HELBI

The Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation was truly inspired when it decided to hold a double-bill dance performance on the island of Delos, on September 1, which is likely to be the top cultural event of the season. The performance includes two works: Igor Stravinsky’s “Apollo Musagete,” choreographed by George Balanchine, with Roberto Bolle in the leading role, and Gustav Mahler’s First Symphony. The Filarmonica della Scala will be directed by Daniele Gatti. In view of the performance, which will be repeated in Athens on September 3 at the Herod Atticus Theater, the foundation’s president Antonis Papadimitriou and the other board members will give a second press conference at noon on Wednesday, August 30 to talk about these dance events in aid of the Hellenic Society for Disabled Children (ELEPAP). This second press conference is to present the soloist and premier danseur of La Scala, Roberto Bolle, the orchestra’s artistic director Ernesto Schiavi and the ballet’s artistic director Frederic Olivieri. The performance on Delos, which will take place against a backdrop of the sun setting over the Aegean Sea, will be broadcast live by the state channel ET-1 in Greece and abroad. Word has it that Culture Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis will attend – after all, elections are one thing, culture quite another.