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The program of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center for the 2022-23 season

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The curtain of the now well-established concert series “Cosmos” in the Stavros Niarchos Hall, which covers a wide range of musical currents, from classical and improvisational jazz to classical music and folk, is opened by the great jazz performer Dee Dee Bridgewater, his favorite Athenian public

A diverse program of events aimed at all ages proposes for the 2022-2023 season the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC). This year’s programming insists on its successful series that have been loved by the public over the years, proposes new musical series with an emphasis on Greek creation and contemporary classical music, hands the theatrical baton to the younger generation of creators, strengthens Greek dramaturgy with new assignments, while at the same time offering new visual stimuli and opportunities for entertainment and learning.

The curtain of the now well-established concert series “Cosmos” in the Stavros Niarchos Hall, which covers a wide range of musical currents, from classical and improvisational jazz to classical music and folk, is opened by the great jazz performer Dee Dee Bridgewater, his favorite Athenian audience, awarded with three Grammys, who will perform on November 14, setting the tone for what is to come. The concerts of the “Cosmos” series will continue until April and the names of the artists will be announced soon.

Focusing on jazz, as “the music of now”, the “Jazz Chronicles” concert series returns to Faros and hosts concerts by Greek artists – Kepler is Free (6/11), Harper Xylouri (11/12), Silver Lining by Giovanni Mirabassi and Christos Rafalides (15/01), Martha Mavroidi Quartet (05/02) – proposing old and new sounds, improvisational and classical rhythms, orchestral, but also vocal forms.

In dialogue with the “Cosmos” series, a new series of concerts is coming to the SNFCC Lighthouse from October 23, entitled “Microcosmos”, with invited contemporary classical music composers from the international scene, who use, or set as a basis, electronics elements to develop their work. The series will be opened by Suzanne Ciani (23/10), a pioneer of electronic music for 50 years with a decisive work in both music composition and sound design, and will be followed by the Swiss accordionist Mario Batkovic (20/11), the Italian multi-instrumentalist Federico Albanese (04/12) and the American Peter Broderick (05/03).

Offenses with Shakespeare’s comedies

“Transgressions”, the SNFCC’s theatrical repertory, returns this year to Faros with the general title “Love Matches” and the artistic direction of Hectors Lygizos. Four of Shakespeare’s most characteristic and entertaining comedies (The Comedy of Misunderstandings, Love’s Barren Struggle, Twelfth Night, The Nightingale) on love, delusion and gender identity, undertake to present on stage four directors/-ideas of of the younger generation (Manos Vavadakis, Eva Vlassopoulou, Katerina Yiannopoulou, ‘Aris Balis) – persons who, while distinguished for their personal method and outlook, are united by their love for texts and fruitful experimentation with stage discourse. This year’s “Transgressions” will be based on an expanded ensemble of young actors who will rotate within the repertoire, while the translations are signed by important poets and translators (Dionysis Kapsalis, Stratis Paschalis, Katerina Angelaki-Rook, Nikos Hatzopoulos).

A fairytale Christmas scene

“Christmas World” is, as always, at the core of the SNFCC programme. As every year, this year on December 1st, the SNFCC will light up and celebrate the start of the holiday season with a participatory musical event, led by American conductor, composer and director of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, Francisco J. Núñez. The Skating Rink will once again return to Kanali, renewed, while the LED lighting installations of leading foreign creators as well as a Greek participation chosen, for the first time, through an open invitation, will compose a fairy-tale Christmas scene in Stavros Niarchos Park.

The “Christmas Stories” will come alive in Faros with a new play by Vangelis Hatzigiannidis, written especially for the SNFCC. “Valitsa tis Uranias Celeste” comes on December 23, directed by Sofia Vgenopoulos with Elena Topalidou in the title role. The Christmas events could not miss the music that will flood the Stavros Niarchos Hall: Alexia together with the intercultural symphony orchestra of El Sistema Greece will welcome the audience with Christmas songs from the cinema (19/12), while the Orchestra of Contemporary Music of ERT will give a special concert with melodies from favorite musicals (26/12). Finally, on New Year’s Eve, the New Year’s welcome at the SNFCC, which is now a tradition for thousands of Athenians, will take place with a spectacular fireworks show, a big party in the Agora and the established SNF RUN: 2023 FIRST RUN run by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), in collaboration with AMKE “Renaissance and Progress”.

The first WOW festival in Greece

From April 1 to 3, 2023, the SNFCC will present the first WOW – Women of the World festival in Greece. The festival will be held in partnership with the UK-based WOW Foundation, the world’s largest event dedicated to women, girls and femininities. WOW Athens, which will be held in collaboration with the British Council, will include talks with guests from Greece and abroad, discussions, workshops, mentoring sessions, educational programs, concerts, and much more, in one big celebration with the aim of empower women, girls and femininities to tackle the barriers and inequalities they face every day.

At the same time, the SNFCC, steadily investing in the education and contact of children with art, includes in its program a new artistic activity: from October 30, on the last Sunday of every month, children aged 4 to 12 will have the opportunity to create a collaborative art project guided by a visual artist, in the Lighthouse area. Edited by Maros Michalakakos, Giorgos Gyparakis and Vassilis Gerodimou.

Finally, the SNFCC, throughout the year, offers daily a multitude of sports and educational programs, Reading Clubs and workshops for all ages.

The SNFCC program is made possible thanks to the donation of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. More information can be found at snfcc.org.

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