Greek National Opera performs Kazantzakis in New York

The Greek National Opera Orchestra and the “Manos Hadjidakis” Ensemble performed “Nikos Kazantzakis: An Odyssey in Music” at Carnegie Hall in New York City, marking the organization’s first appearance in the United States.

The concert featured works connected to the author Nikos Kazantzakis and drew inspiration from Cretan musical traditions. The event commemorated the 80th anniversary of the first publication of Kazantzakis’s novel Zorba the Greek, which was later adapted into a successful Broadway musical and film.

Vangelis Marinakis, a businessman with Cretan heritage, sponsored the performance alongside Capital Clean Energy Carriers and several foundations including the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. Marinakis’s support for Kazantzakis extends to the Nikos Kazantzakis Museum in Crete, and he also funded the creation of a Modern Greek Language and Culture chair at Ohio State University. The concert program included compositions by Manos Hadjidakis, Mikis Theodorakis, George Koumentakis, Nikos Skalkottas, and Dimitris Mitropoulos.

Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili sang excerpts from Zorba in Greek, and Maria Kostraki performed “Captain Michalis”. The performance aimed to showcase the connection between Kazantzakis’s work, Cretan culture, and Greek musical heritage.