The Stavros Niarchos Foundation has granted 20 million euros to the Greek National Opera (GNO), which has moved into its new opera house at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens.
The grant will be distributed to GNO by SNF over a four-year-period and is aimed to help grow the country’s only opera company, both in Greece and on the international stage as well.
Greece’s national opera company has already started to expand its productions to now include partnerships with foreign opera houses worldwide since moving into its new location at the modern, new facility.
On Thursday, January 3, 2019, the Co-President of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Mr. Andreas Dracopoulos, and the Artistic Director of the Greek National Opera, Mr. Giorgos Koumendakis, announced the major new grant of €20 million.
The plan includes the development of targeted artistic collaborations, co-productions, guest productions, and international tours that will contribute to the formation of a new artistic identity for the GNO.
The grant will also support a year-long program of events to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution of 1821, while at the same time a large promotional campaign in major media outlets across the world will amplify the GNO’s international appeal.
The Co-President of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Mr. Andreas Dracopoulos, said “The relationship between the SNF and the GNO is not circumstantial or ephemeral. The SNF has been supporting the GNO for years. From supporting the GNO’s outreach to society at large, even before the construction of the SNFCC [the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center], the establishment of its new facilities, the development of the new Alternative Stage, and the inclusion of vulnerable groups through its educational activities, we have stood side by side with the GNO to support its goal to progress. For us, as Greek citizens, the GNO stands as a national treasure. We deeply appreciate the vision, the “philotimo” and the dedication that the people of the GNO exhibit, under the guidance of Giorgos Koumentakis.”
The Artistic Director of the Greek National Opera, Mr. Giorgos Koumendakis, added, “The new four-year grant by the SNF to the GNO, totaling 20 million euros, which was just announced by Andreas Dracopoulos, will give great impetus to our international presence. It will substantially support our artistic vision and essentially help us to work systematically towards a truly new artistic identity, the first examples of which we have already exhibited in the two years we have been here, at the SNFCC. The announcement of this new grant by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, beyond the great joy that it brings us, emphasizes our own commitment to developing an integrated four-year plan.”
