Maritime Baroque

Watching a fully staged performance of Baroque opera is not exactly what one can expect from a Gala celebrating the 30 years of a Foundation, established by Greeks in Paraguay (!!!).

That was the context of the beautiful (secret) concert Parsi had the pleasure of attending last night, 12th of November at the Athens Megaron.


After a 2 hour deluge of eeeendless speeches, and with 1/5 (or more) of the Alexandra Trianti Hall leaving their seats preferring the buffet to Händel, and while the time was already past 22:30, finally the curtain rose to reveal an interesting set, created especially for this night.


The basic idea of the Concert was "Notes of the Sea: Arias and duets related to the Sea".

Mary Ellen Nesi, Klara Ek and Vito Priante sang arias from Haendel's L'Arianna in Creta, Lotario, Rinaldo, Tamerlano, Ariodante, Vivaldi's Giustino, L'Olimpiade, and Monteverdi's Il Ritorno d 'Ulisse...

The mighty George Petrou conducted the Orchestra of Patras.

Klara Ek singing "Siam Navi all'onde algenti"

The result was totally worth all the waiting. Beautiful, young voices, excelling at a most difficult repertoire, with a baroque orchestra, in a vast and hard-to-fill Hall.

Priante and Nesi, Ulisse and Penelope


Highlights of the evening: Klara Ek singing "Siam Navi all' onde algenti" with a crystal clear beautiful voice, Mary Ellen Nesi singing in the most sensual way Eustazio's "Siam prossimi al porto" from Rinaldo and Vito Priante's virile Leone in "Nel mondo e nell'abisso".


Kudos to the Orchestra of Patras and maestro George Petrou for their divine sound and for the honour of having such an Orchestra in Greece.

Klara Ek and Mary Ellen Nesi posing for
Vito Priante, Klara Ek, Mary Ellen Nesi and P. Tsakos,
shipowner and founder of the Tsakos Foundation


We 're not done yet, sexy reader.
Here are some clips from last night.
Not the best maybe, but certainly the "quietest" ones
(no bags clutching, no high heels knocking, no mobiles ringing, no bracelets glinging, no stupid cows chatting-that was the rule last night-, only some coughing and some doors closing) :

Klara Ek, Siam Navi all'onde algenti (L'Olimpiade)

Mary Ellen Nesi, Dopo Notte (Ariodante)

Vito Priante, Nel mondo e nell'abisso.. (Tamerlano)