THE OPERA “OLYMPIC FLAME” BY P. KAROUSOS AT THE OLD PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF GREECE DIRECTED BY VASILIS ASIMAKOPOULOS

Vasilis Asimakopoulos

Athens, Wednesday, January 29^th. The Hellenic Literary Society with the Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece presented successfully the opera "Olympic Flame" of Greek-Canadian composer Panagiotis Karousos in the Old Parliament Building of Greece.
Nathanael Pavlos, president of the Society of Hellenic Literary Society had a speech about the contribution of composer Panagiotis Karousos in the arts and the Society and included the performance to the 80^th 80 years celebrations of the Society.The lyric tragedy based on "Trachiniae" by Sophocles impressed the audience. The success of the presentation among the creators fine music composition goes also to the excellent direction of bass Vasilis Asimakopoulos that had the leading roles of Hercules and Hyllus. As Hercules, bass Vasilis Asimakopoulos, gave a strong and impersonal as it should be for a hero who is currently away from the trivial common human emotions at the height of his earthly glory.

In the role of Hyllus Vasilis Asimakopoulos interpreted with spontaneous musicality the aria «Last night in the darkness", and was very theatrical in the last scene of the suicide of Deianeira. Mr. Asimakopoulos understood completely the importance of Hyllus as a tragic figure. Hyllus the son of Hercules and Deianeira was in front of family issues in dark suspense. The mother killed the father with the poisonous dress.

Nancy Papaconstantinou, Vanessa Kalkani

He doesn’t know what to do; this is the same question in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The difference is while Hamlet never gets the answer, Hyllus gets the answer. That makes Sophocles part of Hyllus even more tragic from all other characters inside the play.
The role of Dejanira performed by soprano Irene Konsta expressively with excellent vocal technique training, She interpreted her passion for Hercules, and with great voice alternations showed the draft of the tragic heroine in Tartarus despair which lead to suicide. Her Suicide as a natural following of a fatal destiny seems deliberated, but the force of the act puts us many questions.

Vasilis Asimakopoulos, Irene Konsta

V. Asimakopoulos, N. Papaconstantinou, I. Konsta, V. Kalkani

In the role of Alcmena soprano Nancy Papaconstantinou was fine with nice vocal color. The role of Macaria performed by soprano-coloratura Vanessa Kalkani correctly, and interpreted the composer’s score with great vocal range and beautiful voice. In duet Alcmene and Macaria the two sopranos, Vanessa Kalkani and Nancy Papaconstantinou, did a marvelous performance. The two voices beautifully tied into the music. Also Vanessa Kalkani showed her theatrical talent in the murder of Ioli.
The opera "Olympic Flame" takes us into a romantic musical unbridled emotionalism, ecstatic melodies with internal texture. The strange thing is that while he had the emotional coherence result in a passive aesthetic atmosphere instead to immerse us in a dark spooky tale that anything can happen, everything has stopped.
The melodies are the prison that you can not escape, and suicide is perhaps the only way to escape Deianira leaving behind in these haunting melodies all others.
Instead of the Overture, the musicians interpreted the First Part of the Quartet “Virtue” of Panagiotis Karousos. The excellent musicians were Danae Kioupouroglou, flute, Triantafilos Vavatsikos, violin, Dimitris Sideris, oboe and Maria Mazarakis, cello. The pianist Gulnora Tulyaganova with oboist Dimitris Sideris interpreted wonderfully a transcription of the aria "And now alone" from Prometheus.  

At the end of the opera all artists had a standing ovation.