Canzonetta spirituale sopra alla nanna

 The Festival is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)  [www.SNF.org] to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach

With the participation of: Margarita Amarantidi (actress-director), Maria Arvaniti (biologist), Miketa Arvaniti (IT consultant), Katy Giouvanou (pensioner), Nana Dimakou (lawyer), Iris Karayan (choreographer), Eleni Katsama (author), Eleni Kechayoglou (editor), Ioanna Kokolopoulou (jewelry designer), Natalia Manta (visual artist), Anahí Riquelme (educator), Eleni Stamidou (opera singer), Saynabou Thiang (freelancer)

Canzonetta spirituale sopra alla nanna by Italian composer, organist and violinist of the early baroque era Tarquinio Merula (1595-1665) is a moving song about the fear of death, hope and love. Tarquinio Merula, an exuberant figure, promiscuous, and with a rebellious spirit, produced cutting-edge compositions, that surprise even modern-day audiences with their boldness and originality.

In Tarquinio Merula’s Canzonetta sopra alla nanna, time is linear; it fades away and begins again, like a fairy tale that has no end. The concern about the inevitable future, the healing power of music, expectation and hope. This 16th-century lullaby, with its unadorned, minimalistic form, converses with modern music.

A female voice and two wind instruments explore baroque shadings and modern dynamics, plunging into the palimpsest of female emotions. Multiphonics and improvisations bridge Tarquinio Merula’s audacious –and extremely bold for his time– take on composition with the aesthetic of modern music, in an absolutely original approach to orchestration.

The video follows Greek and foreign female figures, walking around rooms of historic buildings in the city, ballrooms and interwar lounges. It focuses on their silent, personal narrative. Labyrinthine paths of an urban tale, heart-breaking experiences hidden behind glances, tapestries, and fabrics. The hybrid aspect of Athens becomes the fascinating canvas for real-life stories of pain, toil and hope.

MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND SPORTS

3rd GREEK NATIONAL OPERA ONLINE FESTIVAL

The Music of Language

Short stories

9 December 2020 – 6January 2021

            nationalopera.gr/en, Facebook, YouTube, digitalculture.gov.gr     

The Greek National Opera presents its 3rd Online Festival, titled The Music of Language. The Festival is curated by Giorgos Koumendakis and features five unique short stories. The Festival’s videos will be streamed online from 9 December 2020 to 6 January 2021 and will remain available to the public for 30 days after their premiere. The videos will be streamed online at nationalopera.gr/en, on GNO’s Facebook page and YouTube channel, as well as on the website of the Ministry of Culture and Sports digitalculture.gov.gr. The Festival is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) [www.SNF.org] to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach.

The five short films that will be screened as part of GNO’s 3rd Online Festival combine the art of the image with the power of music and narrative language through new readings of music works. The dream and fantasy of Arnold Schönberg’s Verklärte Nacht meet the confessions of people in deserted buildings from Nikos Ioakeim’s mesmerizing composition, and the memories of the Woman in Black in Yorgo Sicilianos’ monodrama The Lady in the Moonlight. Tarquinio Merula’s lullaby sung by different mothers in modern-day Athens intertwines with Musical GNOod Mornings, where operatic singing takes a morning TV show by storm. Through all these works, the Festival reveals imaginative ways of transmuting music and language into another form of art through the image, proposing new operatic, inspired film experiences filled with humor and an honest mood of self-sarcasm. The Festival is curated by GNO’s Artistic Director Giorgos Koumendakis.

Giorgos Koumendakis notes: “After the great success of our 1st and 2nd Online Festivals (May-June 2020, September-October 2020), which attracted tens of thousands of viewers across the world, we actively continue with GNO’s 3rd Online Festival. The new Festival is titled The Music of Language and includes five videos, five short films, where music and narrative language acquire a whole new dimension through the art of the image. We made a selection of five music works of different themes and aesthetic, which evolve the way music passes through its digital form to another reality. The Online Festival allows us to be creatively alive, not only in the midst of the pandemic, but also afterwards, as this approach to music works will have an even bigger presence in the future. From 9 December to 6 January, we invite you to enjoy these five special short stories on the screen of your computer, tablet or mobile phone.”