QPAC

Celebrating 100 years of Mikis Theodorakis – Greece’s most revered composer

FEATURING
International artist Dimitris Basis and conductor George Ellis
Together with cantor George Karantonis and narrator Tony Nikolakopoulos
A 35-piece orchestra and a 90-voice choir

Witness a breathtaking celebration of the works of composer Mikis Theodorakis and Nobel Prize-winning poet Odysseas Elytis in Axion Esti and Masterworks.

This remarkable concert event will showcase the talent of international vocalist Dimitris Basis, acclaimed Greek Australian conductor George Ellis, Cantor George Karantonis, Greek Australian actor Tony Nikolakopoulos in the role of narrator, and a 90-voice choir comprised of members of the QPAC Chamber, GOC Care Fones and Ellinikes Fones Junior and Senior Choirs.

Odysseas Elytis’ (1911-1996) landmark work, Axion Esti (1959) was set to music by Mikis Theodorakis and became a widely-celebrated anthem. Combining suffering and passion, spiritual lessons and poetic power, Axion Esti – widely held to be Elytis’ masterpiece – won the National Book Award for Poetry in 1960.

Mikis Theodorakis – composer of the legendary Zorba’s Dance – is Greece’s most celebrated composer. He has written more than 1,000 songs and song-cycles whose melodies have become intrinsically linked with the heritage of Greek music. This unique event honours his legacy and celebrates the sheer musical beauty and timelessness of his masterwork compositions.

The first half of this concert event is a classical tribute to Axion Esti – performed by a specially formed 90-voice choir comprised of members of the QPAC Chamber Choir and three Greek Community Choirs: Ellinikes Fones, Ellinikes Fones Junior and GOC Care Fones and 35-piece symphony orchestra – with the second half dedicated to Theodorakis’ most famous folk melodies including Ena To Helidoni (A Solitary Swallow) and Tis Dikeosinis Ilie (Sun of Justice).

“Please don’t, please don’t forget my homeland...”

Learn more about Axion Esti here [PDF 75KB]