Kypria general programm pdf

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OPERETTA BY THEOFRASTOS

SAKELLARIDES ON A LIBRETTO

WRITTEN BY THE COMPOSER.

Without doubt, “The Godson” has had 

more performances than any other

Greek operetta and is considered to be 

one of the landmarks of the genre. It is

an exquisite comedy-idyll, with

entertaining elements of farce and with

resourceful and natural melodic richness, 

which had sensational success in its time 

and continues to charm audiences today. 

It is a representative and at the same time 

excellent sample of the Greek operatic 

works.  

It was first staged in 1918 by the

“Ioannis Papaioannou Τheatre Company” 

and in 1946 by the Greek National Opera, 

receiving enthusiastic reviews and praise. 

A characteristic part from these reviews is 

the following: “…The state musical

theatre 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, adapted in Greek. 

The work is placed chronologically 

during the Balkan wars (1912-1913) or 

a few years later (1918). Alexandros 

Evklides who directed and did the stage 

designs for this year’s production of “The 

Godson” at the Thessaloniki Music

Megaron, mentions some of the

elements in the work: “…it is written in 

1918, during a period of crisis 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 fanfares of 

national exaltation…”.

 

The Cyprus Symphony Orchestra is

giving these concert perfomances of 

“ The Godson” for the first time. Some of 

the most beloved and unforgettable arias 

are the march “Up on the front line” (“Psila 

sto metopo”) also sung by the soldiers in 

1940, “Those old times” (“Ton kero ekino 

ton palio”), “My heart aches for you” 

(“I kardia mu ponei gia sas”) and 

others. The spirit of optimism and

exaltation, the comic and romantic

elements which characterize the music

of “The Godson” promise to entertain

and take the audience on a journey.  

CYPRUS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

THE GODSON

(O VAFTISTIKOS)

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 14

STROVOLOS MUNICIPAL THEATRE

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 15

RIALTO THEATRE

LIMASSOL

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 16

LARNACA MUNICIPAL THEATRE

TICKETS: €12 / €7

TIME 20:30

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ARTISTS:

Soprano: Katerina Mina  

 

Mezzo soprano: Vivien Cooksley 

Tenor: Nikos Stefanou  

 

Baritone: Michalis Katsoulis  

Aris Choir of Limassol 

 

Choir Master: Marinos Mitellas

Orchestration: Samy Elgazzar

Conductor: Giorgos Aravidis

Concert performance.

MEDIA SPONSORS:

OFFICIAL CARRIER:

SYNOPSIS OF “THE GODSON”

The story takes place in 1912, during the 

Balkan wars. The charming Vivika is upset 

with her husband Zacharoulis due to a 

recent love adventure of his. During their 

party, Charmides appears claiming that he 

is the godson of Vivika. In reality though, 

he was writing letters to Vivika on behalf 

of her illiterate and not very well-bred 

godson. He has been charmed by her, 

although he is now married to an old 

classmate of Vivika, who also appears at 

the party! At the same time, there comes 

the uncle of Vivika who is a colonel and 

finds her in the arms of the supposed 

godson. From there onwards the situation 

gets complicated and everyone tries to 

untangle the mess.   

THEOFRASTOS 

SAKELLARIDES (1883-1950)

Theofrastos Sakellarides was born in

Athens in 1883. He studied music in 

Greece and thereafter in Munich and

Italy and returned to Athens in 1904. 

Talented and with a huge output, he 

managed to create his own personal

style by integrating influences and

elements from Austrian or French

operetta, as well as from Greek folk

song, popular serenades (kantades),

Italian opera, Neapolitan song, gypsy 

music, popular genres and at times jazz. 

From 1909 until his death in 1950,

Theofrastos Sakellarides composed 

around 80 operettas, such as the 

“Haunted Bridge” (“Stichiomeno gefyri”, 

1912) and “At the sheds” (“Sta

parapigmata”, 1914). “The Godson”

(“O Vaftistikos”) is the most characteristic 

and most frequently performed of all his 

works. It is said that he completed it in 

just 40 days. 

Sakellarides also composed operas such 

as “Imeneo” (“O Ymeneos”, 1903), “The 

Pirate of the Aegean” (“O piratis tou 

Aigeou”, 1907) and “Perouze” (1911).

He extensively wrote music for 

“epitheorisis” (modern Greek popular

revue satirizing current social and

political issues), such as for 

“Panathenean” (“Ta Panathenea”, 1907-

1913), adapting the already known

music from European works by Franz

Lehar, Kalman or Richard Strauss to the 

texts of the Greek “epitheorisis”.

The 1940 folk-like patriotic song “Vazei o 

Ntoutse ti stoli tou” sang by Sofia Vembo 

(new lyrics on the melody of the song 

“Vaso knits her dowry”-“Plekei i Vaso to 

prikio tis”) is his own composition. He 

died in poverty and he was buried at 

public expense. 

Upon Sakellarides’s death, the composer 

Manolis Kalomiris wrote in “Nea Estia” 

magazine (January 1950): “Another 

leading and founding figure of Greek 

music has departed… He sounds forever 

warmest and vivid in our souls and hearts 

and will always resound everywhere in 

Greece and the Hellenic world... and will 

give us rest from the fatigue of hard work 

and everyday hardships”. The theatre 

historian Yiannis Sideris would write in 

the same magazine: “…As a composer 

he did for Operetta what Xenopoulos 

did for proze”. Sakellarides himself in an 

interview for the newspaper “Embros” (9 

August 1915), said the following: “I write 

with Athenean inspiration. When we 

listen to an operetta by Lehar we exclaim: 

“It has the scent of Vienna”. If tomorrow 

it is said that my works have the scent of 

Athens, allow me to consider this as my 

artistic dream coming true”. 

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