Mikis Theodorakis’s Magic City
Socalist Antonis Remos’s collaboration with the Mikis Theodorakis Popular Orchestra is one of the Athens Festival’s major events this summer, not so much because such a collaboration might appear surprising, but mainly because it signifies a new era for Greek singing, which is much more flexible and has got rid of the rigidity of the post-dictatorship era. Theodorakis himself has proved willing to enlarge the number of vocalists who have interpreted his compositions in recent years. At the Herod Atticus Theater tomorrow and Sunday, the Mikis Theodorakis Popular Orchestra will present its latest production, «In the Magic City of Mikis’s Music,» which consists of music and songs Theodorakis has composed for the cinema and theater. The performances will feature soundtracks and songs from films such as «Honeymoon,» «Dream Neighborhood,» «Phaedra» and «Serpico,» as well as plays such as «A Hostage,» «Beautiful City» and «Neighborhood of Angels.» Scenes from films and extracts from theatrical performances will be screened during the performance, while the audiovisual material will be enriched with sketches by Bost. Vocalists and actors Petros Filippidis, Natassa Manissali, Yiannis Samsiaris, Kakia Igerinou and Taxiarchis Hanos will take us back to the 1960s and ’70s with extracts from plays and movies of the era. The show is directed by Stelios Goutis. Remos, a highly successful singer on today’s popular Greek music scene, seemed fully conscious of the difficulty of such an undertaking during a recent press conference. «I wish I could use a microphone so you could hear how my heart is beating,» he said. He talked about the great pleasure and responsibility he felt and said he hoped he would be a good link to a generation that hasn’t identified with Theodorakis’s songs. When asked whether this collaboration signified a turn in his career, he said this was not the case. The performance will be repeated on Lesvos, at Thessaloniki’s Gis Theater and on Rhodes in June with the participation of Remos, while Pantelis Theoharidis will replace him in the shows at the Kaisariani Monastery and on Kyparissia at the end of June. Performances start at 9 p.m. at the Herod Atticus Theater (Dionysiou Areopagitou, Acropolis, tel 210.928.2900) tomorrow and Sunday. Tickets can be purchased at the Hellenic Festival Box Office (39 Panepistimiou, tel 210.928.2900) and the on-site Herod Atticus Theater Box Office.
