«THE UNESCO MARIA CALLAS AWARD 2016»

 CLUB FOR UNESCO OF PIRAEUS AND ISLANDS

WILL AWARD RENOWNED SOPRANO JENNY DRIVALA

«THE UNESCO MARIA CALLAS AWARD 2016»

Friday, December 2^nd 2016, 4p.m.

City Hall of Palaio Faliro

51, Terpsichoris & Artemidos Streets

Free Entrance

Starring:

Jenny Drivala, soprano - Vasilis Asimakopoulos, bass

Irene Konsta, soprano - Vanessa Kalkanis, soprano

Theodore Birakos, tenor - Maria Giavroumi, piano

Program:

Arias and duets from the operas:

"La Traviata" by Giuseppe Verdi, " La sonnambula" by Vincenzo Bellini,

"Prometheus Bound" and "Olympic Flame" by Panagiotis Karousos, etc.

 

Greetings: Ioannis Maronitis – President of Club for Unesco of the Departments of Piraeus and Islands, and Vice President of the World Federation of UNESCO Clubs, Centers and Associations (WFUCA) for Europe and North America.

Mr. Dionysis Chatzidakis, Mayor of Palaio Faliro Municipality

Konstantinos Nikolaidis, Vice Mayor for Culture for Paleo Faliro Municipality

Michael Triantafyllou, Coordinator of Multiplex Hall of Paleo Faliro City Hall

Irini Venardou, Secretary of the Center of Culture and Sport of Palaio Faliro

Presentation: Panagiotis Karousos, Director for opera and classical music for the Club for Unesco of the Departments of Piraeus and Islands.

The Club for UNESCO of Piraeus and Islands has the honor to present an Opera Gala in order to mark the anniversary of Maria Callas (2 December 1923).

The Club for UNESCO of Piraeus & Islands commemorates the great soprano Maria Callas, awarded the internationally renowned soprano Jenny Drivala, and presenting works of opera composer Panagiotis Karousos, in a program brightened with arias that Maria Callas sung in the largest opera houses of the world, performed by great young lyric artists, Vasilis Asimakopoulos, bass, Irene Konsta, soprano, Vanessa Kalkanis, soprano, Theodore Birakos, tenor, accompanied by pianist Maria Giavroumi.

Maria Callas, (Greek: Μαρία Κάλλας; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977), was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century.

Critics praised her bel canto technique, wide-ranging voice and dramatic gifts. Her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini and further, to the works of Verdi and Puccini; and, in her early career, to the music dramas of Wagner. Her musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina.

Jenny Drivala was born in Kalamata-Greece. She completed her musical studies (piano-voice) at the University for the Arts of Bremen-Germany. Winner of the 1st Prize of the "V.Bellini" International Singing Competition in Italy and of the Special Prize "M.Callas" of the same Competition, she debuted as Lucia in the National Opera of Greece in Athens and at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari-Italy and as Amina in "La Sonnambula" at the Capitole in Toulouse-France.1n this same role, few years later, she debuted at the La Scala Opera House in Milan-Italy,under the baton of G.-A.Gavazzeni.

Shortly after Lucia, followed the debut as Violetta in "La Traviata" again in Athens. A role that has brought her in several major Opera Houses around the world.

Apart of her permanent collaboration with the National Opera of Greece, she has appeared as a guest in the following countries:

ITALY:in Milan La Scala, Rome Teatro del Opera, Bologna Comunale, Catania Teatro Bellini, Spoleto Festival del due Mondi, Florence Magglo Fiorentino, Napoil San Carlo, Venice La Fenice, Bari Petruzzelli and others, collaborating with conductors such as, Riccardo Chailly, Nello Santi, G.A. Gavazzeni, Daniel Oren, Donato Renzetti, Michel Plasson, Alfredo Zedda and producers as P.L.Pizzi, G.C.Menotti, L.Wertmueller, P.L.Samaritani, Jean Pierre Ponnelle, Yuri Liubimov and others.

FRANCE: Paris Chatelet and Champs Elysees, Toulouse Capitole, Bordeaux, Nice, Monte Carlo, Festival of Carpentras, Montpellier

AUSTRIA: Vienna State Opera, Volksoper, Innsbruck Festival

GERMANY: Hamburg, Dusseldorf

SWITZERLAND:Zuich, Basel, Lausanne, St. Gallen

GR.BRITAIN:London ENO, Philarmonia at the Winchester Cathedral, Clerkenwell Festival

U.S. of America: New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Detroit Opera House

AUSTRALIA: The Victoria State Opera in Melbourne

SOUTH AFRICA:PACT Pretoria, CAPAB Cape Town

Recordings:

"Songs I Love"- London 1995 Sommrecords

"The Crucifixion"- Byzantine Opera by Y. Boufides Athens 1996

"Christmas 2000" - Athens 2000

"Antigone" - Opera by M.Theodorakis

"Brentano Lieder - Daphne "- by R.Strauss

"Aria" - Athens (2006) - Arias by Vellini, Verdi, Meyerbeer, Mozard

Videos :

"Armide" by Gluck (title role) - Austrian Television

Cinema :

"Maiina" by Werner Schroeter

"Poussieres d'amour" by Werner Schroeter

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