St Petersburg Philharmonic and Sgouros in aid of Elpida
The golden era of the Herod Atticus Theater began with the Athens Festival founded by Georgios Rallis, who in 1955 held the post of minister to the prime minister’s office. Since then the biggest stars of opera and dance such as Callas, Fonteyn and Nureyev, great orchestras, famous conductors including Von Karajan, soloists Bachauer and Rostropovic have played there. The theater closes in August because of the heat and Athens empties for the summer holidays. Till then there is plenty worth seeing. The season starts on June 7 with a gala concert of music by Tchaikovsky played by the Philharmonic Orchestra of St Petersburg conducted by Yuri Temirkanov and with soloist Dimitris Sgouros. The concert is in aid of Elpida, and the proceeds will go toward the new cancer hospital at Goudi. At a press conference Thursday at the King George Hotel, Elpida president Marianna Vardinoyianni thanked Sgouros for his participation, as well as the Athens Festival and Giorgos Loukas, president of the umbrella organization Hellenic Festival SA, for supporting Elpida’s work, along with the National Bank, which sponsored the concert, «for their sensitivity to our cause.»
