The Greek National Opera to Present Verdi's NABUCCO at the Odean of Herodes Atticus

 The Greek National Opera is reviving acclaimed Italian director Leo Muscato’s production of Verdi’s Nabucco led by internationally acclaimed Italian conductor Paolo Carignani in his GNO debut. The cast features major international singers including Dimitri Platanias and Tassis Christoaynnis (role debut) in the title role, as well as Ekaterina Semenchuk and Maria José Siri sharing the role of Abigaille. The performances will take place at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus as part of the Athens Epidaurus Festival on July 26, 27, 29, & 30, 2023. 

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

Nabucco is considered one of Verdi’s greatest operas. Composed early in his career, the work solidified his place as the most important Italian composer of the 19th century. The opera is perhaps most famous for the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves “Va, Pensiero” which became a symbol in the struggle for the unification of Italy. 

Italian director Leo Muscato is among the most dynamic, up-and-coming opera directors working in Italy today, with numerous successful productions at leading Italian opera houses in Milan, Rome, Venice, Florence, Torino, among others. 

Regarding his production of Nabucco, Muscato notes:
 “... there is no desire to conform to historical accuracy: the aesthetic identity of the settings and costumes aims at rendering an abstract place and time, so that attention is focused on the essence… the tragedy of deported and enslaved Jews reminds us on the one hand of the Nazi concentration camps tragedy, and on the other hand, it seems a lot like the torture systems adopted at contemporary detention camps, such as those of Guantanamo.”
Paolo Carignani, one of the most in-demand opera conductors today, leads the production. He regularly conducts at The Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, Opéra National de Paris, Bayerische Staatsoper, among many others. Carignani returns to GNO next season for a new production of the double bill of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci. 
Nabucco will feature two alternating casts comprised of Dimitri Platanias and Tassis Christoyannis as the title role, Yannis Christopoulos and Konstantinos Klironomos as Ismaele, Vitalij Kowaljow and Petros Magoulas as Zaccaria, Ekaterina Semenchuk and Maria José Siri as Abigaille, Elena Maximova and Marissia Papalexiou as Fenena, among others. 
 

Performance Details: 
 

Opera • Revival
Nabucco
Giuseppe Verdi
July 26, 27, 29, 30, 2023
Starts at: 9:00 p.m.
Odeon of Herodes Atticus
As part of the Athens Epidaurus Festival

Conductor: Paolo Carignani
Director: Leo Muscato
Sets: Tiziano Santi
Costumes: Silvia Aymonino
Lighting: Alessandro Verazzi
Chorus master: Agathangelos Georgakatos

Nabucco: Dimitri Platanias (26, 29/7/2023), Tassis Christoyannis (27, 30/7/2023)
Ismaele: Yannis Christopoulos (26, 29/7/2023), Konstantinos Klironomos (27, 30/7/2023)
Zaccaria: Vitalij Kowaljow (26, 29/7/2023), Petros Magoulas (27, 30/7/2023)
Abigaille: Ekaterina Semenchuk (26, 29/7/2023), Maria José Siri (27, 30/7/2023)
Fenena: Elena Maximova (26, 29/7/2023), Marissia Papalexiou (27, 30/7/2023)
High priest: Vangelis Maniatis (26, 27, 29, 30/7/2023)
Abdallo: Yannis Kalyvas (26, 27, 29, 30/7/2023)
Anna: Evita Chioti (26, 27, 29, 30/7/2023)
With the Orchestra, Chorus, and Soloists of the Greek National Opera

Tickets go on sale June 26, 2023 
Ticket prices: €25, €45, €55, €60, €85, €100
Students, children:€15
Disabled seats: €15
Lead Donor of the GNO
Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)
 

 
ABOUT GREEK NATIONAL OPERA

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; Verdi’s Rigoletto, directed by the artistic director of the Athens Festival Katerina Evangellatos; and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly directed by director of the Théâtre du Châtelet Olivier Py.

For more information, visit nationalopera.gr/en.

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