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True Athens

Beyond the Acropolis

Greek National Theater presents Aida at the Herod Atticus Theater

ByAthensguide

Jul 12, 2010

Aida Opera in four acts 

Music Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto Antonio Ghislanzoni

Based on a scenario by AugusteMariette

ODEON OF HEROD ATTICUS

July 23, 24, 28 2010 (3 shows)

Starts 21.00

IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY OF ATHENS

The Greek National Opera presents a second production (after Norma) this summer at the Odeon of Herod Atticus: Aida, one of Giuseppe Verdi’s most popular operas, in a production based on Dinos Yiannopoulos’s historic mise-en-scene of 1991.

The premiere will take place on Friday, July 23, 2010.

The cast comprises internationally acclaimed foreign and Greek performers.

A 2010 GNO PRODUCTION

Conductor Lucas Karytinos

Stage adaptation Panaghis Pagoulatos 

Set and costume adaptation Tota Pritsa 

Choreography adaptation Irina Akrioti-Kolioumbakina

Lighting Nikos Ergazakis

Band conductor Yorgos Aravidis

The Greek National Opera Orchestra, Choir and Ballet

Choir conductor Nikos Vassileiou

1991 GNO PRODUCTION

Director Dinos Yiannopoulos 

Sets Yiannis Karydis

Costumes Liza Zaimi

Choreography Yiannis Metsis

CAST

Aida TBA (23 & 28/7), Hui He (24/7)

Amneris Elena Cassian (23 & 28/7), Hariklea Mavropoulou (24/7)

Radames Stuart Neill (23 & 24/7), Badri Maisuradze (28/7)

Amonasro Yiannis Yiannissis (23/7), Dimitris Platanias (24 & 28/7)

Ramfis Dimitris Kavrakos (23 & 28/7), Christoforos Stamboglis (24/7)

The King of Egypt Dimitris Kassioumis (23 & 28/7), Tassos Apostolou (24/7)

Messenger Dimitris Sigalos (23 & 28/7), Nikos Stefanou (24/7)

Priestess Artemis Bogri

The opera Aida is a landmark not just in the history of Italian opera, but in the history of international music as well. Widely known for the wonderful grand march of victory in Act II, it focuses equally on the emotions of the protagonists: the brave Radames and the two passionate women who seek his favours, Aida and Amneris.

The libretto for the four-act opera was penned by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario by Frenchman Auguste Mariette. The story is set in Egypt, specifically in Memphis and Thebes, during the reign of the mighty pharaohs. Aida, daughter of the king of Ethiopia, is the slave of Amneris, daughter of the king of Egypt. Both women are in love with Radames, the commander of the Egyptian army, who returns victoriously from his campaign against Ethiopia. Bowing to pressure from her father, Aida lures Radames into divulging a strategic secret. Infuriated by his betrayal, Amneris accuses him of treason. She later tries to save him, but to no avail. Radames is convicted by the council of priests to be buried alive in an underground crypt. Knowing the fate of Radames, Aida has snuck into the crypt in order to die in the arms of her beloved.

Giuseppe Verdi, the most popular composer of the Italian Romantic period, was born in Le Roncole in northern Italy in 1813 and died in Milan in 1901. He studied music in the provincial town of Busseto and later in Milan. His early works were influenced by the revolutionary spirit that prevailed across Italy, and they echoed the struggle for independence of Italian city states from Austrian rule and their unification into one sovereign country. Verdi’s political activism soon elevated him to the status of a national symbol and in 1861 he was elected a member of the first Italian Chamber of Deputies.

His most famous operas are: Nabucco (1842), Rigoletto (1851), Il trovatore (1853), La traviata (1853), La forza del destino (1862), Aida (1871), Otello (1887) and Falstaff (1893).

Aida premiered at the Cairo Opera on December 24, 1871, and was conducted by the composer and double bass virtuoso Giovanni Bottesini. On February 8, 1872, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan staged the opera’s European premiere. The Greek National Opera presented its first production of Aida in 1958 for the inauguration of the present-day Olympia Theatre.

Tickets go on sale: Thursday, July 1, 2010

At the box office of the OLYMPIA THEATRE, 59-61 Academias, Athens

Daily 9.00–21.00 / tel 210 3662 100, 210 3612 461, 210 3643 725

www.nationalopera.gr

AND from the ATHENS FESTIVAL box office, Pesmazoglou Arcade, 39 Panepistimiou, Athens

Monday to Friday 8.30–16.00 / Saturday 9.00-14.30

www.greekfestival.gr

 

Ticket prices

Lower tiers €100, €85, €65, €55, €45

Upper tiers €30 / Children, students €15

By Athensguide

How does a little girl from Skokie, Illinois find herself in historical Athens, leading curious explorers through the winding streets of Plaka, down "pezodromos" to hidden ouzeries for tempting mezedhes and homemade barrel wine? The journey began more than twenty years ago, and regardless of whether the wanderlust comes from the spiritual and culture DNA flowing through my veins, or the alignment of the stars on that cold mid-December day this Sagitterian came into the world, I never seem to tire of exploring my adopted homeland of Greece. Here you'll join me as I explore Athens: be it the back streets of Psirri and Gazi, or through the National Gardens and Zappeio where a family of turtles makes their home, or down wide, treelined Imittou Street in Pagrati, which pulses with Athenian life 24 hours a day. And while Athens has stolen my heart, the rest of Greece vies for my curiousity and wanderlust. My two guys (that'd be the Greek God, Vasilis and our Greek dog, Scruffy) and I can often be found settling in for a long weekend in some charming mountain village, or a quaint fishing port on a nearby island, or learning how Greek vitners are producing wines that rival some of Napa Valley's finests productions, or celebrating a panayeri in Epirus or sharing in the festivities as a family of Cretan sheepherders come together to sheer their 1500 sheep in the spring ... And if you happen to find yourself heading to Athens, consider finding yourself a real home for your stay. Living amongst the locals, be it for 3 nights or 3 weeks, will offer you the chance to experience true Athens, beyond the Acropolis. Choose from one of our 5 beautiful penthouse and historical homes, and who knows, I may be leading you down that winding "pezodromo" to our favorite hidden ouzerie!

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