The Greek National Opera tours Greece

Tour Programme
July 2025 – July 2026

The Greek National Opera launches a large-scale tour programme across all of Greece for the first time in its history. Fifteen productions, including opera, music theatre, operetta, shows for the whole family, mixed spectacles, concerts, and a series of learning and participation programmes, will be presented at over 50 venues throughout Greece, spanning from Crete to Macedonia, and from Ioannina to Thrace and the Aegean islands, with free admission for audiences. The programme “The GNO tours Greece” is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach.

Celebrating its 85th anniversary, the Greek National Opera announces the expansion of its artistic activities throughout Greece, reaffirming its national character as an entity supervised by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, which provides it with enduring funding. Next year, alongside the performances in Athens and Epidaurus, the Greek National Opera will introduce its diverse artistic, educational, and social work to broader audiences across Greece, offering them a unique opportunity to experience the art of opera, dance, music theatre, and music.

The Artistic Director, Giorgos Koumendakis, notes: “We are delighted that, thanks to the grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and the support of the Ministry of Culture, we can finally carry out a large-scale tour programme across Greece, something we have been working on with significant commitment over the past few years. Since 2017, when I assumed the artistic direction of the GNO, showcasing our work in cities throughout Greece has been a key priority, equally important as our company’s strategy to enhance its international outreach by partnering with leading opera houses in Europe and America and collaborating with world-class artists. Assessing our needs, restrictions, and opportunities, we have created a diverse programme consisting of fifteen productions designed to tour and be presented at small and medium-sized venues that lack the technical infrastructure of an opera house. Aiming to achieve sustainability for this programme and to remain consistent with audiences in the periphery, we have built a network of partners across Greece who will host our productions and help present them over the coming years. I would like to thank all the collaborating artists for their participation, as well as the Municipalities, Regions, and all the local authorities, for their exceptionally warm reception of our proposals. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, for her substantial support and encouragement for this initiative. Moreover, I wholeheartedly thank Andreas C. Dracopoulos, the Co-President of the SNF, for his personal interest in the tours across the Greek periphery, and his collaborators at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, who have provided us with all the necessary means to carry out this so important and challenging project.”

The tour programme, which will be constantly enriched, includes stops in Anogeia, Ierapetra, Sitia, Rethymno, Chania, Agios Nikolaos, Kalamata, Kozani, Paros, Naxos, Syros, Lefkada, Nafplio, Sparti, Astros, Tripoli, Xylokastro, Pylos, Ancient Olympia, Ioannina, Komotini, Chios, Kiato, Trikala, Larissa, Volos, Giannitsa, Veria, Serres, Kavala, Konitsa, Preveza, Arta, Drama, Doxato, Chrysoupoli, Eleftheroupoli, Thebes, Patras, Orestiada, Didymoteicho, Soufli, Alexandroupoli, etc.

It is noted that the GNO has established strategic partnerships with the Municipalities of Ioannina, Kalamata, Rethymno, Chania, Sitia, Ierapetra, and Anogeia, aiming to build a long-term collaboration for presenting a significant number of productions.

From Sakellaridis’ operetta I Want to See the Pope! to Verdi’s Rigoletto in shadow puppet opera form; from Future Cargo to Return of the Summer by the GNO Ballet; from The Athlete’s Symphony to Cine-pastiche; and from the productions for the whole family Silence, the King Is Listening and Isadora Duck to a series of special concerts and learning and participation initiatives, the GNO tour programme across Greece will offer audiences a unique opportunity to be introduced to the magical world of the Greek National Opera and become involved in the great art of music through opera, dance, and singing.

Admission to all performances of the programme “The GNO tours Greece” will be free for the public.

The Co-President of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Andreas C. Dracopoulos, remarks: “Broadening access to high-quality works of culture for all is a long-standing objective for us at SNF. Through our exceptional partnership with the Greek National Opera (GNO) and its artistic director, Giorgos Koumendakis, we are striving to explore creative solutions in this direction. The touring programme that we are supporting, with the aim of strengthening the GNO’s artistic outreach, is to a certain extent a revival of one of our first collaborations with the GNO: support for small-scale productions that travelled to the Greek provinces during the construction of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) so that people living there could get to know the GNO’s multidimensional work. Today, thirteen years later, this initiative remains just as relevant and essential, and it is now expanding to reach even more people through a rich, robust, and high-quality programme. We are confident that it will be met with a warm response, and that the performances travelling to every corner of the country will in turn transport audiences to magical and unexplored worlds.”

PRODUCTIONS AND TOUR SCHEDULE
Dance • A co-production between the Greek National Opera and The Place, London
Future Cargo
GNO Ballet
Direction, choreography: Frauke Requardt & David Rosenberg
Design: Hannah Clark
Sound design & composition: Ben & Max Ringham • Lighting design: Malcolm Rippeth
Rehearsal manager (The Place): Valentina Formenti
Musician: Jack Baker • Assistants to the choreographers: Rachel Bowen, Dimitra Laoudi (GNO Ballet)

Driver: Florian-Michalis Pappas / Ektor Bollano • Driver’s voice: John Tsemperlidis • Alien: Eleftheria Stamou, Stefano Pietragalla, Yorgos Hatzopoulos / Manex Alberdi, Marita Nikolitsa, Kaito Takahashi / Elton Dimrochi, Areti Noti, Zoi Schoinoplokaki

The Ballet of the Greek National Opera tours Greece with the sci-fi dance performance Future Cargo by Frauke Requardt & David Rosenberg, which takes place inside a futuristic truck. Future Cargo delivers the delicate integrity of a deeply intimate experience within a large-scale dance spectacle. The show takes place inside a 40-foot haulage truck, which appears to be carrying a mystery shipment. As the sides roll up, its unusual stage is revealed – a transparent polycarbonate plastic window that allows audiences to see inside.
Four GNO Ballet dancers perform on a moving conveyor belt, showcasing a fascinating movement language that explores the concept of performing within an extremely confined space. Audience members receive a pair of headphones upon arrival, allowing them to hear inside the container and experience the show’s immersive music as well as the world within in a unique way. This special show is a captivating blend of surreal reality and everyday life elements. The performance is aimed at both dance enthusiasts of all ages and those seeking new experiences through the arts.
The tour started from the Cyclades (Paros – 4/7, Naxos – 6/7, Syros – 11/7) while the premiere took place at the 31st Kalamata International Dance Festival on 19/7. Meanwhile, the tour in the Peloponnese has already began (Sparta – 20/7, Astros – 21/7), as part of the Kalamata International Dance Festival and its outreach programme “Dancing in the Cities of the Peloponnese”, which runs for a fifth consecutive year in collaboration with the Peloponnese Region and the Municipalities of the involved cities.

Tour Schedule:
22 July 2025 – Nafplion – Port Pier Π | 21.00
23 July 2025 – Xylokastro – Evrostini, Concert Venue inside the Wooden Park | 21.00
24 July 2025 – Tripoli, Areos Square | 21.00
25 July 2025 – Kalamata, Port – Dock| 22.30
26 July 2025 – Pylos, Pier of the Port of Pylos| 21.00
27 July 2025 – Ancient Olympia, Parking lot underneath the Museum of the History of the Olympic Games| 21.00

Contemporary dance diptych
Epilogue
GNO Professional Dance School

Skipping on Stardust – Choreography: Ermira Goro
Assistant to the choreographer / Rehearsal supervisor: Iro Konti • Music: Franz Schubert, 2. Andante con moto from the String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D.810 (Death and the Maiden) – performed by the Alban Berg Quartet (ABQ) & Beats Pliz, Happy Days in C Minor feat. Lex • Lighting design: Dimitris Koutas
Featuring students from the GNO Professional Dance School

Dive – Choreography: Edouard Hue
Musical composition: Jonathan Soucasse • Lighting design: Arnaud Viala • Lighting supervision: Dimitris Koutas • Dramaturgical input: Hugo Roux • Rehearsal managers: Jaewon Jung, Alison Adnet
Featuring students from the GNO Professional Dance School
Epilogue is curated by: Yorghos Matskaris, Head of Studies of the GNO Professional Dance School • Coordination, rehearsal supervision: Alkistis Lala, Zeta Theodorelou, Komi Kloukina • Technical supervision: Vaso Papadopoulou • Costume coordination (costumes taken from the GNO wardrobe department): Ira Karagouni • Sound manager: Giorgos Rekoutis

The Greek National Opera’s Professional Dance School takes part in the 31st Kalamata International Dance Festival with the contemporary dance diptych Epilogue, under the guidance of its Head of Studies, Yorghos Matskaris, featuring choreographies by Ermira Goro and Edοuard Hue.
The globally acclaimed Greek dancer and choreographer Ermira Goro will present her new creation, Skipping On Stardust, commissioned by the GNO Professional Dance School. In it, movement turns into a vibrant dialogue between the body, space, and emotions. Dancers shape images that sometimes flow gently and at other times explode, creating a dialogue between light and shadow, tension and peace. This piece does not follow a linear narrative; instead, it unfolds like a physical poem, open to interpretation.
The internationally celebrated French choreographer and founder of the Beaver Dam Company, Edouard Hue, recomposes, especially for the GNO Dance School, an excerpt from the second act of his work Dive. Here, instinct strips movement, leading it to its purest form – shaped by directness, impulse, and necessity. The performers expose the creative process, revealing a dance that is both deeply personal and exciting.

Tour Schedule:
22 July 2025 – Kalamata Port, Dock | 22.30

Shadow Puppet Opera • A Greek National Opera Alternative Stage production
Alexandros Melissinos / Dimitris Dimopoulos
Karagiozis as Rigoletto
Music: Giuseppe Verdi
Original libretto: Francesco Maria Piave
Musical adaptation: Lina Zachari
Text: Dimitris Dimopoulos, Alexandros Melissinos
Lyric translation: Dimitris Dimopoulos
Cast: Manos Kokkonis, Giannis Selitsaniotis, Marilena Striftombola
Shadow puppeteer: Alexandros Melissinos
Frixos Mortzos (piano)

The most famous and beloved hunchbacked jester in shadow puppet theatre, Karagiozis, is called upon to carry out… an operatic mission: to portray the most renowned hunchback in opera, Rigoletto! In the new shadow puppet opera production Karagiozis as Rigoletto, written by the prolific comedian, director, and librettist Dimitris Dimopoulos and the experienced shadow puppeteer Alexandros Melissinos, Karagiozis unexpectedly finds himself playing the lead role in Rigoletto at an opera house founded by the Vizier’s daughter in the saray (palace), all while learning with humour and a disarming innocence everything required to stage an opera.
The performance combines traditional shadow puppet theatre with excerpts from Giuseppe Verdi’s masterful opera Rigoletto, performed in Greek by three opera singers, humourously revealing the backstage of an opera house while imparting knowledge and abundant laughter in an alternative way!
The character of Karagiozis is brought to life with liveliness and originality by Alexandros Melissinos, making this performance a fresh and interactive take on shadow puppet theatre. Karagiozis as Rigoletto is a production suitable for both young and older audiences, promising to entertain and educate while demonstrating that tradition and the art of opera can be combined with humour and creativity.

Tour Schedule:
29, 30 August 2025 – Akronafplia Festival, Nafplio Railway Station
6 November 2025 – Kalamata Dance Megaron
8 November 2025 – Malliaropoulio Theatre of Tripoli
11 November 2025 – Municipal Theatre of Kiato
13 November 2025 – Trikala Municipality Cultural Centre
15 November 2025 – Municipal Conservatory of Larissa
18 November 2025 – Municipal Theatre of Volos “Vangelis Papathanasiou”
20 November 2025 – Municipal and Regional Theatre of Kozani
22 November 2025 – Giannitsa Cultural Centre
25 November 2025 – Arts Centre, Veria
27 November 2025 – Municipal and Regional Theatre of Serres
29 November 2025 – Antigoni Valakou Theatre, Kavala
2 December 2025 – Komotini Concert Hall

* The tour will continue in 2026 at additional venues that will be announced later.

Dance • GNO Ballet
Return of the Summer
Modern dance diptych featuring choreographies by Ioannis Mandafounis and Konstantinos Rigos
Point of No Return – Choreography, costume coordination: Ioannis Mandafounis
Music: Giorgos Koumendakis
Lighting design: Christos Tziogkas
Featuring the dancers from the GNO Ballet
Les Nuits d’été – Choreography, set: Konstantinos Rigos
Music: Hector Berlioz
Verses: Théophile Gautier
Costumes: Deux Hommes
Lighting design: Christos Tziogkas
Featuring the dancers from the GNO Ballet

The diptych Return of the Summer presents a dialogue between Ioannis Mandafounis’ Point of No Return, set to music by Giorgos Koumendakis, and GNO Ballet Director Konstantinos Rigos’ Les Nuits d’été, featuring music by Hector Berlioz, resulting in an impressively vibrant and dynamic modern dance programme.
In Point of No Return, the internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer Ioannis Mandafounis crafts a modern piece that combines dance elements deeply rooted in the tradition of classical ballet. In tune with the music of Giorgos Koumendakis, the GNO Ballet dancers focus on the transparency and authenticity of their moves via the arsenal of classical ballet steps. Although the ensemble’s physical performance reveals an extremely classical choreographic approach, one can still recognise the individuality of the performers as well as a particularly modern treatment of the presence and interpretation of movement. These obvious elements signal the choreographer’s unique style across all of his new works.
The famous song cycle Les Nuits d’été is one of Hector Berlioz’s most popular works. The renowned French composer wrote these six songs for voice and piano, setting poetry by Théophile Gautier. His goal was to musically portray love in its most idealised form through delicate melodies. Inspired by the song cycle of the same title, Konstantinos Rigos creates, together with the GNO Ballet, a work about love, loneliness, the quest, and the journey. Gestures and shapes craft a kaleidoscope of our individual inner summer. The work will be performed by internationally acclaimed baritone Tassis Christoyannis, accompanied by Sofia Tamvakopoulou on the piano.

Tour Schedule:
6 September 2025 – Old Fish Market of Chios (Chios Festival) | 19.00
22, 23 November 2025 – Kalamata Dance Megaron

Operetta • A Greek National Opera Alternative Stage production
Theophrastos Sakellaridis
I Want to See the Pope!
Stage direction: Natasha Triantafylli
Arrangement for a four-member instrumental ensemble: Michalis Papapetrou
Musical instruction: Nicolas Vassiliou
Dramaturgy, adaptation: Elena Triantafyllopoulou
Sets, costumes: Tina Tzoka
Movement: Dimitra Mitropoulou
Lighting design: Christos Tziogkas
Varonas: Dimitris Sigalos • Latroudis: Vangelis Maniatis • Mrs Latroudis: Julia Souglakou • Anna: Chrissa Maliamani • Adrianos: Nicolas Maraziotis • Rita: Marisia Papalexiou • Dimosthenis: Antonis Kyriakakis
Featuring the musicians: Ilias Skordilis (clarinet), Dionysis Vervitsiotis (violin), Dimitris Tigkas (double bass), Konstantinos Zigkeridis (bayan)

Everyone wants to see the Pope! After a successful run of sold-out performances, the legendary operetta I Want to See the Pope! by Theophrastos Sakellaridis is touring Greece under Natasha Triantafylli’s direction, featuring an outstanding cast of opera performers and musicians.
The operetta I Want to See the Pope! (1920), which generated strong reactions upon its initial release, fully explores Theophrastos Sakellaridis’ modern bourgeois themes. The composer also penned the libretto, which is a domestic adaptation of Maurice Hennequin’s farce Les Joies du foyer (1894). The plot features a newly married bourgeois couple whose relationship is disrupted during their honeymoon trip to Rome when the young wife expresses the desire to see the Pope up close!
The work’s style, language, characters, music, and rhythm reveal a captivating stage world where hypocrisy, exaggeration, exhibitionism, and the unquestioned idealisation of certain social institutions are sharply satirised. The audience witnesses a wedding, the expectations of the newlyweds and their relatives, and a Pope who –although he never appears– remains the unseen protagonist of the show throughout its duration, serving as a reminder of the fact that confusion, mix-ups, and the pitfalls of established values are often inextricable parts of human desire.

Tour Schedule:
6 November 2025 – Kalamata Dance Megaron
8 November 2025 – Malliaropoulio Theatre of Tripoli
11 November 2025 – Municipal Theatre of Kiato
13 November 2025 – Trikala Municipality Cultural Centre
15 November 2025 – Municipal Conservatory of Larissa
18 November 2025 – Municipal Theatre of Volos “Vangelis Papathanasiou”
20 November 2025 – Municipal and Regional Theatre of Kozani
22 November 2025 – Giannitsa Cultural Centre
25 November 2025 – Arts Centre, Veria
27 November 2025 – Municipal and Regional Theatre of Serres
29 November 2025 – Antigoni Valakou Theatre, Kavala
2 December 2025 – Komotini Concert Hall

Music theatre for young audiences • A Greek National Opera Alternative Stage production
Nikos Kypourgos
Silence, the King Is Listening
Libretto: Thomas Moschopoulos (in collaboration with the composer)
Transcription for small ensemble: Kharálampos Goyós
Stage direction: Theo Abazis
Sets, costumes: Kenny MacLellan
Lighting design: Nikos Sotiropoulos
Associate director: Eleana Tsichli
Cast: Haris Andrianos (King), Vassia Zacharopoulou (Muse), Nicholas Stefanou (Musician)
Featuring the musicians: Odysseas Siozopoulos (clarinet), Sofia Efkleidou (violoncello), Christos Sakellaridis (piano)

The brilliant musical Silence, the King Is Listening, by the distinguished composer Nikos Kypourgos, one of the most successful productions of the Greek National Opera, offers an immersive music theatre experience that introduces audiences to the enchanting world of music theatre. Its educational character, entertaining performances, and exceptionally direct musical language help convey the fundamentals of music even to uninitiated audiences, in the guise of a game.
The music king is never satisfied, no matter what pieces of music his court musician plays. The musician is roused from his despair by the Muse, who seizes the opportunity to return to a job she had not practised since the glorious eras of Schubert, Mozart and Bach. She enlists the help of the seven notes of the musical scale, inspiring the musician to write a wonderful piece – which once again fails to satisfy the king! It’s time, therefore, for the imagination to give (as always!) a solution…
The musical Silence, the King Is Listening is inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Emperor’s New Clothes. Deftly poised between operatic traditionalism and playful postmodernism, this work is a perfect introduction to both young and older audiences of the concepts, techniques, and tools of musical writing. “Silence, the King Is Listening is not a work written for children. Only after its completion, some saw in it an educational character that makes it also appropriate for children. Therefore, in a way, what I’ve always believed became apparent: that the boundaries between works for adults and works for children are never too clear or too discernible", notes the composer, Nikos Kypourgos.

Tour Schedule:
4 November 2025 – Kalamata Dance Megaron
6 November 2025 – Malliaropoulio Theatre of Tripoli
8 November 2025 – Municipal Theatre of Kiato
11 November 2025 – Trikala Municipality Cultural Centre
13 November 2025 – Municipal Conservatory of Larissa

Musical for the whole family • A Greek National Opera Alternative Stage production
Stella Michailidou / Kostas Vomvolos
Isadora Duck
Text, stage direction: Stella Michailidou
Music: Kostas Vomvolos
Sets, costumes: Kenny MacLellan
Choreography, movement: Fotis Diamantopoulos
Lighting design: Christos Tziogkas
Video design: Babis Venetopoulos
Musical coaching: Christos Sakellaridis
Isadora: Lydia Stefou, Io Latousaki
Teacher – Narrator, Ms Hoity-Toity, Ms Papov: Margarita Syngeniotou
Mr Coup-de-Pied: Marios Sarantidis

Student, Swan, Papitsa: Matina Kaiafa • Student, Swan, Pipitsa: Georgia Kyriazi • Student, Swan, Young duck: Rafaela Tsobanoudi • Student, Swan, Fox: Iliana Yfantí • Student, Swan, Hunter, Colourful bird of the lake: Myrsini Petroutsou • Students, Swans, Colourful birds of the lake: Ioanna Loupeti, Anna-Maria Markopoulou, Eleni Fotou • Frog, Wolf: Christos Ntentis (Onel)

Featuring the musicians: Odysseas Siozopoulos (clarinet), Sofia Efkleidou (violoncello), Christos Sakellaridis (piano)

Following the tremendous success of its initial presentation at the Alternative Stage, and just before it takes the stage at the Stavros Niarchos Hall, Isadora Duck, written and directed by Stella Michailidiou with music by Kostas Vomvolos, will tour Greece, transforming small and large venues into a peculiar “swan lake”, where a petite duck will carve out her own path in dance.
The performance references a pioneering figure in modern dance, the “barefoot dancer” Isadora Duncan, along with classical fairy tales, such as Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling. Its heroine, the petite duck Isadora Duck, with her uniquely beautiful blue feathers, lives in Swan Lake, struggling to make her dream of becoming a ballerina come true. Passion and the desire to dance are at the heart of this performance, which communicates important values in a simple yet effective manner, offering audiences a tender and at once cruel self-awareness adventure through music, dance, and humour.
This production is a perfect and entertaining introduction to the art of dance, suitable for both young and older audiences.

Tour Schedule:
15 November 2025 – Municipal Theatre of Volos “Vangelis Papathanasiou”
18 November 2025 – Municipal and Regional Theatre of Kozani
20 November 2025 – Giannitsa Cultural Centre
22 November 2025 – Arts Centre, Veria
25 November 2025 – Municipal and Regional Theatre of Serres
27 November 2025 – Antigoni Valakou Theatre, Kavala
29 November 2025 – Komotini Concert Hall

Music theatre
Alexandros Mouzas
The Athlete’s Symphony
Music, libretto, musical direction: Alexandros Mouzas
Stage direction, stage supervision: Anna-Moscha Kambosou
Featuring soloists and a small instrumental ensemble

The Athlete’s Symphony is an original music theatre performance combining music with sports. In addition to soloists and a small instrumental ensemble, the production will feature children’s choirs and student musical ensembles from various music schools, municipal conservatories, and sports and arts groups from fifteen cities across Greece, where it will tour.
The development of physical training, the importance of mental health, addressing societal challenges, competition, strengthening self-esteem, self-discipline, dedication to goals, and embracing diversity are all elements that run through The Athlete’s Symphony, not as lessons but as lived experiences.
Through an everyday story about three friends who find an outlet in sports, The Athlete’s Symphony aims to talk about the values that shape our lives, our physical and mental health, coping with failures, accepting challenges, and enjoying everyday life.
The production will consistently involve active participation from children and teenagers who learn music while also engaging in sports, aiming to break down the clichés that divide these two activities and highlight their common elements. It will also offer children a chance to participate in a performance alongside professional artists.
Alexandros Mouzas wrote the libretto, composed the music, and conducts the performance, while Anna-Moscha Kambosou is responsible for the direction and stage supervision.

Tour Schedule:*
March 2026 – Agios Nikolaos, Chania, Rethymno, Sitia, Ierapetra
April & May 2026 – Ioannina, Konitsa, Preveza, Arta, Drama, Kavala, Doxato (Drama regional unit), Komotini, Chrysoupoli (Kavala regional unit), Eleftheroupoli (Kavala regional unit)

* The specific dates and venues for the performances will be announced soon.

Cine-pastiche
Parigi o cara
Silent film screening with live music performance, featuring a selection of excerpts from Verdi, Puccini, Massenet, Charpentier, and Offenbach
Concept, script, artistic direction: Vasilis Louras
Film direction: Michalis Asthenidis, Vasilis Louras
Producer: Stella Angeletou
Featuring soloists from the GNO with piano accompaniment

The Greek National Opera is set to present a mixed spectacle that brings together the cinematic and operatic arts across Greece, titled Parigi o cara.
Aiming to make the art of opera accessible to audiences throughout Greece who have likely never had the chance to attend an opera performance before, the GNO creates a new, hybrid work through the tradition of pastiche. The term pastiche (pasticcio in Italian and pastiche in French), which has been used since the 18th century, refers to a musical work that consists of excerpts from various pieces by one or more composers.
The new cine-pastiche work, titled Parigi o cara, features a selection of excerpts from famous repertoire operas with references to Paris. After all, it is a fact that the City of Light has inspired popular operas by renowned Italian and French composers, including Verdi, Puccini, Massenet, Charpentier, and Offenbach, among others. Thus, a modular pastiche film is created, featuring independent stories that talk about love and death in the streets and neighbourhoods of Paris. The film shows seamstress Mimì falling in love and ultimately dying in Quartier Latin, just a few streets away from the fallen Violetta. Meanwhile, the poets of Montmartre write about the moral decline of Manon, and Louise leaves her home to experience love in La Vie parisienne.
Audiences watch a silent, modular film on a cinematic screen. In front of the screen, opera singers perform arias and duets associated with Paris, accompanied by piano. Thus, the magic of opera is not confined to a single scene with minimalist sets and costumes. On the contrary, the stories in the work are impressively depicted on the big screen, remaining true to the text, with professional actors and scenes filmed in natural settings. The goal of the production is to spark the audience’s imagination and convey the magnificence of opera art, presenting operatic stories on the big screen through cinematic narration, compelling scenes, consistent narratives, and Greek subtitles.

* The specific dates and venues for the tour, which will take place during the first semester of 2026, will be announced soon.

Educational programme
Musical Narrations
Designed & implemented by: Goats Know the Way (Elli Giannaki, Elsa Kundig, Dimitris Kourtis)

Musical Narrations invites both young and older audiences on a unique journey through the enchanting world of fairy tales. The programme features music and storytelling performances with traditional songs and melodies from various parts of the world. Drawing on stories from old storytellers, this programme aims to offer us abundant laughter and valuable lessons of folk wisdom. Extraordinary and imaginary happenings, along with plenty of magic, goblins, Norwegian countryside trolls, queens, fairies, and strange occurrences, all come together in a delightful journey filled with humour and wisdom.
The programme has already been presented in Nafplio and Lefkada, as part of “The GNO travels across Greece” initiative.

Tour Schedule:*
Kalamata
Crete
Thebes
Serres

* The specific dates and venues for the presentations will be announced soon.

Educational Programme
Pocket Opera and Ballet

Selected works from the Greek National Opera’s opera and ballet repertoires are adapted on a miniature scale, inviting preschoolers and primary school pupils to take part in them both as performers and audience members.
During the programme, participants will engage in theatre, music, and dance workshops, encouraged to experiment and cultivate their creativity and imagination by composing their own artistic concepts, which will then be incorporated into the abridged versions of the works to be performed. These workshops will be conducted independently.
During the 2024/25 season of the Pocket Opera & Ballet interactive performance series, Don Quixote travelled to Lefkada and Paros.
The selected works and future collaborators will be announced after an open call process, which will be published on the GNO website in July 2025.

Tour Schedule:*
Crete
Ioannina
Patras

* The specific dates and venues for the presentations will be announced soon.

Art workshops for the whole family
Dad… Shall We Dance? & Rigoletto

As part of the GNO’s tours in Greece, the GNO’s Learning & Participation Department will present two artistic workshops for the whole family, Dad… Shall We Dance? and Rigoletto, at eight locations across Greece.

Dad… Shall We Dance?
The dance workshop Dad… Shall We Dance?, adored by fathers and children alike, is an invitation to a highly entertaining dance. Dads dance with their children, skillfully holding ballet poses, exploring the limits of balance, and communicating with their partners through movement and dance. Through motor activities, improvisations, and games, the workshop reveals rhythm and body movement as a philosophy of life and a vital part of daily existence. So far, the workshop has already been conducted in Nafplio and Paros.

Tour Schedule:*
Kalamata
Orestiada
Didymoteicho
Soufli
Alexandroupoli

* The specific dates and venues for the presentations will be announced soon.

Rigoletto
Designed & implemented by: Weave Group

The workshop Rigoletto is an original multisensory experience, specially designed for infants and children aged 1 to 3. Inspired by Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Rigoletto, it seeks to create a multimedia world of sound, image, and movement with the goal of introducing children to the world of opera through sensory exploration and active participation. Starting with the aria “La donna è mobile” and drawing on natural landscapes, particularly the wondrous world of birds, it explores concepts such as change, transformation, and culmination through an experiential approach. In a specially designed visual space, moving images alternate with colours, accompanied by natural soundscapes and adapted musical themes from Verdi’s works performed live by the group’s musicians. This creates an open learning environment, rich in audio and visual stimuli, where young audiences, accompanied by their chaperones, are encouraged to actively participate, interact, and freely express themselves as they observe the shifting landscapes and motifs.
The event does not follow the conventional format of a typical theatrical performance. Instead, it creates a space open to free expression, imagination, and playfulness, inviting participants to engage in an entertaining conversation with the world of opera.

Tour Schedule:*
Larisa
Kalamata
Crete

* The specific dates and venues for the presentations will be announced soon.

Educational Programme
OperaBox
Conducted by: Daphne Tsiouni

OperaBox, the Greek National Opera’s digital education platform, launched as part of the educational programme for secondary education schools Opera Interactively Into Schools, invites individuals of all ages on a journey across the past, present, and future of opera. Using interactive activities and applications, new and archival audiovisual material, musicological and historical texts, as well as the imaginative video game Helen of Solidarity, OperaBox highlights the multidimensional and cross-artistic nature of opera and music theatre.
At the centre of the digital platform OperaBox lies the filmed opera for teenagers Offenbach’s La belle Hélène, composed by Kornilios Selamsis, written by Alexandra K*, and directed by Yannis Kalavrianos. Following contemporary pedagogical approaches, OperaBox is further enriched with the educational video game Helen of Solidarity, which offers an interactive experience inspired by the plot, characters, and aesthetic of the opera, created by the Bend and Oddbleat companies. The platform also features original musicological texts by music historian Artemis Ignatidou, hands-on activities, video animations, and extensive educational materials, providing students with a comprehensive introduction to the world of opera and music theatre. The programme was funded by the European Union – European Social Fund (ESF) and National Resources NSRF 2014-2020 through the Operational Programme “Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning”.

Tour Programme:
Online seminars will be conducted to guide the use of OperaBox for 640 school units. These seminars will help participants navigate OperaBox and will provide ideas, suggestions and best practices for effectively utilising the rich educational material contained therein. At the same time, educators will gain access to the film version of the performance, which they will be able to watch for free in the classroom via the GNO TV platform.

Concerts
A special concert programme has been designed specifically for the municipalities of Rethymno, Chania, Sitia, Ierapetra, and Anogeia, featuring pieces that range from traditional and folk music to operatic singing.
As part of this, concerts will be held during the summer of 2026, featuring ensembles such as the Estoudiantina of Nea Ionia and the Alcedo folk band, as well as folk and traditional music singers like Zacharias Karounis, and opera singers including Tassis Christoyannis and Eleni Voudouraki.

Tour Schedule:*
Rethymno
Chania
Sitia
Ierapetra
Anogeia

* The specific dates and venues for the concerts will be announced soon.

Music theatre with elements of documentary theatre
Rodinos
Dramaturgy, research, direction: Giannis Bletas
The Greek National Opera presents the music theatre performance featuring elements of documentary theatre, Rodinos, which will tour Crete, as part of “The GNO Travels Across Greece programme”. The production captures moments from the life of legendary lyre player Andreas Rodinos, based on true events, with dramaturgy, research, and direction by Giannis Bletas.
Rodinos took his first steps in music at a very young age, guided by experienced lyre players Nikistratos and Piskopis. From 1925 onwards, he adapted and used pentozali and syrto tunes from Crete to create pure melodies. He found inspiration in the blue of the Cretan sea, the scent of flowers, orange moons, and the passions and pain he carried within his soul. The young Rodinos fell in love and transformed his pain into music. At just 22 years old, illness struck; he died alone in nature’s embrace, holding his two lyres in his arms. His brief yet dramatic life turned him into a legendary figure in Cretan music. His art had a profound impact on subsequent generations of lyre players.
As the director notes: “He says that there was no other hand that could string the lyre and smell like summer; that he wandered through villages collecting tunes: lullabies for toddlers, dirges and sorrowful melodies about grief and joys, and vendettas for romances. He breathed life into them.
He says that he was not afraid to stand at the crossroads at midnight, enter the carved circle with his lyre in hand and a black-handled knife, and play to draw charisma from nocturnal creatures. He says that it was for a blue-eyed, blonde woman who was several years older than him that death entered him and began to wither him from within.
He says that his life ended among the trees on the mountain, and that notes travelled, full of bitterness, in the holy sea like prayers. His bowing, filled with pain and grief, echoed from the darkness to Rethemnos: he says his name was RODINOS.”

Tour Schedule:*
Rethymno
Chania
Sitia
Ierapetra
Anogeia

* The specific dates and venues for the performances will be announced soon.

Lead GNO & Tour Supporter
Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)