AN EXTRA PERFORMANCE OF TOSCA – JANUARY 9

The first nine performances are sold out: 27, 30/11, 2, 7, 20, 23, 27/12, 4, 7/1

An additional performance has been added on 9/1. Tickets for this performance will go on sale on 7/11.
Stavros Niarchos Hall of the Greek National Opera – SNFCC
Conductor: Paolo Carignani
Staging, sets, costumes: Nikos S. Petropoulos
As part of the GNO tribute to Nikos S. Petropoulos

Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, featuring staging, sets, and costumes by Nikos S. Petropoulos, will return to the Stavros Niarchos Hall of the Greek National Opera at the SNFCC on 27 November 2025. Following a complete ticket sell-out for the first nine performances scheduled for 27 and 30 November, 2, 7, 20, 23, and 27 December 2025, and 4 and 7 January 2026, an extra show has been added on 9 January 2026. Tickets for this additional performance on 9 January 2026 will go on sale on Friday, 7 November 2025. The production will be led by the renowned Italian conductor Paolo Carignani. Performing onstage will be an internationally acclaimed, star-studded cast including Aleksandra Kurzak, Cellia Costea, Marcelo Puente, Roberto Alagna, Dimitri Platanias, and Tassis Christoyannis. Tosca is the opening event of an extensive tribute to Nikos S. Petropoulos, who began collaborating with the GNO in 1971.

Tosca is unquestionably considered one of the most famous operas in the repertoire. In this operatic thriller, passionate emotions are underscored by Giacomo Puccini’s highly evocative music. Tosca is aligned with the ideals of verismo—the Italian naturalist movement. The GNO first presented this opera in 1942 at the Summer Theatre on Klafthmonos Square, featuring nineteen-year-old Maria Kalogeropoulou, who would later be known as Callas, making her professional debut in the title role.

The story unfolds as follows: The renowned opera diva Floria Tosca is deeply in love with her partner, yet also pathologically jealous of him. Baron Scarpia, a dark but incredibly powerful figure, derives pleasure from the suffering of his victims. Caught in the middle is Mario Cavaradossi, the lover and loyal patriot, who is eventually led to his death, not because of his ideas, but because of his relationship with Tosca, whom Scarpia covets. The scheme has been set up effectively: nobody escapes Scarpia’s traps.

The production of Tosca staged by Nikos S. Petropoulos premiered at the Olympia Theatre in 2007. Following an invitation from the then artistic director of the Greek National Opera, Stefanos Lazaridis, Nikos S. Petropoulos shifted the setting to Rome during World War II, emphasising the elements of violence and sadism. In Act II, the scene in which Tosca is blackmailed by Scarpia and the one in which she murders him are almost thriller-like. The production’s black-and-white styling and evocative lighting create a cinematic atmosphere reminiscent of Italian neorealism films. The stage director, Nikos S. Petropoulos, notes: “In February 1944, in a Rome that seems like a travesty of an Unfortified City, overrun with refugees, spies, double agents, informers, collaborators of the Germans, traitors, torturers, and fugitives, amidst the barrage of Allied bombings, the constant movement of German troops, and widespread panic, Tosca weaves a perfect thread to lead us into a 20th-century realist historical drama.”

During the 2025/26 season, the Greek National Opera presents a tribute to stage director, set and costume designer, Nikos S. Petropoulos—a versatile opera artist, who has been collaborating with the GNO over the last five decades. As part of this tribute, two of his emblematic productions will be revived: Tosca, running from November 2025 to January 2026 at the Stavros Niarchos Hall, and La traviata, which traveled to China last September and will return to the Stavros Niarchos Hall in July 2026. As a set and costume designer and/or stage director, Nikos S. Petropoulos has left his distinctive mark on more than twenty productions of opera, operetta, and dance drama, which have been performed repeatedly and with enormous success over the past fifty years.

The Greek National Opera Orchestra will be conducted by renowned Italian conductor Paolo Carignani, known to the GNO audience for his work on Nabucco and La forza del destino. Having forged an exceptional international career as a maestro, he regularly collaborates with world-class opera houses, such as the New York Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, La Scala in Milan, Berlin State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bavarian State Opera, San Francisco Opera, Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Royal Opera House in London, Opéra Bastille, and Glyndebourne, as well as other venues in cities like Oslo, Brussels, and Antwerp.

For this Tosca production, the Greek National Opera has assembled a star-studded, world-class cast.
Making her long-anticipated GNO debut in the title role will be internationally renowned opera star and highly sought-after soprano Aleksandra Kurzak (27, 30/11 & 2, 7/12/2025), who has recently received standing ovations for her performance in Tosca at the New York Metropolitan Opera, as well as in Berlin, Barcelona, and Verona. A while before arriving in Athens, she also performed Tosca in a new production at the Royal Opera House in London. This Polish soprano consistently appears at the world’s top opera houses, including the New York Metropolitan Opera, La Scala in Milan, Opéra national de Paris, Vienna State Opera, Teatro Real in Madrid, Berlin State Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Zurich Opera, Arena di Verona, and Opera di Roma, under the baton of renowned conductors such as Marco Armiliato, Maurizio Benini, Sir Antonio Pappano, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Fabio Luisi, and others.

The title character will also be portrayed by Cellia Costea, a favourite of the Greek audience, known for her successful international career and extensive list of leading roles (20, 23, 27/12/2025 / 4, 7, 9/1/2026). This renowned soprano from the GNO has performed this role with great success both in Greece and internationally, earning rave reviews and thunderous applause. She has worked with some of the world’s leading theatres and venues, including the Vienna State Opera, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Royal Opera House in London, and others.

The role of Mario Cavaradossi will be performed by internationally acclaimed Argentinian tenor Marcelo Puente (27, 30/11 & 2, 20, 23, 27/12/2025 / 4, 7, 9/1/2026), known to the GNO audience for his performances in Andrea Chénier, Don Carlo, and La forza del destino. He has gained worldwide praise as a leading performer of lyric and dramatic repertoire at venues such as the Royal Opera House in London, Opéra national de Paris, Berlin State Opera, La Scala in Milan, and more.

For a special one-time performance on 7 December, opera superstar Roberto Alagna will make his GNO debut as Mario Cavaradossi. Roberto Alagna has carved out an unprecedented career spanning nearly four decades. Throughout his longstanding and remarkable trajectory, he has performed over 60 roles (including Alfredo, Calaf, Canio, Cavaradossi, Don Carlo, Faust, and more) at the world’s most prestigious opera houses and festivals (Opéra national de Paris, Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, La Scala in Milan, and others), establishing himself as France’s most renowned tenor.

Scarpia will be performed by two internationally renowned Greek baritones, Dimitri Platanias (27, 30/11 & 2, 7/12/2025 / 7, 9 /1/2026) and Tassis Christoyannis (20, 23, 27/12/2025 / 4/1/2026). Platanias has appeared at prestigious theatres and festivals around the world, including Teatro São Carlos in Lisbon, the Munich State Opera, the Frankfurt Opera, La Monnaie in Brussels, the Bregenz and Salzburg Festivals, the Royal Opera House in London, the Bavarian State Opera, the Florence Opera House, and more. He will make his La Scala debut in Milan in 2026. Tassis Christoyannis, a celebrated protagonist and Artistic Director of the Olympia Theatre, has starred in GNO productions since 1989, while he regularly performs at some of the world’s top opera houses, including Opéra Comique, Opéra national de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, and the Royal Opera House in London, among others.

The cast is completed by celebrated and emerging soloists from the GNO, such as Petros Magoulas, Yanni Yannissis, Georgios Papadimitriou, Penny Rizou, and Yannis Kalyvas.

The GNO Chorus has been coached by Agathangelos Georgakatos, and the GNO Children’s Chorus by Konstantina Pitsiakou.

PRE-PREMIERE LECTURE
Nikos S. Petropoulos: A Versatile Artist
On Thursday, 27 November 2025, one hour prior to the start of the premiere, at 18.30, Piraeus Bank, the production’s sponsor, and the Greek National Opera will host a lecture by Panaghis Pagoulatos, the Director of Artistic Coordination and Casting at the GNO, set to take place in the VIP Hall on the first floor of the GNO’s foyer at the SNFCC. Inspired by the GNO tribute to Nikos S. Petropoulos during the 2025/26 season, Panaghis Pagoulatos will present a portrait of this multifaceted and versatile stage director, set and costume designer, and architect, seen through his eyes over their twenty-two years of friendship and collaboration at the Greek National Opera.
The lecture is open to members of the GNO Opera Club by applying via operaclub.nationalopera.gr.

Opera • Revival
Tribute to Nikos S. Petropoulos
Tosca
Giacomo Puccini
27, 30 November & 2, 7, 20, 23, 27 December 2025 / 4, 7, 9 January 2026
Starts at: 19.30 (Sunday: 18.30)
Stavros Niarchos Hall of the Greek National Opera – SNFCC

Conductor: Paolo Carignani
Staging, sets, costumes: Nikos S. Petropoulos
Revival stage director: Ion Kesoulis
Lighting: Christos Tziogkas
Chorus master: Agathangelos Georgakatos
Children’s chorus mistress: Konstantina Pitsiakou

Floria Tosca:
Aleksandra Kurzak (27, 30/11 & 2, 7/12/2025)
Cellia Costea (20, 23, 27/12/2025 / 4, 7, 9/1/2026)

Mario Cavaradossi:
Marcelo Puente (27, 30/11 & 2, 20, 23, 27/12/2025 / 4, 7, 9/1/2026)
Roberto Alagna (7/12/2025)

Baron Scarpia:
Dimitri Platanias (27, 30/11 & 2, 7/12/2025 / 7, 9/1/2026)
Tassis Christoyannis (20, 23, 27/12/2025 / 4/1/2026)

Cesare Angelotti: Petros Magoulas
A sacristan: Yanni Yannissis
Sciarrone / A gaoler: Georgios Papadimitriou | A shepherd boy: Penny Rizou
Spoletta: Yannis Kalyvas

With the Orchestra, Chorus, and Children’s Chorus* of the Greek National Opera
* as part of its educational mission

Tickets for the first nine performances are sold out. Tickets for the additional performance scheduled for the 9th of January 2026 will go on sale on Friday, 7 November, at 9.00. Tickets are available at the GNO Box Office (+30 2130885700 | 9.00-21.00 daily) and www.ticketservices.gr.

Ticket prices for the additional performance: €15, €20, €35, €55, €60, €65, €80, €100 • Students, children: €15 • Restricted view seats: €10

The performance on the 30th of November 2025 is dedicated to the late Ulysses Kyriacopoulos, former Chair of the Board of the Greek National Opera, and is made possible with support from the Kyriacopoulos family.

The Greek National Opera is funded by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture

 Tribute to Nikos S. Petropoulos sponsor: Piraeus Bank

Lead Donor of the GNO: Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)