Municipality of Athens: presentation of the 2024-2025 programmeOlympia, Municipal Music Theatre “Maria Callas”
8 new productions of opera, operetta, musicals, contemporary dance,
theatre and 31 concerts of jazz and ethnic music with works by great Greek and foreign composers
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Dukas: “Welcome to the new era of the Olympia Theatre”
The artistic programme of the Olympia Municipal Music Theatre “Maria Callas” for the 2024-2025 season was presented today, September 12, at a press conference in the foyer of the historic venue at 59 Akademias Street, by the Mayor of Athens, Harris Doukas, the President of the Culture, Sports and Youth Organization of the Municipality of Athens (OPANDA), Eleni Zonderou and the Artistic Director of the Theatre, Tasis Christogiannopoulos.
The Mayor of Athens, Harris Dukas, stressed: “I welcome you to the new era of the Olympia Theatre. The Municipal Theatre of Athens has a long tradition as one of the most important cultural venues in Greece. This year especially, we are giving “stage, lights and voice” to Greek creators from across the artistic spectrum, while remaining faithful to the Lyric Theatre.”
The President of OPANDA, Eleni Zontirou, said: “Through culture, our city is becoming a magnet for visitors from all over the world, while at the same time we are strengthening the local artistic community, creating new opportunities for creation and development.”
The Artistic Director of the Theatre, Tasis Christogiannopoulos, underlined: “The Municipal Theatre of Athens, connects, communicates and always exists in relation to the city’s audiences, artists and organizations. This is the new principle that the Mayor said: to make the OLYMPIA Theatre your space, your home again”.
The artistic programming of the OLYMPIA Theatre – Maria Callas Municipal Music Theatre for the period 2024-2025 includes eight new productions of opera, operetta, musical, contemporary dance, theatre and 31 jazz and ethnic music concerts with works by great Greek and foreign composers.
The central axis of the programme focuses on Greek artists, bringing them to the forefront: Vassilis Papavassiliou, Giannis Skourletis, Giorgos Petrou, Miltos Loyiadis, Giorgos Ziavras, Byron Fidetzis, Dimitra Trypanis, Hera Bezou, Marcellus Chrysicopoulos, Konstantinos Terzakis, Stefanos Drusiotis, Mary Helen Nezi, Dimitris Tiliakos, Harris Andrianos, Christoforos Stamboglis, Artemis Bogri among others, as well as the Musical Ensembles of the Municipality of Athens, make up this year’s artistic program.
The opening of the new season, on 12 October with Ludwig van Beethoven’s opera “Fidelio”, is an evening of honour and remembrance for the city of Athens.
With this premiere, the OLYMPIA Theatre and OPANDA commemorate the anniversary of the liberation of Athens from German occupation and participate in the City of Athens’ tribute “1974 & 1944: Athens celebrates its freedom”.
Entrance is free to the public, with entrance tickets.
This is followed by “The Barber of Seville” by Joakino Rossini, the famous operetta “The Bat” by Johann Strauss, and the musical “Sweeney Todd: The Barber of Fleet Street” by Stephen Sondheim.
But apart from opera and operetta, the stage of the famous venue will host great theatre performances including “Three Tall Women” with Reni Pittaki, Karyofyllia Karampeti, Loukia Michalopoulou and Alexis Fousseki, contemporary Greek choreographers such as Antonis Foniadakis and Yannis Nicolaides, while an Italian theatre and film actor, Tony Servillo, will present a stage narration of texts by the great poet of Divine Comedy, the “Voices of Dante”.
The cycle of concerts opens with the Municipality of Athens Symphony Orchestra, on November 12, entitled “In the 20th century”, and continues with the Municipality of Athens Choir, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Athens and the Greek Music Workshop, which presents the rich musical tradition of our country, with tributes to some of the greatest Greek composers who have shaped the course of the modern Greek music scene: Vassilis Tsitsanis, Thanos Mikroutsikos, Stavros Kouyoumtzis and Mimi Plessa.
The Big Band of the Municipality of Athens collaborates with a multitude of artists from Greece and abroad, in order to travel its audience to the exciting universe of jazz.
Dimitris Dimopoulos joins the Municipal Symphony Orchestra in the inventive performance “Stand-up Symphony” (25 – 27/2 & 1/3) while Nikos Xydakis narrates with the musical play “Martha: A story from Messolonghi” the heroic exit of Messolonghi.
The different ways in which tradition influences the creation of musical identity, enriching it so that it transcends the borders of its place, is the focus of the concert cycle entitled “Musical Traditions”.
The intimate space of the Foyer will host a series of events and educational programmes for all ages, fostering inclusion through the arts.
OLYMPIA, in collaboration with the Friendship Clubs of the Municipality of Athens and the Educational and Social Activities of the National Opera House, will hold a series of experiential artistic workshops for adults 65+, using opera, musical theatre and dance as a vehicle.
The activities will start in October 2024 and will run until June 2025. See the programme in detail here: https://oly.gr/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Poster_programna_digital_new.pdf
