The Greek National Opera’s Impressive ‘Nikos Kazantzakis: An Odyssey in Music’ in NY (Video)

NEW YORK – The Greek National Opera traveled to New York for the first time with its Orchestra to present a unique concert at the historic Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, featuring exceptional works by Greek composers, inspired by the oeuvre and figure of Nikos Kazantzakis.

The dynamic Carnegie Hall debut of the Greek National Opera (GNO) took place on October 15 with the concert titled ‘Nikos Kazantzakis: An Odyssey in Music’. This panorama of Greek art music impressed the New York audience with emblematic works by Manos Hadjidakis, Mikis Theodorakis, Nikos Skalkottas, Dimitri Mitropoulos, and Giorgos Koumendakis.

Internationally acclaimed Greek maestro and Graz Opera Chief Conductor Vassilis Christopoulos led the talented orchestra. The performance featured the world-renowned mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili and Greek soprano Maria Kostraki, accompanied by the GNO Orchestra and the Manos Hadjidakis Ensemble. The concert was made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) to enhance the GNO’s artistic outreach and was part of the celebratory events marking SNF’s 30 years of grant-making.

As Andreas Dracopoulos, SNF Co-President, noted in the event’s program, “amidst the SNF’s 30th anniversary celebrations- 30 years during which we have tried to help make vibrant art and cultural resources accessible to more people as a window into our shared humanity we are especially proud to mark the GNO’s first performance in the U.S. with its orchestra. Tonight’s concert is a celebration of contemporary Greek identity, inspired by the enduring legacy of writer Nikos Kazantzakis and brought to life through the music of some of Greece’s most distinguished composers.”

Koumendakis thanked the SNF and Co-President Andreas C. Dracopoulos “for standing by us and supporting our international outreach goals … which we would not have been able to envision without the SNF’s grant.”
He also “expressed his warmest thanks to Evangelos Marinakis and Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. for their generous support of the concert.”

The poster for the ‘Nikos Kazantzakis: An Odyssey in Music’ concert at Carnegie Hall on October 15. Photo by Eleni Sakellis

Nikos Kazantzakis— the most translated Greek author worldwide— has been one of the most timeless and rich sources of inspiration for Greek musical creation throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Through music and film, Kazantzakis’ works, including ‘Zorba the Greek’, ‘Captain Michalis’, ‘Christ Recrucified’, ‘The Last Temptation’, and ‘Ascetics’, have made him one of the most recognizable literary figures worldwide.

The historic Carnegie Hall in New York City. Photo by Eleni Sakellis

The concert transported the audience into Kazantzakis’ world, highlighting the ways in which the poetry and drama of his writing inspired composers in profound and unique ways. The opening pieces, Mitropoulos’ Cretan Feast and Skalkottas’ Selections from 36 Greek Dances, perhaps not as well-known as other music inspired by Kazantzakis, brought Crete to mind while composer and GNO Artistic Director Koumendakis’ Amor Fati, written to mark the 50th anniversary of the author’s death, offered a more modern take while capturing the spirit of the iconic author.
“Along with the masterpieces by our prominent composers, I will have the special honor of presenting one of my own works, Amor Fati,” Koumendakis said in the program notes. “It is an optimistic piece that I composed for Nikos Kazantzakis in 2007, approached from a contemporary perspective and omitting the usual folklorist dimension, which I consider somewhat restrictive to the essence of his creative work and its philosophical and ideological content.”

Following the intermission, the audience was enchanted by Hadjidakis’ Captain Michalis and the performance of soprano Maria Kostraki and the Manos Hadjidakis Ensemble. The traditional instruments and the lyrics of the songs drawing the audience even further along on the journey to Greece.

Maestro Vassilis Christopoulos with the Greek National Opera Orchestra. Photo: A. Simopoulos

The evening’s grand finale, Selections from Zorbas by Theodorakis, featured mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili along with Vangelis Trigkas and Paris Perysinakis, both on bouzouki, and drew the audience into participating with rhythmic applause to the beat of one of the most beloved Greek songs of all time, ‘Zorba’s Dance’. That final and highly anticipated piece, capturing the Greek spirit in its purest and best sense, echoing with life-affirming, unmitigated joy in spite of life’s challenges as it speeds to its inevitable conclusion, was the perfect way to end the evening and received an extended standing ovation from the appreciative audience.

When the applause finally came to an end, the audience filed out of the historic venue with praises for the artists and many planning to visit the GNO at its home at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens as soon as possible.

Koumendakis also” expressed his warmest thanks to Evangelos Marinakis and Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. for their generous support of the Concert.”