The Greek National Opera Ballet visits Italy, Cyprus, Thessaloniki, and Athens with the Golden Age

18 & 19 September 2025 • Nicosia International Festival
Municipal Theatre of Nicosia, at 20.30

21 September 2025 • Art Αthina
Zappeion Megaron, Peristyle, at 20.00

10, 11 & 12 October 2025 • 60th Dimitria Festival
Theatre of the Society for Macedonian Studies, ΝΤΝG, at 21.00

18 October 2025 • Gorizia – European Capital of Culture
Teatro Comunale Giuseppe Verdi di Gorizia, at 21.00

1 November 2025 • 3rd Bologna Ballet Competition
Teatro Duse, at 21.00

As part of the Greek National Opera’s tours in Greece and abroad, from September to November 2025, the GNO Ballet will present the highly successful production Golden Age in Cyprus, Thessaloniki, and Italy, as well as at a happening at Art Athina. The international tour is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) [www.SNF.org] to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach.

Konstantinos Rigos’ Golden Age—which had its world premiere at the Belgrade Dance Festival—begins a major tour from Cyprus on 18 and 19 September, as part of the Nicosia International Festival. It will return to Athens on 21 September to participate in a happening at the Art Athina art fair, and will continue its journey by visiting Thessaloniki, where it will be presented at the Theatre of the Society for Macedonian Studies of the National Theatre of Northern Greece, on 10, 11, and 12 October as part of the 60th Dimitria Festival. The tour will continue in Italy, with a performance scheduled for 18 October in Gorizia—the 2025 European Capital of Culture—while on 1 November, a duet from the performance will be showcased in Bologna as part of the 3rd Bologna Ballet Competition.

Golden Age discusses the present and future of dance, while also serving as a reflection of Rigos’ 35-year-long journey, in which the concepts of irony and nostalgia appear as identical. From his time at the National School of Dance (KSOT), the spring of Greek dance in the 1990s, and the Dance Theatre Company OKTANA, to his work at the Art Theatre, the National Theatre of Northern Greece, the National Theatre of Greece, the Athens Festival, and the Greek National Opera, Konstantinos Rigos’ iconoclastic imprint transcends the boundaries of dance and converses with the art forms surrounding it. His artistic identity remains restless, subversive, provocative, poignant, and deeply emotional.

With Golden Age, Konstantinos Rigos introduces the vocabulary of dance theatre to the Greek National Opera Ballet, creating a new work about the future of dance from a surprising blend of highlights that have marked his 35-year-long career, in conversation with new materials and modern influences. The performance features moments made of past materials yet viewed through a contemporary lens; moments that speak of bygone things while projecting into the future.

Through golden reflections, vertical screens, mottos, and a grand chandelier created by visual artist Petros Touloudis, the dance performance Golden Age signs the declaration of a new faith that places its beliefs not in God but in humans, not “in the heavens” but “on earth”—a declaration that, although it may not promise salvation, does ensure an exit from hell.

With Konstantinos Rigos’ musical selections and an original music score composed by his collaborator Ted Regklis, Golden Age features the vibrant sounds of a wild dance party, showcasing pieces that range from “reworked” melancholic compositions by Verdi and Bizet to Greek songs by Hiotis, Loizos, and Mamangakis, as well as rock and jazz hits from the 1960s and 1970s. From the aria “Addio del passato” and the line from Hotel California “Some dance to remember, some dance to forget” to texts and songs performed by Rigos’ special guests—including, among others, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Myrto Vasiliou, Dimitris Kapouranis, Idra Kayne, Dorothea Merkouri, Konstantinos Bibis, and Elena Topalidou—Golden Age aspires to remind us that, since we cannot escape who we are, we ought to continue dancing to affirm our existence.

Erie Kyrgia collaborates on the dramaturgy, Petros Touloudis is responsible for the art installation, Daglara designed the costumes, Christos Tziogkas is in charge of the lighting, and Vasilis Kehagias created the videos.

Featuring Dancers from the Greek National Opera Ballet.  

GNO Ballet
Golden Age
Konstantinos Rigos
Co-production with the Belgrade Dance Festival

1& 19 September 2025 • Nicosia International Festival
Municipal Theatre of Nicosia, at 20.30

21 September 2025 • Art Athens
Zappeion Megaron, Peristyle, at 20.00

10, 11 & 12 October 2025 • 60th Dimitria Festival
Theatre of the Society for Macedonian Studies, ΝΤΝG, at 21.00

18 October 2025 • Gorizia – Cultural Capital of Europe
Teatro Comunale Giuseppe Verdi di Gorizia, at 21.00

1 November 2025 • 3rd Bologna Ballet Competition
Teatro Duse, at 21.00

Concept, choreography, set, track selection: Konstantinos Rigos
Music: Ted Regklis
Dramaturgy: Erie Kyrgia
Art installation: Petros Touloudis
Costumes: Daglara
Lighting: Christos Tziogkas
Video: Vasilis Kehagias
Featuring Dancers from the Greek National Opera Ballet  

The performance includes nudity.

Lead Donor of the GNO & Tour Programme Donor
Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)