The Festival of the Aegean - 2013

Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra of Bulgaria
Grigor Palikarov, Conductor
 

The National Greek Opera Ballet, Soloists from the National Opera House Orchestra of Brussels, Greek Opera Studio, Choruses from the USA and Greece, 500 Artists from Argetina, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Holland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Russia and the USA

Thursday, June 27

11:00 AM - Evathia Kairi
Greek Opera Studio, Children's Performance
Opera: Wolf-Ferrari’s Cenerentola

Friday, June 28

11:00 AM - Evathia Kairi
Greek Opera Studio, Children's Performance
Opera: Wolf-Ferrari’s Cenerentola

Saturday, June 29

7:30 PM - City Building in Della Grazia
"Festival Kick-off”…Cyclades wine tasting
Greek Opera Studio – Performances by young artists and announcement of the Festival Artists
Hosted by Friends of the Festival

Sunday, July 7 - Gala Premiere of Festival

8:30 PM - Apollo Theater
"A work of epic profundity and intensity"
Verdi's MESSA DA REQUIEM

Peter Tiboris, Conductor
Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra of Bulgaria
100+ voice chorus from USA and City of Athens Choir
Eilana Lappalainen, Soprano
Elena Chavdarova-Isa, Mezzo-soprano
Keith Ikaia-Purdy, Tenor
Dimitri Kavrakos, Bass

10:30 PM - Pnevmatiko Kendro
Dinner Gala hosted by Friends of the Festival

Monday, July 8 - Gala Premiere of Festival

8:30 PM - Apollo Theater
Verdi’s MESSA DA REQUIEM

Tuesday, July 9

8:30 PM - Apollo Theater

Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte K.588 (“Women are like that”), opera buffa
"Arguably the greatest opera ever written - by a composer of pure genius"

Grigor Palikarov, Conductor
Dirk Schattner, Stage Director
Graham Cox, Keyboard Continuo
Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra

Fiordiligi: Danielle Halbwachs
Dorabella: Chen Stern
Ferrando: Ricardo Mirabelli
Guglielmo: Randal Turner
Despina: Taryn Knerr
Don Alfonzo: Nikolaos Karagiaouris

Chorus of soldiers, servants, sailors, wedding guests, townspeople:
Erin Clark, Augusto Garcia, Lina Geronikou, Jimena Leon, Thomas Massey, Hagar Nabatti, Katrien Nauwelaerts, Christina Poupalou, Mitchell Roe, Fiorella Vélez, Konstantinos Zervos

Eilana Lappalainen, Casting Director
Carlos Vazquez, Assistant Conductor
Deanna Carter, Choreography/Movement
Jens Huebner, Lighting/Set Designer

A rollicking two-act comedy with libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, premiered in 1790, about fidelity and tested love between two pairs of lovers; arguably, the greatest of Mozart’s 27 operas.

Wednesday, July 10

6:00 – 7:00 PM - Apollo Theater

"One-Hour Rush-Hour Concert"

Terry Russell, Conductor
Southwestern College Concert Choir
Charisma Miller, Soprano
Michelle Courchaine, Mezzo-soprano and Percussionist
Joseph Molina, Tenor
Magdalena Loza Flores, Guitarist
Francisco Bustos, Percussionist
Jared Eifert, Percussionist

GONZALEZ: Misa Azteca ("A Mexican Mass")
STROOPE: "Hodie" 
BASS: "Gloria"

8:30 PM - Apollo Theater
"Three Viennese masters"

BEETHOVEN: Fidelio Overture (1805)

Peter Tiboris, Conductor
Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra

HAYDN: "Che fai?" and “Chivi ve amante” from Scena di Berenice
MOZART: “Ch’io mi scordi di te?” from Idomeneo, K.505

Mina Polychronou, Soprano
Jenia Manoussaki, Pianist

BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 ("Eroica") in E flat major, Op. 55 (1805)

Peter Tiboris, Conductor
Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra

Thursday, July 11

8:30 PM - Apollo Theater

Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte

9:00 PM - Church of the Virgin Mary's Birth, Chroussa
Southwestern College Concert Choir, Chula Vista, CA (USA)
Terry Russell, Conductor
GONZALEZ: Misa Azteca

Friday, July 12

5:00 PM - Apollo Theater - Free Admission

Sunset Concert - a cappella sacred music featuring five distinguished choirs from the USA and Greece

Southwestern College Concert Choir, Chula Vista, CA (USA)
Terry Russell, Director of Choral Activities

Salem College Choir, Winston-Salem, NC (USA)
Sonja Sepúlveda, Director of Choral Activities

Randolph College Chorale, Lynchburg, VA (USA) 
Randall Speer, Director

Ionian Harmony Men’s Choir of Corfu (Greece)
Eustathios Makris, Director

The Choir of the Music Department of the University of Athens and Manolis Kalomiris Children's Choir (Greece)
Nikos Maliaras, Director

8:30 PM - Apollo Theater
"Spain's prodigy violinist makes his Greek debut"

MOZART: Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K.216
with 20-year old Paco Montalvo from Spain
SARASATE: Carmen Fantasy for Violin, Op. 25
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55 (“Eroica”)

Peter Tiboris, Conductor
Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra 

Saturday, July 13

8:30 PM - Apollo Theater

Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte

Sunday, July 14

10:00 PM - Miaouli Plateia - Free Admission

"Under the Stars, featuring a cast of 400 artists"
"A grand birthday tribute to the great Giuseppe Verdi on the 200th Anniversary of his birth"

Arias, duets, trios, and choral scenes from La Forza del Destino, Nabucco, Il Trovatore, Un ballo in maschera, Un giorno di regno, Rigoletto and Aida

Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra of Bulgaria
Eilana Lappalainen, Soprano
Fotini Athanasaki, Mezzo-soprano
Christin-Marie Hill, Mezzo-soprano
Keith Ikaia-Purdy, Tenor
Randal Turner, Baritone
Augusto Garcia, Bass

George Roussos, Master of Ceremonies

300 choral singers from the USA and Greece

Principal Dancers from the Greek National Opera Ballet:
Aimilia Gaspari, Alina Stergianou, Igor Siatzko and Andonis Kourutis

Peter Tiboris, Conductor
Grigor Palikarov, Special Guest Conductor
Renato Zanella, Production Designer & Choreographer
Dirk Schattner, Stage Director
Stella Kaltsou, Lighting Designer
Nikos & Dimitris Kontizas, Lighting & Sound

Monday, July 15

7:00 PM - Pnevmatiko Kendro (Cultural Center)

"Lieder Abend" featuring songs and arias performed by members of the Greek Opera Studio
Eilana Lappalainen, Artistic Director
Michael Brownlee Walker, Pianist

8:30 PM - Apollo Theater
Soloists of the National Opera House of Brussels perform works by Poulenc (on the 50th anniversary of his death) and Stravinsky

POULENC: Nocturne No. 1 in C major, Op. 56
POULENC: Sonata for clarinet and piano in B-flat major, FP 184 ("à la mémoire d'Arthur Honegger")
POULENC: Trio for oboe, bassoon and piano, FP 43 ("à Manuel de Falla")

STRAVINSKY: L’histoire du Soldat (1918, "A Soldier’s Tale")
"A 20th-century masterpiece"

This is a story about a soldier who trades his fiddle for a book that predicts the future of the economy.

Dirk Boiy, Conductor
Narrator: Chris De Moor
Soldier: Luc De Meulenaere
Devil: Gérard Lavalle

Femke Sonnen, Violin
Robby Hellyn, String Bass
Raymond Dils, Clarinet
Cian O'Mahony, Bassoon
Manu Melaerts, Trumpet
Brian Fournier, Trombone
Luk Artois, Timpani and Percussion
Katrien Verbeke, Piano 

Tuesday, July 16

8:30 PM - Apollo Theater
Mozart’s Impresario (a comic singspiel composed in 1786)

Greek Opera Studio
Eilana Lappalainen, & George Pachos, Co-stage Directors
Carlos Vazquez, Piano

Herr Frank (Impresario): Michalis Zouloufos
Madame Silverklang (an aging prima donna): Kathryn Wieckhorst
Miss Sweetsong: (an ambitious soubrette): Katrien Nauwelaerts
Herr Eiler (an amorous banker):  Mitchell Roe
Buff (A crafty stage manager):

Stravinsky's L'histoire du Soldat (1918, "A Soldier's Tale") with the soloists of the National Opera House of Brussels.

Wednesday, July 17

8:30 PM - Apollo Theater

Greek National Opera Ballet performance of "Journey to Eternity"

Renato Zanella, Director & Choreographer
Eleni Karaindrou, Music
Stella Kaltsou, Lighting
Katerina Angelopoulou, Set & Costumes

Principals: Stratos Papanoussis, Evrydiki Issakidou, Alexsander Neskov, Maria Kousouni, Danilo Zeka

Soloists: Christina Makridou, Mania Karavassili, Vangelis Bikos

Coryphée: Anna Fragou, Agapios Agapiadis

Corps de Ballet: Zoi Scinoplokaki, Vanessa Kourkoulou, Vicky Bourcha, Elton Dimrotchi, Michalis Pappas, Thanassis Solomos, Yiannis Benetos

Io Calochristos, Assistant to Mr. Zanella
Erida Melogiannidi, Company Pianist
Irina Akrioti, Ballet Mistress

Thursday, July 18

8:30 PM - Apollo Theater

Greek National Opera Ballet performance of "Journey to Eternity" 

Friday, July 19

8:30 PM - Apollo Theater
"Written in the Dark"

Spyros Anemis, Guitar
Nikos Gaggadis, Electric Guitar
Dimitris Kyriazis, Electric Bass
Nikos Solomos, Violin
Christos Diakoumis, Drums
Elia Papaioannou, Piano

Saturday, July 20

8:30 PM
Greek Opera Studio Final Gala with a cast of 35
Eilana Lappalainen, Artistic Director
Carlos Vazquez, Pianist
Benjamin Clark, Apprentice Pianist

Scenes and arias from Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, Mozart's Le nozze de Figaro, Beethoven's Fidelio, Mozart's Così fan tutte, Verdi's Don Carlo, Bizet's Carmen, Bellini's Norma, Verdi's Rigoletto, Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, Verdi's La traviata as well as Show Boat, West Side Story, Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, The Sound of Music, Evita, and Les Misérables

Sunday, July 21

8:30 PM - Apollo Theater
FESTIVAL FINALE
Greek Jazz performance: "Summer Journey"

The Yiorgos Fakanas Group
Yiorgos Fakanas, Bass
Takis Paterelis, Saxophones
Andreou Antonios, Trombone
Manos Saridakis, Piano
Alex Drakos Ktistakis, Drums 

FAKANAS: Volonta
SHORTER: Footprints
FAKANAS: Parhelia
FAKANAS: Seviglia
FAKANAS: Hawk

Participating Choirs:

• Edmond Community Chorale, OK (USA)
  Karl Nelson, Director
• Southwestern College Concert Choir, Chula Vista, CA (USA)
  Terry Russell, Director
• Salem College Choir, Winston-Salem, NC (USA)
  Sonja Sepulveda, Director
• Randolph College Chorale, Lynchburg, VA (USA)
  Randall Speer, Director
• City of Athens Choir (Greece)
  Stavros Beris, Director
• Choir of the National Conservatory of Athens (Ethniko Odeio) (Greece)
  Spyros Klapsis, Director
• Choir “Synchroni Ekfrasi”, Athens (Greece)
  Thomas Louziotis, Director
• Ionian Harmony Men’s Choir of Corfu (Greece)
  Eustathios Makris, Director
• Choir of the Music Department of the University of Athens and
  Manolis Kalomiris Children's Choir, Athens (Greece)
  Nikos Maliaras, Director
• Choir of Filarmoniki Conservatory of Patras (Greece)
  Marina Rechkalova, Director
• Polyphonic Choir of Patras (Greece)
  Stavros Solomos, Director
• University of Patras Choir (Greece)
  Lina Geronikou, Director
• Athens Choir Ensemble (Greece)
  Dimitris Karavelis, Director
• Lykeion Ellinidon Ioanninon (Greece)
  Valentin Stefanov, Director
• Chorus of Syros Music Club
  Dimitris Papatheodorou, Director

Festival of the Aegean Tally 2013

Concerts at the Apollo Theatre, Miaouli Plateia, Chroussa & Della Grazia21

Orchestra from Bulgaria54

Soloists - 46

GNO Ballet - 20

Greek Opera Studio - 35

Choirs from the USA & Greece - 374

Professional staff - 20

TOTAL - 549 persons

Total concerts since 2005 - 102