Pocket Opera & Ballet

GNO Learning & Participation Lead Donor & Tour Programme Donor

The highly beloved programme Pocket & Opera Ballet is returning for a third consecutive year, offering infants, toddlers, and Primary School children a first introduction to the repertoire of opera and ballet.

 Pocket & Opera Ballet is an educational and entertaining programme that introduces the young friends of the GNO to the world of opera, music theatre, and dance, through creative workshops and interactive performances. This year, it will be presented not only in Athens but also across Greece, as part of the programme “The GNO Tours Greece,” made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach.

 Children are invited not only to attend these performances but also to actively participate: to sing, move, create music and visual elements, and explore the work’s stories through their own eyes.

Five iconic opera and ballet works from the repertoire, which will be part of this year’s season at the GNO, are magically condensed to fit into the pockets of our little friends and take them on a journey through the world of opera and ballet.

Each work is enriched with experiential workshops of music, theatre, dance, and visual arts, giving children the opportunity to experiment, collaborate, and become co-creators of a performance. Thus, contact with the arts becomes an experience of joy and discovery that cultivates imagination, expressiveness, and collectiveness

• Amilcare Ponchielli’s La Gioconda, an opera filled with melodramatic passion, intrigue, love, and self-sacrifice, will be performed for children aged 8 to 12. 

Age group: 8-12 years

Dates: 1, 2, 8, 9 November 2025

Starts at: Saturdays at 17.00, Sundays at 11.00

 Tickets will go on sale on: 20 October 2025

Ticket prices: 5 euros / unaccompanied children

Tickets will be available for purchase at: GNO Box Office at the SNFCC (2130885700 | daily 9.00-21.00), ticketservices.gr

• Giselle, one of the most famous ballets of the Romantic era, featuring enchanting music by Adolphe Adam and telling the story of a pure romance that transcends death, will be performed for children aged 4 to 7.

Age group: 4-7 years

• Giuseppe Verdi’s Falstaff, the composer’s last opera and one of the most intelligent comedies in the repertoire, invites children aged 8 to 12 to discover Shakespeare’s endless world through music.

Age group: 8-12 years

PATRAS

Dates: January 24 & 25, 2026
Start time: 11:00
Venue: Archaeological Museum of Patras

Admission is free.
Advance reservation is required, exclusively via ticketservices.gr, starting January 15, 2026 at 12:00.

ATHENS

Dates: February 15 & 28, and March 1, 2026
Start times: Saturday at 18:30, Sunday at 11:00

Venue: Greek National Opera – SNFCC

Presale starts: January 28, 2026 at 12:00
Ticket price: €5 / child without an accompanying adult

Tickets: GNO box offices at SNFCC (Tel. +30 213 088 5700 | daily 09:00–21:00), ticketservices.gr

• La traviata, Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpiece, is transformed into a joyful journey of music and imagination for children aged 4 to 7.

Age group: 4-7 years

Dates: 7, 8 February 2026

Starts at: Saturday at 17.00, Sunday at 11.00

Tickets will go on sale on: 23 January 2026

Ticket prices: 5 euros / unaccompanied children

Tickets will be available for purchase at:  GNO Box Office at the SNFCC (2130885700 | daily 9.00-21.00), ticketservices.gr

• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, the most emblematic ballet of all time, will be performed in a multisensory version, specially designed for infants and toddlers aged 1 to 3.

Age group: 1-3 years

Transportation sponsor for Crete