ETERNITY on GNO TV and special screening at the National Library of Greece - SNFCC on Sunday, 19 February at 18.00

Coming to GNO TV from 19 February: a singular audio-visual urban chronicle that sheds light on the dialogue that exists between the buildings of the Greek National Opera and the National Library of Greece at the SNFCC on the one hand, and the surrounding area of Kallithea on the other. ETERNITY, written and directed by Ilias Madouros, and with music supervised and performed by Duo Hedi (Anastasia Kotsali, Kostas Zigkeridis), will be available to stream for free on nationalopera.gr/GNOTV through until 31 July 2023. To mark the launch of ETERNITY on GNO TV, there will be a special screening of the film inside the Book Castle at the National Library of Greece – SNFCC on Sunday, 19 February. Admission is free.

Based on a song cycle by Ralph Vaughan Williams that features poetry by William Blake, and on a piece by Apostolis Koutsogiannis setting poetry by Argyris Chionis to music, ETERNITY casts a sensitive eye over transformations of the urban fabric and shifts in contemporary society, delineating them all most vividly. The work is inspired by life in the neighbourhoods around the SNFCC, revealing refugee traces of yesteryear, present-day local markets and shops, and the daily lives of residents. By means of the unique human geography of Kallithea, the relationship between local residents and their neighbourhood, the area’s sex workers, and the Faliro Delta, the film seeks to open up a discourse on new realities, and on the transition to a new era.

The director, Ilias Madouros, notes: “Six musical miniatures featuring the poetry of William Blake and Argyris Chionis. Poetry that is deeply contemporary and existential, dark and hopeful, enters into dialogue with the work of two disparate composers of different eras, juxtaposing timeless and universal questions with the demands of an area in a state of change. From the construction site redeveloping the Faliro Bay seafront through to the mouth of the River Ilissos, ETERNITY seeks out the very heart of Kallithea: in its stadiums and on Syngrou Avenue, inside its neighbourhoods and markets, in its seas and landmarks, and in the faces of its people.

ETERNITY is a study of an area in flux, but also a meditation on our experiences and perceptions of the world, and how these are shaped – not only by objective reality, but also through our own subjective and imaginary lenses. As William Blake in any case once said: ‘Every thing possible to be believ’d is an image of truth.’”

ETERNITY

Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams, Apostolis Koutsogiannis

Poetry: William Blake, Argyris Chionis

Adaptation, performance: Duo Hedi (Anastasia Kotsali mezzo-soprano / Kostas Zigkeridis bayan)

Written and directed by: Ilias Madouros

With the participation of local shopkeepers, residents, and Kallithea Municipal Market traders.

Free to stream on GNO TV from 19 February until 31 July 2023

A SPECIAL SCREENING, A CONCERT, AND A DISCUSSION

To mark the launch of ETERNITY on GNO TV, there will be a special screening of the film –with the production team in attendance– inside the National Library of Greece at the SNFCC (Book Castle, ground floor) on Sunday, 19 February 2023 at 18.00. Admission is free.

The screening will be followed by a concert given by the mezzo-soprano Anastasia Kotsali and the accordionist Kostas Zigkeridis, who will be performing three pieces of music from ETERNITY live.

The evening will be brought to a close by a discussion touching upon the past and present of the Kallithea neighbourhood, guided by the joint theme running through both ETERNITY and the permanent MONUMENTA exhibition installed on the ground floor of the NLG, titled “Tracing Human Presence and Life”, that reveals stories relating to the area in which the SNFCC is situated, dating from antiquity right through until the present day.

Taking part in this discussion are:

• MONUMENTA co-ordinator Irini Gratsia;
• the museum studies specialist who oversaw the “Tracing Human Presence and Life” permanent exhibition, Marlen Mouliou;
• the poet Thomas Tsalapatis;
• the activist Paola Revenioti; and
• the ETERNITY creative team: Ilias Madouros and Anastasia Kotsali.

This free public event is being co-organised by the Greek National Opera (GNO), the National Library of Greece (NLG), and MONUMENTA – a non-profit organisation for the protection of natural and architectural heritage in Greece and Cyprus.

GNO TV is part of a new strand of GNO programming made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) [www.SNF.org] to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach.

Lead Donor of the GNO: The Stavros Niarchos Foundation