The Greek National Opera will make its U.S. debut at Carnegie Hall on Thursday, October 15, with a concert devoted to the work and influence of Nikos Kazantzakis. Tickets are now on sale, with prices starting at $35.
Nikos Kazantzakis: An Odyssey in Music begins at 8 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. The program traces Kazantzakis’ influence through music by Manos Hadjidakis, Mikis Theodorakis, Nikos Skalkottas, Dimitri Mitropoulos, and Giorgos Koumendakis.
Vassilis Christopoulos, music director of the Graz Opera in Austria, will conduct the Greek National Opera Orchestra. Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili and Greek soprano Maria Kostraki will join the orchestra and an ensemble of solo musicians.
Kostraki is scheduled to perform music composed by Hadjidakis for a 1966 theatrical adaptation of Kazantzakis’ Captain Michalis. Rachvelishvili will sing selections from Theodorakis’ Zorbas, marking her first performances of the composer’s music.
The program also includes three of Skalkottas’ Cretan Dances and Mitropoulos’ Cretan Feast. Mitropoulos composed the original piano work in 1919, and Skalkottas later arranged it for orchestra.
Koumendakis, artistic director of the Greek National Opera, will be represented by Amor Fati. Written in 2007 for the 50th anniversary of Kazantzakis’ passing, the orchestral work draws from the author’s philosophy and Cretan musical traditions. It will receive its U.S. premiere at Carnegie Hall.
Kazantzakis’ writing has inspired works across film, theater, opera, ballet, and orchestral music. The Carnegie Hall program places that influence alongside music shaped by Crete, where Kazantzakis was born and which remained a recurring presence in his work.
The Carnegie Hall appearance is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and is part of events marking the foundation’s 30 years of grantmaking. The concert is presented under the auspices of the Consulate General of Greece in New York and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. A portion of the proceeds will support Together for Children.
Tickets are available through Carnegie Hall, by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, or at the box office at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan.