The Greek National Opera Presents Olivier Py's New Production Of MADAMA BUTTERFLY, June 1- 10

The Greek National Opera (GNO) presents leading French director Olivier Py's new production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly, following his acclaimed production of Berg's Wozzeck at GNO in 2020. Olivier Py, who has directed more than 40 operas around the world, embarks on his first staging of Madama Butterfly with a production that places the orchestra onstage and fills the outdoor venue with the aesthetics and colors of America and Japan.

The performance will be led by GNO conductor Vassilis Christopoulos featuring set designs and costumes by Py's long-time collaborator Pierre-André Weitz. The opera is presented as part of the Athens Epidaurus Festival, one of the oldest running festivals in Europe. Performances will take place at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus on June 1, 4, 7, & 10, 2023.

Madama Butterfly is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) [www.SNF.org] to enhance the GNO's artistic outreach.

Regarding the production, director Olivier Py notes:

"Madama Butterfly is generally considered a melodrama lacking in political depth, set in a fantastical Japan. Since the 19th century, librettists and composers have tended to shift contemporary societal problems to other, faraway places. The hope is that the power of Puccini's political message shall be apparent in our staging, and that this incongruous work shall no longer be considered some sad and sentimental story in a saccharine setting, but rather a powerful piece of political discourse that portends the death of a world."

Described by The New York Times as "one of the most powerful men in European theater," Olivier Py has recently been appointed Director of the Théâtre du Châtelet, and has served as the Director of the Festival d'Avignon from 2013 to 2022 as well as the Théâtre national de l'Odéon from 2007 to 2012. As an opera director, Py has directed at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Opéra national de Paris, Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Bayerische Staatsoper, San Francisco Opera, Opera Australia, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and La Monnaie de Munt, among others. Py is widely recognized as one of the most prominent figures in contemporary French culture. He is a versatile artist, renowned as an actor, author, and director, with a diverse body of work spanning across cinema, theater, and opera. Throughout his career, Py has remained steadfast in his commitment to creating thought-provoking and politically-charged art that engages with the pressing issues of our time, all while imbuing his work with a poetic sensibility.

Leading Greek conductor Vassilis Christopoulos has been a fixture of the Greek National Opera and notably conducted Py's acclaimed GNO directorial debut of Berg's Wozzeck in 2020. He led the company's first ever Elektra in a production that opened the Renzo-Piano designed Stavros Niarchos Hall in 2017, and additional GNO credits include Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, Giorgos Koumendakis' The Murderess, and most recently a double bill of Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle and Puccini's Gianni Schicchi. Christopoulos made his U.S. debut conducting Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin at the San Francisco Opera in September 2022. He was recently named Chief Conductor of Opera Graz in Austria beginning in 2023.

Madama Butterfly stars Romanian soprano Cellia Costea in the role of Cio-Cio-San. Costea has been a regular performer at GNO for nearly two decades, in addition to performing leading roles at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Oper Frankfurt, Dutch National Opera, Opéra Royal de Wallonie de Liège, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Wiener Staatsoper, among others. At GNO she has notably performing roles such Mimì in La Bohème, Micaëla in Carmen, Elisabeth de Valois in Don Carlos, Adalgisa in Norma, Nedda in Pagliacci, the title role in Tosca, Marguerite in Faust, Leonora in Il Trovatore, Contessa Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Desdemona in Otello, among many others. She has previously performed Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly at the Greek National Opera in 2013, 2016, and 2017.

Italian tenor Andrea Carè makes his GNO debut in the lead role of Pinkerton. Carè is one of the most prominent artists in his generation of operatic tenors, and was among the last students to study with Luciano Pavarotti. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Pinkerton in 2019, and has additionally performed leading lyric tenor roles at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Grand Théatre de Genève, Royal Swedish Opera, Bolshoi Theater, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Opera di Roma, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro alla Scala, La Fenice in Venice, among many others.

The production of Madama Butterfly additionally stars Alisa Kolosova as Suzuki, Dionysios Sourbis as Sharpless, Diamanti Kritsotaki as Kate Pinkerton, Yannis Kalyvas as Goro, Haris Andrianos as Prince Yamadori, Petros Magoulas as Bonzo, Petros Salatas as Yakuside, and others.

Madama Butterfly is one of Puccini's most popular operas, renowned for its poignant story and exquisite music. Set in the Japanese port city of Nagasaki in the late 19th century, the opera explores themes of love and betrayal. The character of Cio-Cio-San, also known as Butterfly, is a complex portrayal of a young woman torn between her loyalty to tradition and her desire for a better life. Puccini's score for Madama Butterfly is a masterful blend of Italian opera tradition and musical sounds inspired by Japanese culture. The composer was known for his meticulous attention to detail, and this is evident in the way he weaves together different musical elements to create a vivid and emotional soundscape. From the tender melodies of Butterfly's love duet with Pinkerton to the haunting beauty of her aria "Un bel di vedremo," the music of Madama Butterfly is unforgettable.

Madama Butterfly
Giacomo Puccini
June 1, 4, 7, & 10, 2023
Starts at: 7:00 p.m.
Odeon of Herodes Atticus
As part of the Athens Epidaurus Festival

Conductor: Vassilis Christopoulos
Director: Olivier Py
Sets, costumes: Pierre-André Weitz
Lighting: Bertrand Killy
Chorus master: Agathangelos Georgakatos

Cio-Cio-San: Cellia Costea
Suzuki: Alisa Kolosova
Kate Pinkerton: Diamanti Kritsotaki
Pinkerton: Andrea Carè
Sharpless: Dionysios Sourbis
Goro: Yannis Kalyvas
Prince Yamadori: Haris Andrianos
Bonzo: Petros Magoulas
Yakuside: Petros Salatas
Imperial commissioner: Haris Andrianos
Official registrar: Christos Lazos
Cio-Cio-San's mother: Vassiliki Petroyanni
Aunt: Vaia Kofou
Cousin: Vicky Athanassiou

With the Orchestra and Chorus of the Greek National Opera

This performance will be filmed and available on Mezzo TV

Tickets are available now from the GNO Box Office and online here
Ticket prices: €25, €45, €55, €60, €85, €100
Students, children:€15
Disabled seats: €15

Founded in 1939, the Greek National Opera is a public body and the sole opera house in Greece. It produces and stages operas, musical theater, operettas, and ballets, and multi-disciplinary productions for its two stages at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), the Stavros Niarchos Hall and the Alternative Stage, as well as at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, an open-air theater in the center of Athens. The company's repertory covers four centuries of lyrical theater, from the works of Claudio Monteverdi to those of contemporary composers. The Orchestra and Chorus of the Greek National Opera were both founded in 1939 alongside the opera company, then a part of the Royal Theatre, and a Children's Chorus was founded in 2012. In addition to its opera programming, the GNO also encompasses the GNO Professional School of Dance, as well as education and community programs aimed at all age groups.

The GNO is one of Europe's most innovative opera houses with a unique artistic identity that engages global talent and inspires large and diverse audiences. Led by artistic director Giorgos Koumendakis and supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) [www.SNF.org], its mission is to offer audiences high caliber productions by presenting operas, ballets, operettas, operas for children, and music recitals, among other events. The GNO's main source of funding is the Greek State and the Ministry of Culture and Sports. Over 60% of its annual budget is covered by state funding, with the rest coming from ticket proceeds, private sponsorship, and grants. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) is the Greek National Opera's biggest donor and to date, its grants to the GNO amount to €27.5 million.

A turning point in its history came in 2017 when the GNO relocated to a new state-of-the-art building at the architecturally striking Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), which was conceived, designed, constructed, and equipped with a substantial grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). Following completion, the SNFCC was delivered to the Greek state and the public in February 2017 through the SNF's largest grant initiative to date, totaling €618 million. Assisted by a €5 million grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), the GNO relocated from Athens' Olympia Theatre to the SFNCC and the two, purpose-built theaters designed by Renzo Piano, doubling its audience capacity to 1,400 seats in the opera hall and also doubling its ticket revenues.

The hall's inaugural production in October 2017 was Strauss' Elektra, starring the celebrated Greek mezzo Agnes Baltsa as Klytaemnestra. In 2019 a major grant of €20 million was announced by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) to support the implementation of a four-year programming and development plan that will enhance the artistic outreach of the GNO and increase the promotion of its work overseas. In 2020 the GNO celebrated its 80th anniversary, commissioning and presenting works to reintroduce itself to the Greek and global audience through its new artistic identity and mission. This programming has included, among others: Verdi's Don Carlo, a co-production of the Royal Opera House, London, the Metropolitan Opera, New York, and the Norwegian National Opera ,Oslo, directed by Sir Nicholas Hytner; Berg's Wozzeck directed by Olivier Py; Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk directed by Fanny Ardant; Marina Abramović's 7 Deaths of Maria Callas, a co-production with Opéra national de Paris, Bayerische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Teatro di San Carlo; Verdi's Otello, a co-production with Festspiel Baden-Baden directed by Robert Wilson; Mozart's Don Giovanni, a co-production with the Göteborg Opera and the Royal Danish Opera directed by John Fulljames; Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffman, a co-production with La Monnaie de Munt, directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski; Verdi's Fallstaff, directed by the artistic director of the Glyndebourne Festival Stephen Langridge; and Verdi's Rigoletto, directed by the artistic director of the Athens Festival Katerina Evangellatos.

For more information, visit nationalopera.gr/en.

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