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The Ninth Hour
(Kalamata International Dance
Festival, 2007/ European Dance Festival, Limas-
sol, 2007/ Cultural Winter Festival, Larnaka,
2007/ Athens Festival 2006),
Not Yet
(Kalamata
International Dance Festival, 2006/ Athens, 2005)
and
Love Shots
(Biennale de la Danse de Lyon,
2004/ Athens, 2004 and 2003/ Larnaka Summer
Festival 2003.)
Photis Nicolaou
was born in Famagusta and
graduated from the State School of Dance in
Athens – after graduating he continued his stud-
ies in New York. He is the founder, artistic di-
rector and choreographer of X-It Dancetheatre
and choreographed
Spiegel Im Spiegel
,
Amen
,
La Vie Impossible
,
The Ninth Hour
,
Not Yet
and
Love Shots
for the company. As a choreogra-
pher and director he has collaborated with the
Cyprus National Theatre, Theatre Dentro and
the Greek National Ballet (“Lonely Room”). He
choreographed
Salome
for the Malmoe Opera in
Sweden and
Orpheus and Euridice
for the Greek
National Opera. He was the official choreogra-
pher for the opening and closing ceremonies of
the Olympic Games in Athens 2004.
As a dancer Nikolaou has performed with nu-
merous dance companies and organisations in
Greece, Cyprus, New York and Germany, in-
cluding Edafos Dancetheatre, Oktana Dancethe-
atre, Noema Dance Works, Echo Arts, Wide
Open Project, Ad Lib, the Athens Concert Hall,
and others.
The Godson
(14 September, Strovolos Municipal Theatre; 15
September, Rialto Theatre, Lemesos; 16 Septem-
ber, Larnaka Municipal Theatre)
Without doubt the operetta
The Godson
has been
performed more often than any other Greek oper-
etta – it is considered one of the landmarks of the
genre. An exquisite comedy-idyll, with entertain-
ing elements of farce and a resourceful and natural
melodic richness, it has had sensational success
in its time and continues to charm modern audi-
ences. It is a representative and excellent sample
of Greek operatic works.
The Godson
was first staged in 1918 by the Io-
annis Papaioannou Theatre Company; the Greek
National Opera staged it again in 1948, and the re-
views were enthusiastic: “... The state musical the-
atre paid last night an admittedly much delayed,
albeit long-standing tribute to Greek operetta...”
The plot of this three-act operetta is based on a
French farce by Hennequin, Weber and De Gors.
It takes place during the Balkan wars (1912-13)
or a few years later (1918). Alexandros Evklides,
who directed this year’s production at the Thessa-
loniki Music Megaron and designed the sets, says
of
The Godson
:
...it is written in 1918, during a period of cri-
sis for the Greeks, the causes of which can be
observed in the work: boasting of influence in
high places, being unworthy of one’s office,
fraud and exploiting one’s homeland are some
of the patterns of this comedy, hidden beneath
the nostalgic sounds of the songs or the fanfare
of national exaltation...
The Cyprus Symphony Orchestra performed
The
Godson
for the first time at “Kypria 2011”. Some
of the operetta’s most beloved and unforgettable
arias include the march
Up on the Front Line
[
Psila
Sto Metopo
] (also sung by Greek soldiers in 1940),
Those Old Times
[
Ton Kairo Ekeino Ton Palio
],
My Heart Aches for You
[
I Kardia Mou Ponei Gia
Sas
], and others. The operetta’s spirit of optimism
and exaltation, as well as the comic and romantic
elements which characterise the music of
The God-
son
, take the audience on a magic journey.
Production Credits
Choreography
: Photis Nicolaou
Direction
: Thanasis Georghiou, Photis Nicolaou
Music
: Johann Sebastian Bach, Marin Marais,
Heinrich Franz Biber, Anonymous, Adam Wys-
ocki, Circus Contraption
Sets-Costumes
: Natasa Grylaki
Light-Design
: Panagiotis Manousis
Sound
: Rialena Nikodemou
Performers
: Antonis Antoniou, Ioanna Apos-
tolou, Thanasis Georghiou, Roula Koutroumbeli,
Katerina Liontou, Photis Nikolaou, Despina Sidi-
ropoulou
Music Performer
: Yiorgos Demertzis