The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Gives €11,000,000 Grant to the Greek National Opera

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) has given a new grant of €11,000,000 to the Greek National Opera.

In a press interview held on Monday the 1st of July 2024 in the Stavros Niarchos Hall, the Artistic Director of the Greek National Opera (GNO), Giorgos Koumendakis, presented the new programme for the 2024/25 season, catering to a wide range of audiences. At the same time, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Co-President Andreas C. Dracopoulos, announced the continuation of the SNF’s support to the GNO, with a new two-year grant of €11,000,000, aiming to further support the GNO’s outreach strategy in Greece and abroad. 

Following the successful completion of its four-year grant (2019-2023) to support the Greek National Opera’s outreach policy, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) renews its trust in the Greek National Opera by announcing a fresh two-year grant of €11,000,000. More specifically, the SNF approved a grant of €10,000,000, aiming to further support the GNO’s outreach strategy in Greece and abroad. At the same time, the SNF intends to grant one more million euros for the same purpose, on the condition that the GNO will ensure matching funds from different sources abroad. The new grant, which covers the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons, aims to enhance the GNO’s global presence and solidify its position among the top opera houses worldwide. With the support of the SNF, the Greek National Opera will continue its policy of international co-productions and collaborations with leading artists, while it will also present its artistic work abroad and throughout Greece. Concurrently, thanks to the support of the SNF, it will expand its social policy through a set of targeted actions.

The key areas of focus for the new grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) are the following:

Artistic outreach policy of the GNO in Greece and abroad 

With the support of the SNF, the GNO will continue its policy of international co-productions for the next two years. The first co-production with the Aix-en-Provence Festival and the Opéra national de Paris will be presented in October 2024, followed by a co-production with the iconic Salzburg Festival and the Royal Opera House in London, a year later.

The grant also supports a programme of world tours, presenting selected GNO performances in opera houses, concert venues, museums, and festivals abroad. Following several GNO Ballet presentations abroad, as well as the presentation of the production Bleat by Yorgos Lanthimos in New York, more tours of GNO productions are scheduled to take place in France, Argentina, the United States, England, and other countries. Moreover, within the scope of the new grant, great emphasis is given to GNO tours throughout Greece, with the goal of increasing access to its performances for a broader audience across the country. More specifically, the GNO will create small-scale productions that will travel to more than 30 different destinations. These productions will include opera, music, and dance performances, as well as a series of diverse educational and social activities.

As part of the effort to enhance its artistic outreach strategy, the GNO will continue to invite top opera and dance artists, with the goal of offering high-quality productions of international appeal. It is noted that this particular section of the grant is part of the matching funds programme mentioned above.

Implementation of a development plan for the GNO 

The GNO, supported by the SNF, will establish a dedicated Development Department, fully staffed, aiming to attract sponsors and strategic partnerships, mainly from abroad, to guarantee a high-quality programming for the future.

Increasing the accessibility of GNO performances

In an effort to make its programme more accessible, the GNO, supported by the SNF, will offer a specific number of free tickets to population segments who have not yet had the opportunity to attend its performances at the Stavros Niarchos Hall.

Further promotion and communication of the GNO’s work 

With support from the SNF, the GNO will maintain its global presence by launching targeted communication campaigns that use a wide range of media channels, including print and digital platforms, to promote its work in Greece and internationally. The organization will also continue to collaborate with public relations offices abroad to expand its reach and increase awareness.

At the same time, over the next two years, the content of the GNO TV platform will continue to be enriched, while GNO’s collaboration with international opera TV channelswill continue to be developed.

Investing in the education and training of the GNO’s artistic staff

The new grant from the SNF to the GNO also includes awarding scholarships to honour graduates of the GNO Professional School of Dance, as well as organising masterclasses for the GNO Ballet dancers, led by renowned foreign ballet masters.

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Co-President, Andreas C. Dracopoulos, remarks: “We are delighted to be extending our creative collaboration with the Greek National Opera (GNO), having already built a longstanding relationship of trust spanning more than a decade. Since the launch of this collaboration in 2012 with an eye toward the GNO’s subsequent move to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) in 2017, SNF’s steadfast support for the GNO has now covered a multitude of initiatives and totals €39 million, including the new grant. Moreover, we would like to believe that the creation of the SNFCC and the state-of-the-art facilities designed by Renzo Piano have contributed to the GNO’s journey into a new era. It is always an honor to be able to contribute to the persistent efforts the organization’s entire team is making for its continuing evolution under the leadership of Artistic Director Giorgos Koumendakis. With the new SNF grant to the GNO that we are announcing today, we are very happy to have the opportunity to further support its vision of enhancing its artistic outreach, primarily around Greece, but also on the international stage. The GNO has already enjoyed a dynamic debut on the international stage and, with the strengthening of the international partnerships that are also part of the new grant, we look forward to seeing the work and value of our National Opera even better appreciated on a global scale. Lastly, in cooperation with the GNO and with a view to its future financial development, we are introducing through this grant the practice of matching funds, in which the GNO will seek part of its resources from financial sources outside Greece, which SNF will then supplement with its own resources, thus expanding the GNO’s network of supporters.”

It is reminded that the overall support of the SNF to the GNO sums up to approximately €39,000,000 until mid-2026. Furthermore through the construction of the SNFCC, the SNF has provided the GNO with modern, state-of-the-art facilities, aiding in its transition to a new era.

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