Opera building deemed unsafe
The Greek National Opera (GNO) is operating in a building made dangerous by recent renovations, according to Town Planning Office documents seen by Kathimerini. In a September 21 letter to the GNO, inspectors said that the work being done to the Olympia Theater’s basement had caused part of a wall near the stage to collapse. They added that the work had been carried out without a permit. Officials told the GNO that renovations on the Olympia Theater, the GNO’s home at 57 Academias Street in central Athens, must cease until the planning office approves it and a license for it is issued. The GNO dismissed the issue as a «procedural» matter and said the building is not dangerous. But GNO officials have decided to stage the upcoming production of Mozart’s «Don Giovanni» at the Acropol Theater until the renovation work at the Olympia is finished.
