For the fifth consecutive year, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) will be celebrating summer with the Summer Nostos Festival, from 23 to 30 June. An open celebration of culture, sports, coexistence, dialogue, education and play returns to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center with free admission for all.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the exciting Classical and Contemporary Music performances, as well as the Staged Productions we will have the chance to enjoy during the SNFestival. Large-scale productions featuring multiple artists, performances that will astonish the audience and distinguished personalities with international reputations from Greece and abroad all comprise the rich table of offerings at this year’s Summer Nostos Festival.
The new musical composition by guitarist from The National Bryce Dessner, Triptych (Eyes of One on Another), will be presented at the GNO’s Stavros Niarchos Hall. The work is dedicated to the creative universe of Robert Mapplethorpe, an artist who defined modern photography, and the way in which his works shock, seduce and provoke debate. This ambitious new multimedia show was commissioned by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, among other international institutions, through the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. It premiered on 5 March at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles with the LA Philarmonic New Music Group.
The famous percussion quartet Sō Percussion, lauded by Τhe New Yorker and The New York Times, is traveling from New York to the GNO’s Stavros Niarchos Hall for a uniquely dynamic performance that will redefine how we perceive percussion and music as an experience. At the same venue, we will enjoy the most populous production of the Summer Nostos Festival: 125 chorists from Yale University, the Yale Alumni Chorus, will join the musicians of El Sistema Greece and the Academica Athens Orchestra to present a program of unprecedented energy and power, focusing on works by Brahms and Christopher Theofanidis.
The GNO’s Alternative Stage will welcome the talented Chaplin family in Bells & Spells, a magical spectacle by Victoria Thiérrée Chaplin, Charlie Chaplin’s daughter. Starring Aurelia Thiérrée, Victoria’s daughter and Charlie Chaplin’s granddaughter, and Jaime Martinez. Bells & Spells blurs the lines between reality, dreams, imagination and intense pictorialness.
The Greek National Opera (GNO) will be joining this year’s SNFestival with satirical cartoonist Bost’s parody of Medea, directed by Yannis Skourletis (bijoux de kant), with music composed by Nikos Kypourgos. This is a truly groundbreaking work that will take on a whole new dimension as it is set to music in the form of an operetta. Also appearing will be the Orchestra, Chorus, Children’s Chorus and soloists of the Greek National Opera
The GNO’s Alternative Stage will be awash with the crystal clear sound and stylish elegance of the Tetraktys string quartet, one of the leading Greek chamber music ensembles with an eclectic and extensive repertoire and a keen interest in contemporary music experimentation. At this year’s Summer Nostos Festival, Tetraktys will be performing works by Beethoven, Schnittke, and Reich.
The popular legend of Pandora, the first mortal woman, takes on a new dimension through a stage narrative that will lead the public beyond history, as we know it. Her Mind’s I is a multifaceted project featuring music, choreography, vocals, and images. It begins with the myth as described in Hesiod’s Works and Days, but, in essence, it attempts to penetrate deep into Pandora's mind. The concept, direction and visual treatment are all by Alexandros Tsolakis. The project was commissioned by the Summer Nostos Festival and will be performed on the GNO’s Alternative Stage.
Last but not least, the art of the modern circus will dazzle SNFestival visitors in Circus Cosmos, a performance hosted by magician Mark Mitton and stand-up comedian Giorgos Hadjipavlou. The show stars an international roster of artists who have performed with Cirque du Soleil and appeared at the Moulin Rouge in an unprecedented spectacle for all ages!
Free admission to all events, through online registration.