World Premiere of Yorgos Lanthimos' BLEAT to be Presented by Greek National Opera & NEON

Yorgos Lanthimos' highly anticipated new film, Bleat-the second work to be commissioned as part of the Greek National Opera (GNO) and NEON program The Artist on the Composer-will have its world premiere accompanied by live music ensembles on Friday, May 6, Saturday, May 7, and Sunday, May 8, 2022 in Stavros Niarchos Hall at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC). The Greek National Opera's participation in the co-production is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) [www.SNF.org] to enhance the GNO's artistic outreach.

The award-winning Greek filmmaker (The Favourite, The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Dogtooth) accepted the invitation extended by GNO Artistic Director Giorgos Koumendakis and NEON Director Elina Kountouri to produce, write, and direct the short film Bleat, shot on the Greek island of Tinos in February 2020, and starring Oscar-winning American actor Emma Stone and acclaimed French actor Damien Bonnard.

The Artist on the Composer program-a partnership between the GNO and NEON, a non-profit organization committed to broadening the appreciation, understanding, and creation of contemporary art in Greece [www.neon.org.gr/en]-connects pioneering contemporary artists and filmmakers/producers with orchestral music performed live. Through works that spring from the program's new commissions, each artist responds to, and enters into dialogue with pieces by classical composers, free from standard operatic convention, trope and storyline, in the hope of reaching audiences who may never have connected with opera before.

Bleat follows The Artist on the Composer's first commission, a 2019 installation by Nikos Navridis. Mr. Lanthimos has created a new cinematic work to be presented with the live accompaniment by music ensembles. The work's score consists of pieces by J.S. Bach / Knut Nystedt and Toshio Hosokawa, performed live inside the Stavros Niarchos Hall by the soloists Angelina Tkatcheva (cimbalom) and Wu Wei (sheng), the "Maria Callas" quartet, and the Chorus of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation.

Following are the first still photographs from Bleat taken by Yorgos Lanthimos during filming on Tinos.

DETAILS:

Visual Arts Programme • New production • World premiere
Music and Visual Arts Cycle • A GNO and NEON co-production
The Artist on the Composer
The Artist on the Composer programme curators: Giorgos Koumendakis (GNO Artistic Director) - Elina Kountouri (ΝΕΟΝ Director)
Second Commission Yorgos Lanthimos: Bleat
May 6, 7, & 8, 2022
Start times: 6:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m., & 10:00 p.m.
Stavros Niarchos Hall of the Greek National Opera - SNFCC

Producer, scriptwriter, director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Starring: Emma Stone, Damien Bonnard
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach / Knut Nystedt, Toshio Hosokawa
Cimbalom: Angelina Tkatcheva
Sheng: Wu Wei
Chorus master: Agathangelos Georgakatos
With the participation of the "Maria Callas" quartet and the Chorus of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation

Set designer: Anna Georgiadou
Costume designer: Angelos Mentis
Choreographer: Christos Papadopoulos
Director of photography: Thodoros Mihopoulos
Film editor: Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Executive producer: Rebecca Skinner
Producer: Eleni Kossyfidou

Tickets: 10 euros (ticket revenues support the work of the Greek National Opera)

Advance bookings: ticketservices.gr/en, GNO Box Office - SNFCC (+30 2130885700, 09.00-21.00 daily)
Please note that, in accordance with Greek government guidelines, the GNO's auditoria at the SNFCC are operating at 100% capacity and are only open to persons who are vaccinated against or have recovered from Covid-19 (all audience members must present valid certificates proving their status, alongside an ID card or passport). Children aged between 4 and 17 years old must present a valid Covid-19 vaccination or recovery certificate, or the negative result of a self-test taken within the preceding 24 hours.

nationalopera.gr/en
www.neon.org.gr/en

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