“Of course, on the occasion of our dedication Maria Callas marks the 100th anniversary of her birth. But for me, Callas was and remains a living presence both for the lyric theater and for her. National Opera. Her contribution to opera in the 20th and 21st centuries is undeniable, as is her influence on the renewal of operatic writing, emphasizing in her interpretation the importance of the dramatic dimension of operatic works.” says “K” artistic director of ELS George Kumentakis.

The reason for our conversation is the announcement of Divina’s anniversary events, in its context Year of UNESCO “Maria Callas 2023” Ministry of the Interior. From April to December this year, ELLS will present Cherubini’s Medea, an art installation in the foyer, an opera gala in Herodeion, an exhibition at the National Library of Greece, a documentary film about the Greek diva’s unknown early years. , a video concert dedicated to her “first repertoire”, and in addition, she will hold an educational seminar with the DmLab of the Technical University of Crete. Mr. Kumentakis is the art curator of the tribute.

“Our program is, of course, designed to honor the Greek soprano who, starting from this country, has made Greece famous on the planet. But our big concern from the very beginning was to find a way to appeal to schoolchildren, teenagers, youth,” he explains. “The new generation knows the name Kallas, but do they know what a huge mark she left in her art? In order to introduce it to a young audience, we have chosen activities developed with the help of modern media, visual installations and interactive performances, without neglecting the music, of course with new, large co-productions such as Medea and the opera Gala in Irodeon” .

For the artistic director of ELS, one of the most important infrastructure projects implemented in the organization in recent years is the development and staffing of the Historical Archive. Donations have increased, and their contents, which end up in the ELLS Archive and Music Library, are immediately digitized and cataloged so that they are available to researchers and artists.

“Our big concern from the very beginning was to find a way to appeal to schoolchildren, teenagers, youth,” says G. Kumentakis.

valuable material

This year, as part of the tribute, we will see some of this precious material for the first time, as important archival acquisitions will be presented. Recently a collector Dimitris Piromallis donated to the Archives his rich collection for Maria Callas, which consists of thousands of items and includes, among other things, records, rare publications, documents, photographs, personal items, etc. In addition, ELLS recently acquired the Cleisthenida Photo Archive, which includes rare photographs from the performances of the diva in Greece, as well as the archive of the main musician Leonidas Zora, who conducted Callas in her first performances in the Lyrics, as well as the archive of the journalist. and the director of the 1950s Athens Festival, Achilleas Mamakis, who invited the diva to give a recital in 1957 at Herodeion. In addition, MIET-ELIA provided ELLS with archival materials from the Paxinos-Minoti archive.

Based on these documents and testimonies, the action “Unpacking Callas”, i.e. part of the polymorphic installation “From Callas to Medea”, which will feature archival materials related to the production of the opera with Maria Callas at the Antique Theater of Epidaurus in 1961, as well as materials from the show’s presentations in Dallas, London and Milan. An archival study of the Pyromalli collection and the ELLS archive will form the basis of an exhibition on the 2nd floor of the EBE starting in November.

Events will end on December 2, the 100th anniversary of Callas’ birth. This will be followed by the premiere of a documentary film by Vassilis Louras, co-produced by ELLS with the production company ESCAPE, about the years when she received her art education and performed her first roles on the Lyric Stage (1937-1937). 1945), as well as in her three later appearances at the Herodeo (1957) with the Athens Festival and at Epidaurus (1960-1961) with the Greco-Greek National Orchestra.