Cultural Clippings: Previous postings

Tantalus World Premiere in Denver

Mikes Theodorakis' Opera Electra The eagerly-anticipated U.S. premiere of Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis' new opera, Electra, to be sung in Greek, will take place in a concert version at Carnegie Hall on June 11, 2000, at 2 p.m., under the baton of Peter Tiboris, who will conduct the Manhattan Philharmonic Orchestra, and a cast of Greek and Greek-American singers, led by Greek-American mezzo-soprano Reveka Mavrovitis in the title role. Also appearing in Electra are several artists from Athens.

The 80-member chorus is composed of the Russian Chamber Chorus of New York (Nikolai Kachanov, director) and the Nyack College Chorale (Paul Liljestrand, director).

Theodorakis' Electra will be performed in Greek with English surtitles by the Greek scholar and Theodorakis biographer, Gail Holst-Warhaft.

The libertto, by Spyros A. Evangelatos, is based on the modern Greek translation by K. Ch. Myris. Electra is the second work in Theodorakis' "Lyric Trilogy" (Medea, Electra, Antigone). Medea was given its world premiere in Bilbao, Spain, in 1991. Electra received its first performance in Luxembourg in 1995, and Antigone will premiere this October at the Megaron in Athens.

GRAVE SITE MAY DATE FROM PERICLES' TIME. See an article in Archaelogy Magazine.

ATHEN'S SUBWAY CONSTRUCTION RESULTS IN 10,000 FINDS. See an article in Archaelogy Magazine.

CLINTON'S SUPPORT FOR RETURN OF MARBLES SPARKS DEBATE IN UK
Macidonian Press Agency 11/22/99
US President Bill Clinton's expressed support of Greece's campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles, which are currently housed in the British Museum, has sparked a fierce debate in the United Kingdom, with one side arguing that the marbles belong to their country of origin and the other arguing that it's none of the US president's business. The chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Heritage Group, Sir Patrick Cormack, said that Mr. Clinton should stay out of the dispute. "This is quite extraordinary. The ownership and custody of the Elgin Marbles is no business of the president of the United States of America," he added. On the other hand, author Christopher Hitchens, a fervent supporter of the Marbles' return to the Parthenon, stated that "the British are now given an unprecedented opportunity to take part in the restoration of a priceless monument. Anyone who would turn down such an opportunity, would be truly barbarian." The Marbles consist of 17 figures and part of a 160-yard frieze that decorated the 2,500- year-old Parthenon. The marbles were torn from the Parthenon in the early 19th century by Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.

According to an announcement by the Turkish mobile telephone company Turksel, which has undertaken to fund the works, "it is a coin from the era immediately after the enthronement of Alexander the Great." The director of Bodrum's museum Oyuz Alpozen told the Turkish news agency Anadolu that one side of the coin, estimated as belonging to the year 336 and weighing 8.6 grams, depicts Athena and the other the name of Alexander written in Greek."

DELOS LIONS MOVING
Athens News Agency 10/26/99
A complicated operation to move five ancient stone lions from the island of Delos to save them from further damage was to be undertaken in October. Strong Cycladic winds and sea air have wrought havoc on the lions, which are thought to date back to the 6th and 7th centuries B.C. Only five are in a reasonable condition today, while only half of another two can be saved and a further three are in fragments. The lions - each thought to weight about 2.5 tons - were to be moved to a special hall at the island's museum where they will be restored and exhibited. Replicas of the statues will be placed along the road the lions guard on Delos. The 'Lions Way' is a popular drawcard for the thousands of tourists who visit the island annually.

GREEK POET LAUREATE SEFERIS
Macidonian Press Agency 10/13/99
The Culture Ministry will dedicate the year 2000 to Greece's renowned poet Giorgios Seferis, 1963 Nobel Laureate in Literature, marking the centennial anniversary since his birth in Smyrna. A series of events will be held throughout the year, starting with Cyprus which will host a seminar on Seferis. A vast selection of photographs, manuscripts and personal items will be on display in Athens in an exhibition that will travel throughout the cities associated with the life of the man who is regarded by many as the greatest Greek poet of the 20th century.