussels Mint (
Les Contes d'Hoffmann
), Metropolitan Opera of New York, Opera of Canada or Chicago (
Médée
).
And of course Opéra Comique, in Paris (
Le Voyage dans la lune ), with which
the
GNO had already co-produced the creation of Les
Éclairs
by Philippe Hersant...
inestimable recognition of its quality”
, rejoices the artistic director of the institution, Giorgos Koumendakis.
A culmination which will be expressed by the arrival, this season, of the greatest Greek and international directors.
And made possible by the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, which not only welcomes him within its walls but also gives him the means to fulfill his ambitions.
Promote Greek culture around the world and expand the repertoire of the Athens Opera
Giorgos Koumendakis
Ambitions on which the opera as the foundation find themselves.
And that Giorgos Koumendakis - the rare opera director in the world to also be a composer - summarizes in these terms:
“Bringing Greek culture to the world and expanding the repertoire of the Athens Opera.
But also design the opera of the future.
An opera which, while being aware of its past, knows how to look towards the future, and remain attentive to the present.
Witness a voluntarily accessible pricing policy (5 to 50 euros for the creation of
Andreï
last month, first categories rarely exceeding 100 euros).
And a program open to the greatest number.
Capable of embracing the most diverse aesthetics without denying any of his artistic rigor.
Whether to re-enchant the world of contemporary opera.
Pamper families.
Or else invent the “musical comedy” in the Greek way.
Dare to adventure.
The Athens Opera is worth the trip.