The “Master” by Manolis Kalomiris was presented on January 27 at the Olympia Theater for one evening only on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the composer’s death in 1962. The opera was given in concert form, with the Symphony Orchestra, Chorus and Philharmonic Orchestra of the Municipality of Athens conducted by Zoi Tsokanu.

This first Kalomiris opera already has a clear stamp, some exciting orchestral parts, but also a vocal writing that is sometimes still clumsy and therefore especially demanding on the singers. Two important features are the extremely large orchestra it requires and the tight recording for it. The first element forbids the performance of the opera in the limited hall of the Olympia Theatre, the second requires a sufficient number of trials to master the necessary clarity and articulation of the music. The recording of the work in 1990 by a Soviet musical ensemble shows that such clarity is quite possible.

Although Zoya Tsocanu had an orchestra filling the stage, the sound at the Olympia was deafening. There was no necessary distance from the square for the sound colors to mix and reach the listeners with a single sound. The matter was aggravated by the often heroic parts of the play, which already require tension. Problems with precision, especially with strings, robbed the sound of the clarity required for such complex writing. The performance of wind instruments, especially wood ones, was better.

The large orchestra required makes the presentation of the work at the Olympia prohibitively difficult.

In the background, behind a huge orchestra, was the choir, which, because of the distance, was electrically amplified (!), which led to an unnatural sound effect. However, despite the improvement, the articulation remained problematic, and the text could only be understood through subtitles. In addition, there were issues of coordination with the orchestra, both with the choir and with the soloists, who often sought in vain for self-evident directions from the conductor.

The distribution was entirely Greek. Tenor Konstantinos Klironomos sang the extremely demanding part of the Protomaster in a strong, heroic, bright and light voice. Smaragda in her youth was performed by Maria Callas, which makes many look for magnificent lyrical and dramatic voices for this role. However, Calla’s potential was unique, and the melism that Kalomiris foresees, especially in the high range of the role, indicates the need for a more lyrical, light voice with flexibility. Maritina Tabakopoulou has a healthy and strong lyrical-dramatic voice. Thanks to her youth and will, she played the Emerald convincingly and successfully handled the bold demands of the role.

Baritone Aris Argyris performed Lord with a strong voice, and the deep-voiced Petros Magoulas had a gentle voice despite the gloomy character he played (Geros). Danaë Condor played the part of the Singer, and Maria Vlahopoulou played the gloomy part of the Mother.