Greek National Opera Will Present World Premiere of Angelos Triantafyllou's INLAND in July

The Greek National Opera presents a new opera by Angelos Triantafyllou, Inland, with four performances on July 8, 10, 12 and 13, 2022 in the Stavros Niarchos Hall at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center. Inland, commissioned by the GNO with a libretto by Yannis Asteris, tackles the issue of loneliness faced by older adults. GNO Chief Conductor Elias Voudouris leads the performances which are directed by acclaimed Greek theatre director Nikos Karathanos. Performing alongside the GNO Orchestra and Chorus is a cast of Greek opera singers including four soloists aged 65 and over. Two of the GNO's amateur ensembles, its Intercultural Orchestra and its 65+ Choir, also perform, bringing the GNO professional and amateur ensembles together for the first time. Additionally, two éntekhno (Greek art song) specialists, Savina Yannatou and Elli Paspala, make their GNO debuts, marking the first time éntekhno-frequently part of the late Mikis Theodorakis' compositions-is part of a GNO production. Inland is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) [www.SNF.org] to enhance the GNO's artistic outreach.

In Inland Triantafyllou aims to pay tribute to the elderly men and women who live alone, exploring the issues of old age, loneliness, ill-health, fragile familial relationships, and mortality. Triantafyllou, who is an acclaimed theatre composer in Greece, describes Inland as an opera "without acts and without scenes." He says:

"The music of Inland walks the paths of a personal idiom formulated through my previous work in theatre, and through the genres and styles in which I was raised by the generations about which I now write. While there are solo pieces, duets, choral sections, and so on, the work does not strictly follow some established operatic form. My aim is not to reach some clearly defined style, nor some absolutely fixed structure. My aim is to tune myself into the resonance I feel when I relive all the things that lie inside my memory, and all the things that are awakened inside me by the poetry of Yannis Asteris. We created this work together."

Triantafyllou says he was inspired to explore the subject by a wave of news stories describing elderly people as dying from loneliness:

"From the start, my core inspiration was the death of the elderly out of loneliness, which in some countries, such as Japan, is a mass and sweeping phenomenon. Beyond this, another driving force was my desire to pay tribute to the generation populated by our grandmothers and grandfathers, who raised us, and whom we watched decline, and-beautifully, painfully-fall."

Asteris' libretto unfurls as a series of fifteen people-centric vignettes. While acknowledging the somber core subject matter of solitude and mourning, Asteris says he has tried to imbue the libretto with "a lightness of touch." He says:

"This core-a glance into the rift-is gradually illuminated from ever more directions to reveal a more expansive space: personal moments open out onto a collective place, inhabited by loneliness, advancing years, lamentation, memory, grief, and a return to locales most intimate and familiar."

Triantafyllou says the piece was composed with diverse voice types and a diverse age group in mind, reflected in the casting of singers aged 65 and over, and the inclusion of the two éntekhno specialists. Greek opera singers Harris Andrianos, Theodora Baka,Yannis Kalyvas, Marina Krilovici, Kostis Rassidakis, and Giorgos Samartzis are joined by four singers aged 65 and over, Yola Alexopoulou-Gasparinatou, Gabriel Antonelos, Georgios Christoulas, and Lazaros Negas, as well as the actor Ioanna Bitouni. Inland has two of the GNO's amateur ensembles, the Intercultural Orchestra and 65+ Choir, part of the GNO Learning & Participation Department, on the Stavros Niarchos Hall stage performing alongside the GNO Orchestra and Chorus for the first time.

GNO Artistic Director Giorgos Koumendakis notes:

"Above and beyond the joy of discovering an exceptional new work, Inland by Angelos Triantafyllou presents us with a major opportunity: to witness our first on-stage creative collaboration between professional and amateur performers and musicians. Since 2017, when we first began systematically investing our efforts into our outreach programs, we have developed a series of very fine amateur ensembles, including our Intercultural Orchestra and 65+ Choir. Five years on, this work has given us the opportunity to take things a step further and to place the wonderful musicians from our outreach programs up on our main stage, giving them the chance to work with acclaimed artists for the performance of a new work of opera. We cannot wait to enjoy the results, directed by the great Nikos Karathanos."

Considered one of Greece's most important theatre directors, Karathanos' directorial vision is marked by sensitivity, musicality, and a desire to draw attention to the hidden meanings and notions that lie beneath. Working with him on Inland is a select creative team, with sets by Elli Papageorgakopoulou and Sotiris Melanos, costumes by Angelos Mentis, choreography by Amalia Bennett, lighting by Eliza Alexandropoulou, and video design by Pantelis Makkas. Inland is orchestrated by Michalis Papapetrou and conducted by GNO Chief Conductor Elias Voudouris.

Opera • New production • GNO commission
Inland
Angelos Triantafyllou
Libretto: Yannis Asteris

Stavros Niarchos Hall of the Greek National Opera - SNFCC
July 8, 10, 12, 13, 2022 • Starts at 7:30 p.m. (Sunday at 6:30p.m.)

Orchestration: Michalis Papapetrou
Conductor: Elias Voudouris
Director: Nikos Karathanos
Sets: Elli Papageorgakopoulou, Sotiris Melanos
Costumes: Angelos Mentis
Choreography: Amalia Bennett
Lighting: Eliza Alexandropoulou
Video: Pantelis Makkas

GNO Chorus master: Agathangelos Georgakatos
Intercultural Orchestra conductor: Harris Lambrakis
65+ Choir mistress: Dimitra Papastavrou

Opera singers: Harris Andrianos, Theodora Baka, Yannis Kalyvas, Marina Krilovici, Kostis Rassidakis, Giorgos Samartzis

Entekhno singers: Savina Yannatou, Elli Paspala

Singers 65+: Yola Alexopoulou-Gasparinatou, Gabriel Antonelos, Georgios Christoulas, Lazaros Negas

With the actor: Ioanna Bitouni

With the GNO Orchestra and Chorus, as well as the Intercultural Orchestra and 65+ Choir of the GNO Learning & Participation Department

Ticket prices: €15, €20, €25, €30, €35, €40, €45, €60

Students, children: €12

Restricted view seating: €10

Advance bookings can be made via the GNO Box Office (9.00-21.00 daily | +30 21308857000) and ticketservices.gr

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