Greek National Opera at SNFCC: The Seven Deaths of Maria Callas

The Greek National Opera returns to the Stavros Niarchos Hall at the SNFCC to present a great international co-production on 24, 25, 26, 28 and 29 September 2021: the new ambitious operatic project of the priestess of performance art Marina Abramović for the absolute diva Maria Callas titled 7 Deaths of Maria Callas. It is a co-production of the Greek National Opera, the Bavarian State Opera (Munich), the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Opéra National de Paris and the Teatro di San Carlo (Naples). The production is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) [www.SNF.org] to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach.

“Vissi d’arte” – a life devoted to art. Shortly before the renowned singer Floria Tosca thrusts her knife into the chest of cynical Scarpia, she sings out her life in wistful retrospect. Although the aria marks the calm before the storm, the death of her adversary, this turning point in Giacomo Puccini’s opera, also marks Tosca’s fate. Maria Callas, the absolute prima donna of the 20th century, sang this aria many times. As Callas’ stirring life story has always fascinated Marina Abramović, the great visual artist and performer decided to develop the operatic project 7 Deaths of Maria Callas, in which seven deaths are re-enacted in an exemplary fashion on stage, based on the musical and scenic highlights that marked the respective operas – all of them arias that were immensely important to Maria Callas.