Great soprano Irini Konsta directing and starring in Sophocles' "Trachiniae"

Sophocles' Opera "Trachiniae" directed by Irene Konsta

Music by Panagiotis Karousos

Cast:

Deianeira: Irini Konsta, soprano

Heracles & Hyllus: Vasilis Asimakopoulos, bass

Macaria: Rea Voudouri, soprano

Alcmene: Katerina Botoni, mezzo

Eurystheus: Theodoros Birakos, tenor

Iole: Mariza Kioseoglou, soprano

Cultural & Sports Organization of the Municipality of Galatsi

Pantelis Legakis, piano with orchestral ensemble

Galatsi Festival 2018

OPEN THEATER OF ALSOS VEIKOU

Friday July 20, 2018

Time 21:00 pm 

Free entrance

Sophocles' "Trachiniae" set to music by Panagiotis Karousos

Directed by Irini Konsta

The modern masterpiece of Sophocles' Trachiniae set to music by Panagiotis Karousos, made her triumphant debut at the Lincoln Center in New York on March 26, 2016 with the name "Olympic Flame". On July 5, 2016, she re-appeared in the United States at the Astoria Festival for the occasion of the 2016 Olympic Games.

Sophocles' tragedy "Trachiniae" titled "Olympic Flame"

The Olympic Flame of Panagiotis Karousos is an opera in two acts related to the myth of Hercules and the foundation of the Olympic Games, and will be performed with ancient Greek costumes and stage direction. The opera as a whole is based on the Olympic flame and, as it unfolds, gives us the fundamental meaning behind the ancient Greek religious ritual, in order to bring people closer to the gods.

The first act of the opera includes poems from Homer (Homeric hymns), Pindar (Olympic hymns "Olympians"), and Hesiod (Works and Days). The second act of the opera is based solely on Sophocles' tragedy "Trachiniae".

In Trachiniae, we describe the suffering of Hercules and the atonement of the Deianeira, with her tragic death. The operatic tragedy "Trachiniae-Olympic Flame" presents Greek mythology and philosophy with Doric lyricism, and as a musical theater is a work contributing to the world's civilization. The composition and orchestration of the opera is influenced by the post-romantic era in music and other classical elements of Greek antiquity, thus making an avant-garde opera. 

in the opera has a dominant position, as in Panagiotis Karousos' works, the exaltation of lyricism, which is also related to the ancient Greek tragedy. 

The opera made a world premiere at the Montreal Cathedral (Basilica Notre-Dame) with soloist, choir and great symphony orchestra under the direction of conductor Andre Gauthier. In Greece, the opera was presented in the Old House of Greek Parliament, with costumes directed by Basilis Asimakopoulos, who starred in the play and Deianeira, the soprano Irini Konsta. The bel-canto style of the arias and the melancholic romanticism make this work a major opera masterpiece of the new era, "a prototype of lyricism in the opera".