Greek Bicentennial Performance Goes On Despite The Pandemic
- by XpatAthens
- Thursday, 18 March 2021
An abundance of commemorating events such as museum exhibitions, theater productions, and historical re-enactments was planned in Greece to honor the bicentennial of the Greek War of Independence.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, mezzo-soprano Artemis Bogri and her fellow vocalists performed the Greek National Opera’s new production of “Despo” in a theater empty of spectators. Despo, the title character in Pavlos Carrer’s 1875 opera chooses death over captivity by detonating ammunition stored in a fortress as Ottoman forces close in.
“Artists prepare two or three months for a production and then take that work to an audience,” she said. “Now, we have to generate that energy with no one there. That’s not easy.”
The bicentennial events intended to illustrate Greece’s modern accomplishments have been postponed, scaled back, or moved online due to the pandemic and school parades were canceled on account of the surge in Covid-19 infections.
Like the National Opera, other cultural foundations have formed small work teams to salvage their celebration plans despite the acute financial pressure they are facing due to the ongoing lockdown measures in Greece.
To read this article in full, please visit: ekathimerini.com
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, mezzo-soprano Artemis Bogri and her fellow vocalists performed the Greek National Opera’s new production of “Despo” in a theater empty of spectators. Despo, the title character in Pavlos Carrer’s 1875 opera chooses death over captivity by detonating ammunition stored in a fortress as Ottoman forces close in.
“Artists prepare two or three months for a production and then take that work to an audience,” she said. “Now, we have to generate that energy with no one there. That’s not easy.”
The bicentennial events intended to illustrate Greece’s modern accomplishments have been postponed, scaled back, or moved online due to the pandemic and school parades were canceled on account of the surge in Covid-19 infections.
Like the National Opera, other cultural foundations have formed small work teams to salvage their celebration plans despite the acute financial pressure they are facing due to the ongoing lockdown measures in Greece.
To read this article in full, please visit: ekathimerini.com