2.500th anniversary of the Battle of Salamis (480 BC)

The International Action Art with the UNESCO Club for Piraeus and Islands presents a classical music concert by Panagiotis Karousos dedicated to the 2.500th anniversary of the Battle of Salamis (480 BC)

2500 YEARS ANNIVERSARY OF
THE NAVAL BATTLE OF SALAMIS

SUNDAY 3 MAY 2020 (8pm)
"AVLAIA" Performance Art Theatre in Piraeus
Koundouriotou 182 & 2nd Merarchias Street, Pireas
Free entrance

ORATORIO “THE SONG OF THE NATIONS”
BY PANAGIOTIS KAROUSOS
DEDICATED TO THE UNITED NATIONS (UN)

SOLOISTS:
IRINI KONSTA
VASILIS ASIMAKOPOULOS
KATERINA BOTONI
THEODOROS BIRAKOS
CHORUS “KALLITEXNIMATA”
UNDER THE DIRECTION OF MAESTRO
MARIA MICHALOPOULOU
Pianists:
Marianna Spirakou, Chrysanthi Nikolopoulou

Program
Chorus from the opera "Prometheus Bound"
Chorus from the opera "Trachiniae"
Chorus from the opera "Alexander the Great"
Choir “Kallitexnimata” under the direction of Maestro Maria Michalopoulou
Dianeira's cavatina from the opera "Trachiniae"
Irini Konsta, soprano
Duet Heracles and Eurystheus from the opera "Trachiniea"
Vasilis Asimakopoulos - bass, Theodoros Birakos - tenor
Roxana's aria from the opera Alexander the Great
Katerina Botoni, mezzo-soprano

Oratorio: «The Song of the Nations» by Panagiotis Karousos
dedicated to the United Nations
«The Singer» Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (Певе́ц)
«I Hear America Singing» Walt Whitman
«Waking From Drunkenness on a Spring Day» Li Po (春日醉起言志)
«Divine Music» Khalil Gibran's (La voix de l'éternelle sagesse)
«Canción del gitano apaleado» Federico Garcia Lorca
«La Harpe des cantiques» Alphonse De Lamartine
Finale: «The Song of the Nations»
Irini Konsta, soprano
Vasilis Asimakopoulos, bass
Choir "Kallitexnimata"
Under the direction of Conductor Maria Michalopoulou

Greeting - presentation:
Ioannis Maronitis, President of the Club for the UNESCO of Piraeus and Islands
and International Action Art

The naval Battle of Salamis (480 BC)
29 September marked 2 497 years since the Battle of Salamis, which took place in 480 BC and resulted in a victory for the Greeks over the Persians, a victory of democracy over totalitarianism.
Many historians consider the Battle of Salamis to be one of the most important battles in world history, arguing that if the Greeks had lost, the probable capture of Greece by the Persians would have thwarted the development of Greek — and subsequently European — civilization, as most modern western civilization, such as philosophy, science, personal freedom and democracy, has its roots in the Ancient Greek world.
Moreover, the civilization of Ancient Athens, which set the human spirit alight, reached its apogee immediately after its victory in the Persian Wars.

Oratorio: “The Song of the Nations” by Panagiotis Karousos
“The Song of the Nations” is an oratorio dedicated to the United Nations. It was presented in Montreal, Canada on February 23, 2003, with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) part of UN (United Nations), under the auspices of UNESCO Canada, and the City of Montreal with great success. The presentation was made in the magnificent Notre-Dame Basilica, with Canadian soprano Lambroula Maria Pappas, Brazilian bass Daniel Bonato, L’Ensemble Choral St-Eustache directed by Pierre Turcotte, and OSJL- L Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro André Gauthier.
Honorary guest of the World Premiere of Oratorio was the ICAO President Assad Kotaite, who gave a greeting. All the Embassies and Representatives of the member countries of the United Nations was invited, in particular the ICAO Department, among the speakers was the Montreal Mayor Pierre Bourque, Ambassadors of Greece Nikolaos Matsis, France Jean-François Dobelle, Turkey Said Calisir, Georgios Zacharioudakis Consul General Greece in Montreal, Khalil El-Habre Consul General of Lebanon in Montreal, and others.
The Song of Nations is an oratorio for symphony orchestra, mixed choir, and two soloists, soprano and bass, combined by six poems written by great poets of the six official languages of the United Nations Organization (English, French, Russian, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic). Also, the composer added an Overture and a Hymn to the United Nations.
ICAO President Dr. Assad Kotaite called the work: “a masterpiece of art that brings us the message of unity and peace, a magnificent hymn to the United Nations”.
In Greece the Oratorio “The Song of the Nations” presented in Athens, and Corinth, with Soloists soprano Irini Konsta, bass Vasilis Asimakopoulos, the Graduates’ Choir of Music School Pallini & Music Educators’ Choir of Attiki “Choremus”, and the Hellenic Symphony Orchestra
under the direction of Maestro Faidra Giannelou.

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