Greek Festival 2008, a summer full of excitement.

As you first read at parsifal's ,

La Renée

WILL be in Athens for a Gala on the 3d of July and is gonna sing under the Acropolis at the Odeon Of Herodes Atticus!

It was finally confirmed during a press conference given on the 4th of March in Athens when the vast event calendar of the Athens Festival 2008 was finally announced.

Many exciting things to see in a long festival expanding over 2 months (June, July, August) and some extra-festival performances in September, not yet announced.

What Parsi found more interesting by a quick viewing were the following:

Greek National Opera

Giacomo Puccini, TurandotJanice Baird as Turandot

1, 3, 5, 7 June 2008, 21:00

The Cast seems excellent (well, Franco Farina isn't exactly my cup of tea)
Turandot: JANICE BAIRD
Calaf: Franco Farina
Liú: Elena Kelessidi
Timur: Dimitri Kavrakos

The last time that we saw Turandot at the Odeon Of Herodes Atticus was back in 1996 in a production of the Greek National Opera with Francesca Patané as Turandot and Nicola Martinucci as Calaf.

What seems to be of interest is that Renata Scotto is about to do the regia of this new Turandot.
It's gonna be the third time that Scotto does a stage direction in Greece (Lucia di Lammermoor and Madama Butterfly in Thessaloniki) and the first time in Athens.

~

Then we 're gonna have the pleasure of watching once again
The Wooster Group
that seem to have begun a stable relation with the athenians after their previous performances in Athens.
This time it's gonna be Hamlet (12 - 15 June 2008).

~

Whoever has not seen this magnificent choreography by Maurice Bejart shouldn't miss the chance.

A Tribute to Maurice Béjart
Sylvie Guillem - The Tokyo Ballet
16&17 June 2008

Le Sacre du Printemps
La Luna
Le Chant du Compagnon Errant
Bolero

Soloists: Sylvie Guillem, Laurent Hilaire, Manuel Legris.

I had the luck of watching Sylvie Guillem twice dancing these extraordinary choreographies and i think i could definitely use a third...

~

A few days later,
Christophe Rousset and his Talens Lyrique
will pay us a visit.

27 June 2008

Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764), Quam dilecta (CMBV / Jean Duron edition)

Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704), Symphonies pour un reposoir, H515

André Campra (1660-1744), De Profundis
I. Symphonie
II. De profundis clamavi
VI. Quia apud te
VIII. Requiem

André Campra, Requiem

Céline Scheen (soprano I),
Salomé Haller (soprano II),
Emiliano Gonzalez-Toro (counter tenor),
Robert Getchell (tenor),
Matthew Brook (bass)

~

Another theatrical favourite of the Athenians, the

Schaubühne am lehniner platz

an avant-garde group from Berlin, will perform

Tennessee Williams', Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

and

William Shakespeare's Hamlet

~

The 3d of July

Ta Dah!!!!!

And it's time for

A Night with Renée Fleming

I hope i won´t have to sell a kidney to buy a ticket for this one...

~

Fiona Shaw will be back to complete what she left in the middle..

Last year's Samuel Beckett's Happy Days had only one performance due to the 2007 forest fires and the national mourning..

So, Fiona will be back at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus to give us her excellent interpetation of Winnie.

~

The second operatic production that we 're gonna witness is gonna be

Britten's "Midsummer night's dream"

in a production by the Opera de Lyon under the stage direction of Robert Carsen (...)

7, 9 July 2008

Cast will include Lawrence Zazzo as Oberon.

~

Between the 2 performances of the Britten's opera

it's time for some Riccardo!!!

8 July 2008

The Orchestra and Chorus of

Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

under the baton of

Riccardo Muti

will appear for just one night in Athens to perform

Rossini's Stabat Mater.

Full cast not yet announced, the soprano name is missing
but we already know that
Olga Borodina
Mario Zeffiri
and
Ildar Abdrazakov
will join us.

I'm quite sure that there gonna be some people sleeping outside the Athens Festival box-office on the first day of sale...

~

What follows seems to be the Festival's weirdest choice...

Britten's Curlew River

in a controversial production of the
Opera de Lyon
directed by Olivier Py.

10,11 July 2008
Little Epidaurus Theatre.

~

And after the avant-garde it's time for some old fashioned excitement...


Another great maestro,
Christophe Eschenbach
together with the
Orchestre de Paris
will perform
Ravel, Ravel and some Ravel.
11 July 2008.

~

If we have still survived the Muti-Eschenbach frenziness,
i 'll be glad to attend the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra and Chorus concert
under Alexander Vedernikov playing Prokovief.
14 July 2008

~

The Bolshoi Theatre will also offer us the immense pleasure of watching
a most magnificent opera in a most magnificent production:
Modest Mussorgsky
BORIS GODUNOV
in the Alexander Sokurov exquisite production!
a production that had it's premiere at the Bolshoi in April 2007.
At the podium we 'll find again Alexander Vedernikov
Cast has not been yet announced.
15, 16 July 2008
at the new Alexandra Trianti hall of the Athens Megaron

~

Last but not least:

Pina Bausch's
Orphée et Euridice
at the Paris Opera
a few years ago was a triumph that got repeated
once again a few weeks ago.

From the velvety boxes and luxury of the Palais Garnier, this production of Orphée, moves to the most ancient theatre in the world, for 2 performances.
Epidaurus, 19 and 20 July 2008.

~

That's pretty much it.

Of course there are many performances that have their own interest like the recital of Marta Sebestyen, or the Paolo Conte recital.

***UPDATE***

How is it possible??? I didn't write about Misha!

Mikhail Baryshnikov

will also be in the Athens Festival from 3 to 8 of July with Mats Ek and Ana Laguna!

For more information visit the Athens Festival website.