The Murderess

Lead Donor of the GNO

Production sponsor

The Greek National Opera joins the 61st Dimitria Festival, Thessaloniki's largest and most historic cultural event, scheduled for 1 to 26 October 2026. The GNO will present a diverse programme ranging from opera and melodrama to shadow puppet opera and a cine-opera pastiche at the Royal Theatre and the Ceremony Hall of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, offering audiences the opportunity to discover and enjoy rare works, new productions, and highly successful performances. The GNO’s participation in the 61st Dimitria Festival’s programme is part of a Framework Agreement between the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Thessaloniki institutions.

Following a long and successful operatic journey, Giorgos Koumendakis’ The Murderess returns to the stage, this time as a melodrama, featuring Karyofyllia Karabeti. Before its Athens performances, Frangoyannoù’s new journey will stop in Thessaloniki for a single performance as part of the 61st Dimitria Festival.

Following the main narrative axis of Alexandros Papadiamantis' original text and featuring a new, abridged version of Giorgos Koumendakis’ musical work for a chamber ensemble, The Murderess returns to the stage to be redeemed once again between divine and human justice.  

The musical soul portrait composed by Giorgos Koumendakis, which converses with the profound, poetic, dark, and timeless essence of Papadiamantis’ work and incorporates elements of the Greek musical tradition into its musical language, meets renowned actress Karyofyllia Karabeti, who, following the score, will read excerpts from the work in a distinctive, fervent, and highly demanding narration, highlighting the rare musicality of Papadiamantis’ unique idiom while preserving its dramatic tension intact.