By Dimitris Rigopoulos

When the people at the Greek National Opera were putting together “Aida,” the company’s second production this season, everything was working against them. First of all, the timing: by the last 10 days of July most Athenian culture buffs have scattered hither and thither. Then the actual days: a weekend, with the other half of Athens heading off on holiday or to the beach. The weather: a forecast of 40C for Athens on Saturday. The crisis: many people are reluctant to spend 30 or 40 euros nowadays. The size of the Herodes Atticus Odeon: when you need to sell 4,500 tickets to get a full house, the whole deal is up in the air. The success of the GNO’s previous production, “Norma”: the Greek audience for opera is not big enough to ensure a second box office success within the space of a few weeks.

Yet, the GNO did it. Like Lazarus, the GNO, which had been left for dead just months ago, managed to rise up. And not only did it rise up, but every performance it has staged has been sold out. Not a single empty seat was to be found on the first two shows on Friday and Saturday, and by Wednesday there was no chance of even finding a ticket. What does this mean? Sales of over 13,000 tickets and a new record in the company’s history. It was the first time, according to Board President Nikos Mourkogiannis, that a GNO production made a profit, not counting sponsorships.

There is an explanation for the surprising success of “Aida” dead in the middle of a scorching summer weekend, and the fact that it is one of Giuseppe Verdi’s most popular operas is not it. What lies behind the resounding success of the production is, without doubt, the excellent promotional drive organized by the GNO: A barrage of advertising in the press and on television, numerous interviews with the board president and, of course, the wonderful idea of the sightseeing bus touring the streets of Athens with the GNO band playing the ever-popular “Triumphal March.” Ticket sales for “Aida” tripled as a result of the red bus tour and the publicity the initiative generated.

The commercial success of the GNO’s summer season is indisputably the work of Mourkogiannis. It was his idea to put on a second production in the summer (the last time the GNO did this was in 1968) and to convince the company and its staff that holidays would not be starting in early July this year, but it would be a summer of hard work that may just save the sinking ship of the GNO. But, while the debt-ridden GNO ship may have found a safe haven in the sheltered cove of the Herodes Atticus Odeon, the waters are still very choppy out in the real world. “No, we did not recover financially,” says Mourkogiannis. “Let it suffice that it was a psychological victory. We gained confidence. What the performances at the Herodes Atticus proved was that the Greek National Opera’s financial woes boil down to the fact that it doesn’t have a large theatre of its own.”

CAPTION

Yesterday afternoon, the main sight in Athens was the double-decker bus on which musicians of the Greek National Opera performed extract’s from the company’s latest production, Verdi’s “Aida.”

TITLE

The band played, and spread the Greek National Opera’s message: “Listen to Verdi, not the news”

By Helen Bistika

Finally we Athenians were given something to smile about with the Greek National Opera’s band, which, on Tuesday afternoon toured the streets of Athens on a red double-decker sightseeing bus and played “The Triumphal March,” just as Kathimerini’s Olga Sella reported yesterday, before the news was scooped up by the television stations.

Smiling, Greek President Karolos Papoulias, who was expecting a visit by Cypriot Foreign Affairs Minister Markos Kyprianou and who is always open to new ideas, stood on the balcony of the Presidential Mansion and watched. He waved to the musicians who continued to play under the hot summer sun sporting white caps and with a bottle of cold water within reach. Just as they thirsted for water, so Athens thirsts for opera, and the Greek National Opera, despite its known difficulties, has succeeded in earning the support of the country’s enthusiasts. The initiative of the new management and Board President Nikos Mourkoyiannis has already started to bear fruit. As the band rolled past the, Athenians stood and watched, making cheerful comments as children clapped their hands – especially for the centre of the city, which has been plagued by protest rallies, it was like a rainbow on a grey sky.

As for the rest, that will come at tomorrow’s performance of “Aida,” the GNO’s second production this summer. The performance is based on the 1991 production directed by Dinos Yiannopoulos. The sets were by Yiannis Karydis, the costumes by Liza Zaimi and the choreography by Yiannis Metsis. In this production, the adaptation is by Panaghis Pagoulatos, sets and costumes are by Tota Pritsa and the choreography is by Irina Akrioti-Kolioubakina. Lukas Karytinos will be conducting the orchestra and Giorgos Aravidis the band, while the production includes the participation of the GNO Orchestra, Choir and Ballet. The choir is conducted by Nikos Vassiliou.

“Aida” will be performed on Friday, July 23, Saturday, July 24, and Wednesday, July 28, at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus at 21.00. The production is a collaboration with the City of Athens and sponsored by the OPAP state betting agency.

The title role will be performed at the premiere and on July 28 by Italian soprano Tiziana Caruso and on July 24 by Hui He. Amneris will be performed by Elena Cassian and Chariklia Mavropoulou, Radames by the American tenor Stuart Neill and his Tbilisi-born counterpart Badri Maisuradze, Amonasro by Yannis Yannissis and Dimitris Platanias, Ramfis by Dimitris Kavrakos and Christophoros Stamboglis, The King of Egypt by Dimitris Kassioumis and Tassos Apostolou, the Messenger by Dimitris Sigalos and Nikos Stefanou, and the Priestess by Artemis Bogri and Ines Zikou.

An opera in four acts, “Aida” was first performed in Athens in 1958 at the opening of the Olympia Theatre. Ticket prices are: Lower tier 100, 85, 55 and 45 euros; Upper tier 30 euros, and for children and students 15 euros.

Standing up to the crisis

The Greek National Opera responds with “Aida,” its second production of the summer season at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus

By Olga Sella

HAPPENING. Yesterday afternoon Athenians and tourists who braved the scorching sun and took a walk around the streets of the city were suddenly treated to the sound of music. On the upper level of a double-decker bus, members of the Greek National Opera band had set up shop and were playing extracts from the “Triumphal March” of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Aida,” which the GNO was staging at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus.

The initiative was part of the company’s drive to promote yet another of its productions, its second this summer. For the Athenians it was a unique experience. It was a surprise even for the country’s number one citizen, Greek President Karolos Papoulias, who, together with members of his staff, stood on his balcony and waved to the GNO musicians.

The reactions of others treated to the experience were also a pleasure to behold. Some looked around perplexed, wondering where the music was coming from; others swayed to the music or danced with their tots on their shoulders. Some waved to the musicians and others smiled, welcoming the soothing balm of the music. Everyone was, without doubt, happy at the unexpected event, some even hoping that hearing the melodies of a classical opera on the streets of the city was something that could happen every day.

The Greek National Opera has survived a gauntlet of obstacles and misfortune in recent months. It is one of a long list of state-run organisations with budgetary woes that came very close to shutting down. Yet, it seems that the GNO is hitting back at the crisis by employing imaginative and low-cost tactics to promote its presence in the everyday lives of Athenians, a strategy that the new President of the Board Nikos Mourkoyiannis is banking on. Even the sceptics, those who turned their noses up at the event, experienced a change of heart by the time the musical bus had completed its tour (Academias Street, Parliament building, Maximos Mansion, Presidential Mansion, Rigillis Street, Ministry of Finance, General Accounting Office and Athens City Hall). Everyone aboard the bus – musicians, GNO staff, journalists, photographers and cameramen – emerged from the experience convinced that action and initiative are the best antidote for ailing organisations in these straightened times.

Chief conductor Lukas Karytinos suggested as much when he said that “the mechanisms of the Greek National Opera, when properly managed, have a structure and sense of continuity that should be envied by many other state organisations. Instead of looking at the GNO with pity, the state ought to be using its initiatives as an example.”

A historical opera

Giuseppe Verdi’s “Aida” was first staged in Greece in 1958 on the occasion of the inauguration of the present-day flagship of the Greek National Opera, the Olympia Theatre. This week, the GNO is presenting the opera as its second production of the season (it is the first time since 1969 that it has prepared two separate productions for one season at the open-air Roman-era theatre), and it is based on a landmark production presented by the company in 1991 and directed by Dino Yannopoulos. This year’s effort, which runs July 23, 24 and 28, is a revival of that production, adapted by director Panaghis Pagoulatos and conducted by Lukas Karytinos. And, in another record-breaking effort, this “Aida” – a historical opera that premiered at the Cairo Opera on December 24, 1871 – took just one month to put together.

The Greek National Opera’s production of Aida hit the streets this afternoon, just after a press conference held at the foyer of the Olympia Theatre. It was a pleasant surprise for passers-by in downtown Athens, who were treated to the famed “Triumphal March” performed by the GNO’s small band, playing on a red double-decker bus and touring the streets of Athens dressed in the colours of our production of Aida.

The bus set off from the Olympia Theatre and took in Parliament on Syntagma Square, the Maximos Mansion government headquarters, the Presidential Mansion, Rigillis Street, the Ministry of Finance on Karagiorgis Servias Street, the General Accounting Office on Panepistimiou Street, the GNO headquarters further down and, finally, Athens City Hall on Kotzia Square.

The band received a warm welcome by the Greek president, who appeared on his balcony and waved to the musicians.

This initiative was a first for the GNO and it was aimed at attracting residents who have never stepped across the threshold of the GNO or who are unaware of its activities and projects to get a small taste of what it has to offer.

 For tickets:  tel.no 2103612461

At 14:30 hours on Wednesday, 14 July H.E. the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Karolos Papoulias, gave an audience to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Greek National Opera, Mr. Nikos Mourkogiannis.

When leaving the Presidential Mansion after his private meeting with the President of the Republic, Mr. Mourkogiannis made the following statement:

“I had the honour of briefing the President of the Republic about the current state of the Greek National Opera and about the progress of the restructuring plan.

The President of the Republic informed the Chairman of the GNO’s Board of Directors, Mr. Nikos Mourkogiannis, that he would be attending the premier of the opera, Aida, which will take place on Friday, 23 July 2010, on the eve of the anniversary of Greece’s return to democracy.

From the GNO Press Office

OPERA

Aida Opera in four acts

Music Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto Antonio Ghislanzoni

Based on a scenario by Auguste Mariette

HERODES ATTICUS ODEON

July 23, 24, 28 2010 (3 performances)

The performances begin at 21.00

IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY OF ATHENS

The Greek National Opera presents its second production (after Norma) this summer at the Herodes Atticus Odeon: Aida, one of Giuseppe Verdi’s most popular operas, in a production based on Dino Yannopoulos’s historic mise-en-scène of 1991.

The premiere will take place on Friday, 23 July 2010.

The cast comprises internationally acclaimed foreign and Greek performers.

A 2010 GNO PRODUCTION

Conductor Lukas Karytinos

Stage Adaptation Panaghis Pagoulatos

Set and Costume Adaptation Tota Pritsa

Choreography Adaptation Irina Akrioti-Kolioubakina

Lighting Nikos Ergazakis

Band Conductor George Aravidis

Orchestra, Chorus and Ballet at the Greek National Opera

Chorus Master Nikos Vassiliou

1991 GNO PRODUCTION

Director Dino Yannopoulos

Sets Yannis Karydis

Costumes Lisa Zaimi

Choreography Yannis Metsis

CAST

Aida Tiziana Caruso (23 & 28/7), Hui He (24/7)

Amneris Elena Cassian (23 & 28/7), Chariklia Mavropoulou (24/7)

Radames Stuart Neill (23 & 24/7), Badri Maisuradze (28/7)

Amonasro Yannis Yannissis (23/7), Dimitris Platanias (24 & 28/7)

Ramfis Dimitris Kavrakos (23 & 28/7), Christophoros Stamboglis (24/7)

The King of Egypt Dimitris Kassioumis (23 & 28/7), Tassos Apostolou (24/7)

Messenger Dimitris Sigalos (23 & 28/7), Nikos Stefanou (24/7)

Priestess Artemis Bogri (23 & 28/7), Ines Zikou (24/7)

The opera Aida is a landmark not just in the history of Italian opera, but in the history of international music as well. Widely known for the wonderful grand march of victory in Act II, it focuses equally on the emotions of the protagonists: the brave Radames and the two passionate women who seek his favours, Aida and Amneris.

The libretto for the four-act opera was penned by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario by Frenchman Auguste Mariette. The story is set in Egypt, specifically in Memphis and Thebes, during the reign of the mighty pharaohs. Aida, daughter of the king of Ethiopia, is the slave of Amneris, daughter of the king of Egypt. Both women are in love with Radames, the commander of the Egyptian army, who returns victoriously from his campaign against Ethiopia. Bowing to pressure from her father, Aida lures Radames into divulging a strategic secret. Infuriated by his betrayal, Amneris accuses him of treason. She later tries to save him, but to no avail. Radames is convicted by the council of priests to be buried alive in an underground crypt. Knowing the fate of Radames, Aida has snuck into the crypt in order to die in the arms of her beloved.

Giuseppe Verdi, the most popular composer of the Italian Romantic period, was born in Le Roncole in northern Italy in 1813 and died in Milan in 1901. He studied music in the provincial town of Busseto and later in Milan. His early works were influenced by the revolutionary spirit that prevailed across Italy, and they echoed the struggle for independence of Italian city states from Austrian rule and their unification into one sovereign country. Verdi’s political activism soon elevated him to the status of a national symbol and in 1861 he was elected a member of the first Italian Chamber of Deputies.

His most famous operas are: Nabucco (1842), Rigoletto (1851), Il trovatore (1853), La traviata (1853), La forza del destino (1862), Aida (1871), Otello (1887) and Falstaff (1893).

Aida premiered at the Cairo Opera on December 24, 1871, and was conducted by the composer and double bass virtuoso Giovanni Bottesini. On February 8, 1872, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan staged the opera’s European premiere. The Greek National Opera presented its first production of Aida in 1958 for the inauguration of the present-day Olympia Theatre.

Tickets go on sale: Thursday, July 1, 2010

At the box office of the OLYMPIA THEATRE, 59-61 Academias, Athens

Daily 9.00–21.00 / tel 210 3662 100, 210 3612 461, 210 3643 725

www.nationalopera.gr

AND from the ATHENS FESTIVAL box office, Pesmazoglou Arcade, 39 Panepistimiou, Athens

Monday to Friday 8.30–16.00 / Saturday 9.00-14.30

www.greekfestival.gr

Ticket prices

Lower tiers €100, €85, €65, €55, €45

Upper tiers €30 / Children, students €15

This opera, which is a milestone in Italian and international musical history, is one of the composer’s most popular works and is renowned for its wonderful arias and melodies and for its triumphal march which is highly popular with fans of music and the public in general. Sitting in the shadow of the Acropolis, this Ancient Roman Odeon will be the backdrop for a dazzling host of performers (musicians, chorists, dancers, extras and soloists) who will give the very best they have to offer as they flawlessly stage this popular opera.

The 2010 version of Aida is based on the GNO’s historical production from 1991 which was directed back then by Dinos Giannopoulos, with sets by Giannis Karydis, costumes by Liza Zaimi and choreography by Giannis Metsis. Panagis Pagoulatos has undertaken the task of bringing those old stage directions up to date. Sets and costumes are been revised by Tota Pritsa and the choreography has been undertaken by Irina Akrioti. Loukas Karytinos who conducted the original GNO Orchestra back then will conduct it again now. The performance will feature an international cast of soloists: Aida (Hui He and Tiziana Caruso), Amneris (Elena Kassian / Hariklia Mavropoulou), Radames (Stewart Neil / Badri Maisuratze), Amonasro (Giannis Giannissis / Dimitris Platanias), Ramfis (Dimitris Kavrakos / Christoforos Stamboglis), and King of Egypt (Dimitris Kasioumis / Tassos Apostolou). The director of the GNO Chorus is Nikos Vasiliou.

Aida at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus Theatre is for all of us a sign of hope, and spiritual elevation, in a time when such things are more than needed. For all those working on this grandiose production, it is something more; a major challenge that we know that we can rise to with your presence at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus Theatre.

For your convenience, the ticket reservation service can be contacted at the above phone and fax numbers (Ticket prices: Lower tier €65, €55, €45, Prime Circle € 100 & €85, Upper Tier €30, Group Tickets Lower Tier €50 & €35 and Upper Tier € 25).

For your convenience, the ticket reservation service can be contacted at the above phone and fax numbers.

Thank you in advance and I look forward to seeing you at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus Theatre.

Best regards

Chairman and Managing Director of the GNO

Nikos Mourkogiannis

Today, at 11:30am, Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Geroulanos had an extended work session with the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Greek National Opera, Mr. Nikos Mourkogiannis.

Mr. Geroulanos warmly congratulated Mr. Mourkogiannis and the entire GNO staff on the significant steps towards restructuring which were made during the past 65 days, i.e. since the day the new Board of Directors assumed its duties.

The measures, which were swiftly taken, constitute the first phase of the restructuring program and have resulted in, among other things, reducing the operating costs of the GNO by 37.5%, i.e. 12 million euros. This is a considerable amount, given that the GNO’s fixed cost expenditure up until April 1st, 2010 was around 25 million euros per annum, while financing from the Culture and Tourism Ministry has been de facto limited to 17.1 million euros per annum.

In the light of this achievement and the implementation of further measures, such as the crystallization of a viable Artistic Vision and the effort to turn the GNO into a model organization, the Culture and Tourism Minister decided to postpone taking a decision concerning the future of the Greek National Opera until August. The Minister’s decision as to whether or not the existing organization will continue to operate depends in large part on the results of the second phase of the GNO’s restructuring, i.e. the decisions of the Board of Directors that have already been taken, and especially the ones that concern:

1. The reduction of operating costs and the renegotiation and settlement of the GNO’s owed debts which, otherwise, will have to be managed with a special bankruptcy law, with adverse repercussions for all concerned.
2. Taking complete control of the contracts of employment and other actions that have caused the GNO’s financial problems, and ascribing responsibility to the full extent of the law.
3. The introduction of a system of continuous evaluation of the GNO’s entire staff with a view to further improving the quality of its performances and increasing the professionalism of its employees.
4. The development of a Flow Chart and the enactment of the GNO’s Statutes and Regulations according to international standards, with an aim to render the Greek National Opera capable of undertaking the project of moving to the Faliron Delta in 2015.
5. The possibility of amending the GNO’s Collective Business Contract of Employment to the benefit of the organization.

For his part, the Chairman of the GNO’s Board of Directors, Mr. Mourkogiannis, informed the Minister of the following:
1. Despite the drastic cuts in expenses which have been implemented over the past month and a half, the GNO is unable to cover its salary expense beyond September 1, 2010, due to the expenses of the previous period. Therefore, in order to continue operating, the National Opera must receive 6 million euros in financing within the month of August.
2. The renegotiation of the GNO’s 15 million euro debt is not possible now, nor will it be in the future, without the Government’s assistance.
3. A strategic issue faced by the Greek National Opera is the payment of large rents. Unlike its sister organizations, the Athens Concert Hall, the National Theater, et al., the GNO lacks the use of a self-owned building and will continue to do so until it moves to its new venue. Providing the National Opera with a self-owned building could put an end to all its financial problems.