The Greek National Opera Reveals 2023-24 Season

The Greek National Opera's 2023-24 season, curated by GNO Artistic Director Giorgos Koumendakis, features seven new opera and ballet productions including the first Wagner production to be staged at the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center, two co-productions, and one newly commissioned opera, as well as four revivals of past productions, tribute celebrations for Maria Callas's centennial anniversary, and the third Artist on the Composer program.

The season's programming is presented at Stavros Niarchos Hall at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center and in the outdoor amphitheater, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. With the new season program, GNO-the only opera company in Greece-continues to forge important international partnerships with international opera houses, leading conductors, directors, set designers, and world-famous soloists, while also showcasing Greek artists.

The new season, which runs from September 2023 through July 2024, is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) [www.SNF.org] to enhance the GNO's artistic outreach.

GNO's tribute celebrating the 100th anniversary of Maria Callas's birth will reach its peak September through December with several events. These include an opera gala entitled Callas at the Herodium at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, the exhibit UNBOXING CALLAS: An Archival Exploration of the Dimitris Pyromallis Collection and the GNO Archive which explores the Dimitris Pyromallis Collection and GNO Archive at the National Library of Greece, and a documentary entitled Mary, Mariana, Maria - The Unsung Greek Years of Callas on Maria Callas' lesser-known Greek years.

New productions this season include Hersant's Les Éclairs directed by Clément Hervieu-Léger, a double bill of Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo's Pagliacci directed by Nikos Karathanos; Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny directed by Yannis Houvardas; Wagner's Die Walküre directed by John Fulljames; the ballets Carmen and Coppélia choreographed by Johan Inger and Edward Clug respectively, and Puccini's Turandot directed by Andrei Șerban.

GNO presents co-productions this season with the Opéra Comique on Les Éclairs, the Royal Danish Opera on Die Walküre, and NEON for the third edition of The Artist on the Composer program.

Revivals of past productions include Verdi's La Traviata directed by Konstantinos Rigos, Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk directed by Fanny Ardant, and Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker choreographed by Konstantinos Rigos. GNO is additionally reviving director Graham Vick's production of Puccini's La Bohème presented in honor of Vick who recently passed away in 2021.

Regarding the upcoming season, GNO's Artistic Director Giorgos Koumendakis notes:

"With the Greek National Opera's 2023/24 season, our aim was to tackle new artistic challenges. Through our arts programming, we wish to pose questions about, and seek answers to issues that are timeless and universal. This season, having pondered the significance and sway that art holds over our lives, we will be underlining the importance of eradicating inequality and gendered violence, and we call on all friends of the GNO to see classic works of the repertoire as an opportunity to reflect upon issues of women's empowerment, grounded in the progressive achievements made by 21st-century society."

This season's productions will be conducted by Paolo Carignani, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Philippe Auguin, Ondrej Olos, Fabrizio Ventura, Miltos Logiadis, and Yorgos Ziavras. Soloists performing this season include Nadine Sierra, Ekaterina Gubanova, Catherine Foster, Freddie De Tommaso, Dimitri Platanias, Svetlana Sozdateleva, Cellia Costea, Sergey Semishkur, Vassiliki Karayanni, Dionysios Sourbis, Yannis Christopoulos, Tassos Apostolou, Arsen Soghomonyan, Tommi Hakala, Allison Oakes, Stefan Vinke, Marina Prudenskaya, and Petros Magoulas.

Additional programming includes a tribute concert to Greek composer Manolis Kalomiris in June 2024 highlighting the composer's connection to GNO; and the Second Sacred Music Festival during Orthodox Easter Holy Week (April 2024) held in Athens's Plaka neighborhood.

The 2023-24 season is a continuation of the work that began six years ago when the company-founded in Athens in 1939-relocated to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center that includes its main stage venue, the custom-built Renzo Piano-designed 1,400-seat Stavros Niarchos Hall. Supported by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) [www.SNF.org], the GNO's vision is to be one of Europe's most innovative opera houses with a unique artistic identity that engages global talent and inspires large and diverse audiences.

Tickets for the September-December 2023 productions go on sale July 31, 2023, and can be purchased from the GNO Box Office and online.

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