Galery

1

Despite the unfavourable economic conditions, Thessaloniki Concert Hall has presented its new programme, which includes four musicals, one opera, new theatre groups, cutting-edge music and concerts involving both new and old, but already established, artists.

The programme presented by creative director George - Emmanuel Lazaridis contains 44 major productions with multiple performances, parallel activities and workshops.

"I support the idea of reducing ticket prices as much as possible but do not support the free tickets. What is free humiliates the creative product. The spectator should want to attend a musical performance, he or she should be determined to pay for it rather than attending it because "it is free," said Lazaridis.

The new season opens with "The Nutcracker"

The new season at Thessaloniki Concert Hall will raise its curtains on Saturday, 11 January, with "The Nutcracker" ballet by Tchaikovsky performed by the London Royal Opera House ("Emilios Riadis" hall). The hit of the season in Athens, "Cabaret", with director, choreographer and designer Konstantinos Rigos, starring Dimitris Lignadis, Maria Naupliotou, Tania Tsanaklidou, Michalis Mitrousis, Panagiotis Bououris and featuring another 25 actors, dancers and musicians will take over the baton on 17 January and only with ten performances (17, 18, 19, 24, 25 and 26 January).

The legendary musical "Cats", a work by extraordinary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, will be performed on 12 February. On 5 March, Thessaloniki Concert Hall will present another musical, namely the musical and theatre "symbiosis" of two significant women of Greek music, Marinella and Sofia Vebo.

Screenings and broadcasts of major productions

From January to June there will be a number of screenings and broadcasts of major music and dance productions ("The Nutcracker", "Giselle", "Sleeping Beauty" and others) from major music stages abroad, including the chamber opera "Albert Herring" (1947) by Benjamin Britten, composed for 13 singers and 12 organs (on 7, 8, 10 and 12 March).

"Come with us to hear great music performed with a lot of passion at a great place, in the heart of a beautiful city", is the motto of the concert that the Youth Orchestra of United Europe will perform on 18 March, since Thessaloniki is the European Youth Capital 2014.

New theatre groups

A new tradition of Thessaloniki Concert Hall is to shelter new theatre groups in the foyer of its second building. The play "Mea Culpa" (theatrical text by Konstantinos Rodis) will be performed again on 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 and 12 April within the context of these events and Dimitris Kehaidis’ play "Laurels and Oleanders" will be performed by the "Aristotle" theatre group of Thessaloniki University under the title "Beyond the Metaphysical" (16 and 17 May).

The Easter concert (on Holy Monday, 14 April) will be an original and unique blend of symphonic and Byzantine music. In the first part, the symphony orchestra of Thessaloniki municipality and the choir of Anatolia College alumni conducted by Harris Iliadis will perform "Requiem" by Anton Bruckner. In the second part of the concert, Kostas and Dimitris Pratsinakis will show the magic of Byzantine music through its impact on Greek songs.

For the fourth consecutive year, Thessaloniki Concert Hall will organise on 9, 11, 12 and 13 April the Festival of Children's Choirs (this year with the support of the European Youth Capital 2014).