A concert celebrating the work of Greek poet and lyricist Nikos Gatsos took an unexpected turn at the ancient theatre of Dion, near Thessaloniki, after permission was denied to perform songs composed by Manos Hatzidakis.
The concert, held on Sunday at the foot of Mount Olympus, featured veteran Greek singer Manolis Mitsias and marked 50 years since the release of “Athanasia”, one of the best-known albums by Gatsos and Hatzidakis. Mitsias has performed the album’s songs throughout his career, particularly “Yiannis the Killer”, a regular audience request. At Dion, however, he did not sing the piece and instead recited its lyrics without music. None of the other Hatzidakis compositions with lyrics by Gatsos in his repertoire was performed during the programme.
According to Agathi Dimitrouka, who manages Gatsos’s body of work and curated the concert, permission had not been granted by Giorgos Hatzidakis, the composer’s son, and his associates. Addressing the audience, Dimitrouka said the Hatzidakis side had cited the Culture Ministry’s designation of 2026 as a commemorative year for Manos Hatzidakis. She quoted their position as stating that events involving the public performance of his music had already been “planned and approved exclusively by the team of Mr Giorgos Hatzidakis”. Some audience members responded by shouting “shame” and “disgrace”.
Towards the end of the concert, Mitsias responded to repeated calls from the crowd by stepping outside the planned programme to sing the Gatsos-Hatzidakis song “Tsamikos” a cappella. The audience joined him, forming a large, improvised choir.
Despite the absence of songs combining music by Manos Hatzidakis with lyrics by Nikos Gatsos, the concert continued with performances by Manolis Mitsias and internationally acclaimed Greek mezzo-soprano Alexandra Gravas. The two singers performed Gatsos’s lyrics set to music by leading Greek composers including Mikis Theodorakis, Stavros Xarchakos, Dimos Moutsis, Loukianos Kilaidonis, Giorgos Hatzinasios, Christodoulos Halaris and Ilias Andriopoulos.
According to information obtained by Voria.gr, Greece’s Culture Ministry was also asked whether the designation of 2026 as a commemorative year for Hatzidakis altered the rules governing the management or licensing of his works. The ministry said, “The designation of 2026 as a ‘Commemorative Year for Hatzidakis’ does not, in itself, provide a legal basis for changing the management or licensing regime for composite or jointly created works by composer Manos Hatzidakis and lyricist Nikos Gatsos, nor for establishing an exclusive mechanism to approve all their public performances during the commemorative year.”
by Giorgos Mitrakis – adapted from Greek by Vassia Barba
