Fougaro Art Center in collaboration with the National Opera House, welcomes on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th of November 2024 two screenings of the documentary by Vassilis Louras: "Mary, Marianna, Maria: The unknown Greek years of Callas". The documentary was presented in 2023, on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of Maria Callas, and focuses on the unknown Greek years of the greatest lyrical artist of the 20th century.
The core of the documentary's musical narrative is the recording of her 1957 recital at the Herodeion, as well as other legendary studio and live recordings of Callas. Unreleased recordings of Callas are featured for the first time in the documentary. The documentary seeks to illuminate the period of Callas' personal and artistic coming of age in World War II Athens, from 1937 to 1945, as well as the years after 1957, when the now international diva reconnected with Greece.
Directed by Michalis Asthenidis and Vassilis Louras, the production is co-produced by the Greek National Opera and Escape.
More
The main artistic achievements, the unknown debuts, the personalities who shaped her, the milestones of her career, as well as the social and political conditions in Greece during the Second World War, the civil war climate of the 1940s and 1950s, the unjust attacks she suffered, are the main axes of the narrative of Callas's difficult yet novelistic life, which always oscillated between triumph and tragedy. Through rare archive footage, unpublished recordings, interviews and audio documents, the documentary attempts to tell the story of Callas' early years -a story of the triumph of will, talent, hard work and dedication, and at the same time a story of resistance to every difficulty and every abusive behavior.
Although upon her arrival in Athens in 1937 the fourteen-year-old Kalogeropoulou was first introduced as Mary to her classmates at the National Conservatory, she signed her first contract with the then newly established Lyric Opera in 1940 as Marianna. In March 1945, just before leaving Athens for New York, she appeared in concert as Mary Callas, preparing to spread her wings for the great career that would make her famous throughout the world as Maria Callas. On her first return to Athens in 1957, now a world opera star, she appeared at the Herodeion as Maria Meneghini Callas.
Although the trauma of the war would haunt Callas for the rest of her life, it is clear that the difficult years she spent in Athens laid the foundations for her later artistic career. It was in Athens that she would not only receive her artistic training from Elvira de Indalgo, but also gain considerable stage and performance experience through her performances with the National Opera. Moreover, on a personal level, during these eight years she would find the inner strength to turn every difficulty, every challenge, every attack into an asset and a strength for her later life.
The interviews
Among the new interviews conducted for the documentary are Ioannis Bastias, son of the founding director of the GNO; George Koumentakis, artistic director of the Greek National Opera; Aris Christofellis, lyricist; Konstantinos Pilarinos, president of the Maria Callas Scholarships; Stefan Hairner, son of the conductor Hans Hairner, who conducted Callas in Fidelio in 1944; and Kiki Morphoniou, mezzo-soprano who sang with Callas in Norma and Medea, son of the conductor Hans Hairner, who conducted Callas in Fidelio in 1944, the mezzo-soprano Kiki Morphoniou, who sang with Callas in Norma and Medea of Epidaurus, Hara Kalomouri, director of the National Conservatory, the curator of the archives of the Athens Conservatory Stella Kourbana, the scholar of the archives Zora, the musicologist Sophia Kontosi, the composer Philippos Tsalachouris, etc.
In addition to excerpts from interviews with Callas herself, the documentary also includes earlier interviews with her teacher at the Athens Conservatory, Elvira de Indalgo, her colleagues Zoe Vlachopoulou, Marika Papadopoulou, Ardas Mantikian, the writer Nikos Petsali-Diomidis, the conductor Leonidas Zora, Callas' friend Ray Morgan, a British official and friend of Callas, and others. ά. Finally, the documentary features valuable testimonies from people who worked with Callas during the years of the Occupation, such as the founding director of the GNO, Kostis Bastia, the director of her first Tosca, Dinos Giannopoulos, the Director of the GNO Choir, Elli Nicolaides, the pianist (corépétitrice) Irma Kolasi, her fellow artists Spyros Saligaros, Mitsas Kourahani, etc.
Credits
Idea, research, script: Vassilis Louras
Direction: Michalis Asthenidis and Vassilis Louras
Production: Stella Angeletou
Scientific advisors: Aris Christofellis, Sophia Kompotiatiati
Sponsorship of the documentary: Family of Odysseus Kyriakopoulos and Florika Kyriakopoulou
Sponsor of the documentary: DEI
ELS Major Donor & Documentary Donor: Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Days - Time
Saturday, November 23rd and Sunday, November 24th 2024, at 18:00
Admission
Free
Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis - no reservations.
No spectators will be admitted after the start of the screening.
Location
Fougaro Art Center, 98, Asklipiou Ave., Nafplio GR 211-00 Argolis Greece
Τ +30 27520 47300
Ε info@fougaro.gr
Did you know that?
At the Fougaro Café-Bistrot you can enjoy light dishes of Mediterranean cuisine, coffee, sweets and drinks.
There is a large parking lot available, also with a supply for charging your electric car!
