Weber’s one-act comic oriental opera is being revived for one and only performance, in a production that is a partnership of the School of Melodrama, the Symphony Orchestra and the Choir of the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki under the musical direction of conductor Vladimiros Symeonidis, directed by Professor of Melodrama Akis Lalousi and teaching Eleonora Kalaitzidou Choir.

The case

Inspired by the famous collection of tales “A Thousand and One Nights”, the story of Abu Hassan takes us to the East, where our protagonist and his faithful wife Fatime, deep in debt to the moneylender and usurer Omar, hatch a trick: they will pretend that they died each in turn, so that they could extract money from the Caliph for their funerals and thus get out of debt! They think this will get them out of trouble, but not for long! What will happen, though, when the long-time Caliph decides to visit their home to find out who died first? A trick, a bet and what follows will be discovered by those who find themselves at the Royal Theatre.

Admission is free, while the identity of the performance is as follows:

Music: Carl Maria von Weber

Libretto: Franz Carl Himer

The protagonists are students of the School of Melodrama of K.O.Th. from the class of Professor Akis Lalousi.

Abu Hassan: Stefanos Kargatzis (tenor)

Fatima: Theodosia Dimitrakidou (soprano)

Omar: Dimitrios Flaris (bass-baritone)

Tsemrud: Maria Liuliou (speaking role)

Mesrour: Vassilis Vikeloudas (speaking role)

Caliph: Christos Bakas (speaking role)

Jobide: Vasiliki Polychronou (speaking role)

Actors

Symphony Orchestra of the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki

Music Director: Vladimiros Simeonidis

Choir Teaching: Eleonora Kalaitzidou

Directed by: Akis Lalousis

Musical preparation: Katerina Sacketta

Kinesiology editor: Melpo Vassilikou

Rendering-editing of the German text: Eleni Theodoridou

Makeup – hairstyles: I.E.K. ACNE

Costumes: Cloakroom K.Th.B.E. & K.O.Th.

Editing of sets & costumes: Akis Lalousis

Production: State Conservatory of Thessaloniki, 2023