HELBI

Atrium Nights in the atrium of the Alexandra Trianti Hall of the Athens Concert Hall began with a concert by Cretan troubador Loudovikos ton Anogeion, who sings of “truths like fairy tales,” in his first appearance at the Megaron along with musicians from the Group Escape ensemble and singers Maria Anamaterou and Victoria Tagouli. Cretan mantinades and folk songs ensued, with a lot of feeling and a little humor, to the sound of Loudovikos’s mandolin. His public filled the theater, with the Megaron’s director Christos Lambrakis also in attendance. Loudovikos’s big break came in 1979, when the late Manos Hadjidakis came to Anogeia, a village on Crete’s Mount Psiloreiti, and heard him sing. “It was he who taught me how to paint while writing my songs,” the Cretan singer says. Atrium Nights continues with concerts by Lavrentis Mahairitsas (September 4 and 5), Pandelis Thalassinos and Anastasia Moutsatsou (September 7-8), Stamatis Kraounakis (September 11-12), Manolis Famellos (September 13-14) and closes with Alkinoos Ioannidis on September 21 and 22. Artistic director is Anna Dalara.