Marking the centenary of Maria Callas’ birth, the Greek National Opera (GNO) is programming a series of events in honour of the greatest soprano of the 20th century.
The tribute runs from April until December and includes a variety of events: a new opera production, an exhibition at the National Library, a new documentary about her Greek early years, an art installation, an Opera Gala, and an educational workshop.
The events that feature in this tribute will present precious, never-before-seen materials drawn from the GNO Historical Archive, which in recent years has acquired some major collections.
The tribute is curated by Giorgos Koumendakis, the artistic director GNO.
"The occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Maria Callas gives us the opportunity to redefine this huge phenomenon as a voice and of course as a personality," he says. "And to see the things she contributed to the renewal of opera. We are talking about the era before Maria Callas and the era after Maria Callas. So we need, on this occasion, to show aspects of her musical personality, which I believe are very important, to the new generation: a generation that doesn't know exactly who Maria Callas was."
A major new co-production
The major event of the tribute is a production of Cherubini’s Medea. It is the Greek National Opera’s first major co-production with three leading North American opera houses: the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, the Canadian Opera Company, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
The production, staged by the celebrated opera director David McVicar, opened the Met’s 2022/23 season and will be presented at the Greek National Opera this April.