Les Nuits d’été

Lead GNO & Tour Supporter

The Greek National Opera Ballet is traveling to Cape Town, South Africa, to participate, for the first time, in Dance Intersect 2025. On 2, 3, and 4 October 2025, it will present the work Les nuits d'été (Summer Nights), choreographed by Konstantinos Rigos, at the Artscape Theatre Centre, as part of the GNO's international tours programme. The tour abroad is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach.
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.