Alternative Stage

The Greek National Opera Alternative Stage at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, taking music theatre in all its forms as its starting point, has already evolved into an important cultural institution, whose identity is reflected in the threefold objectives it serves: contemporary creation, education, and social return. Equally important is the emphasis on primary creation, through a systematic commissioning policy, and on the development of a creative dialogue between younger and established music and theatre artists. During the 2017-2021 period, stage director Alexandros Efklidis served as the Artistic Director of the GNO Alternative Stage.

 

The trial period of operation of the GNO Alternative Stage, which has a capacity of 300-400 seats (depending on the seating arrangement of each production), began in the second half of the 2016-2017 season, following the official handing over of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center to the Greek State. It is a multifunctional hall with excellent acoustics, equipped with the appropriate infrastructure to support high-level productions and to encourage experimentation and innovation.

 

The founding donor of the Alternative Stage of the Greek National Opera is the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, which, in addition to an initial donation for the relocation of the Greek National Opera, which served as the catalyst for the creation of the institution (initially under the guidance of Giorgos Koumentakis), continues to support the Alternative Stage, as well as the Educational and Social Activities of the GNO, with further donations, thus recognising their importance for the GNO's new era at the SNFCC