On August 4, 1961, the yacht Christina glides into the small harbor of Epidaurus, in the eastern Peloponnese. Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis arrive two days before the premiere of a production already hailed as the event of the summer. The newspapers confirm the anticipation. \u201cFever in Epidaurus, where Callas rehearses \u2018Medea,\u2019\u201d writes Eleftheria on August 5, priming the public for \u201ca rare artistic delight for audiences and a major artistic achievement for its creators.\u201d<\/p>\n
Callas comes to Epidaurus having already \u201crevived,\u201d to great acclaim, Luigi Cherubini\u2019s long-neglected opera at the 1953 Florence May Festival. In Dallas, in 1958, she electrifies audiences in the same role under the direction of Alexis Minotis, with sets and costumes by Yannis Tsarouchis. These high points mark the beginning of her profound connection with \u201cMedea\u201d \u2013 one that many expect will reach its apex in the \u201csanctuary\u201d of the ancient theater.<\/p>\n
La Divina allows herself only a few hours of rest before requesting a costume fitting. She seeks comfort and freedom of movement. Tsarouchis, pencil in hand, records every remark. Kathimerini would later note that \u201cthe harmony of colors and forms captures both eye and heart at first glance,\u201d affirming that the painter\u2019s vision was not merely functional but distinctly artistic. The dress rehearsal begins at 8 in the evening. Callas appears in a dark blue patterned dress \u2013 calm, focused, and in striking form.<\/p>\n
The premiere on August 6 fulfills every expectation. The ancient theater fills with 15,000 spectators, many having traveled from afar to witness \u201cMedea\u201d at the very site where the drama\u2019s roots lie. Contemporary accounts speak of a \u201cmiracle,\u201d of a performance bordering on ritual. The second performance, on August 13, surpasses even the first. Journalists estimate an audience of 17,500, while some 2,000 people reach the gates without securing a ticket. That \u201cMedea\u201d \u2013 of Callas, Minotis, Tsarouchis, and choreographer Maria Hors \u2013 has since entered the realm of 20th-century artistic myth. Who would dare measure themselves against it 65 years later, and in the very same space?<\/p>\n The Greek National Opera\u2019s \u201cMedea,\u201d to be presented for one night only in Epidaurus on June 20, has already become the first major success of this year\u2019s Athens Epidaurus Festival. Within 24 hours of ticket sales opening, more than 7,000 tickets were sold; less than a week later, nearly all 10,000 available seats had been claimed, leaving only a handful with restricted views. Prices \u2013 \u20ac200 for VIP seats \u2013 proved no deterrent; they underscored the sense that audiences were not merely purchasing a ticket, but seeking to be part of a historic occasion.<\/p>\n The new production revisits \u2013 and seeks to reconstruct \u2013 the legendary 1961 \u201cMedea.\u201d The Greek National Opera team \u2013 Panaghis Pagoulatos (stage direction), Lili Pezanou (sets), Tota Pritsa (costumes), and Christos Tziogkas (lighting) \u2013 has spent months studying surviving archival material, aiming not for simple replication but for a thoughtful recreation of an aesthetic that has never been surpassed.<\/p>\n In the title role, the Italian dramatic soprano Anna Pirozzi brings a voice already proven in \u201cMedea\u201d and fully attuned to its demands. She is joined by Jean-Francois Borras as Giasone (Jason), Tassis Christoyannis as Creonte (Creon), Alisa Kolosova as Neris, and Danae Kontora as Glauce.<\/p>\n Kathimerini went behind the scenes, visiting the GNO workshops where the production\u2019s historical sets and costumes are being crafted, and spoke with the team preparing to return the opera to the ancient theater.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ancient theater of Epidaurus holds a precious place in my heart and mind, both because of my work as a composer and my long experience as a spectator of ancient drama,\u201d says GNO artistic director Giorgos Koumendakis. He is referring to the decision to stage opera at Epidaurus \u2013 an idea that, as he recalls, had quietly accompanied him for years. It had taken root as early as 2017, not as an administrative or programming objective, but as something deeply personal.<\/p>\n \u2018Interpretation has evolved \u2013 even if Callas herself was, in many ways, strikingly modern.\u00a0I remain deeply inspired by her vision, but I also hope to contribute a small piece of history of my own\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The desire was there, but its realization was far from straightforward. Behind the vision lay considerable artistic risk \u2013 and an even greater financial one. \u201cThe budget for such a large-scale production in an open-air theater of this size, away from our base, can reach staggering levels, especially when one considers that nearly 400 people \u2013 staff and collaborators \u2013 must travel to and stay in Epidaurus for several days,\u201d Koumendakis explains.<\/p>\n When it was announced that the Herod Atticus Theater would close for restoration, however, Epidaurus emerged as the \u201cfirst and indisputable choice.\u201d It was as if circumstances themselves had cleared the path. \u201cGiven that the thematic axis of the 2025-26 season is the dialogue between the opera\u2019s historical past and its ambitious future, the \u2018Medea\u2019 of Minotis and Tsarouchis \u2013 in which Callas once starred \u2013 became the obvious choice,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n Despite the scale of the challenge, Koumendakis conveys a quiet confidence grounded in sustained work and hard-won experience. The enrichment of the GNO Archive with significant collections \u2013 those of Dimitris Pyromallis, Nikos Petsalis-Diomidis, Polyvios Marchand, and Kleisthenis Daskalakos \u2013 has provided a solid foundation, while the insights gained from the major 2023 tribute to Callas have further strengthened the effort. With this in mind, he concludes, \u201cwe feel that \u2013 despite the absence of any filmed record of the 1961 production \u2013 we are in a position to deliver a reconstruction of the highest level.\u201d<\/p>\n Pagoulatos has assumed the formidable task of reconstructing the direction of a production that, as he puts it, \u201cis etched in the collective memory.\u201d \u201cThe greatest risk I took was accepting Giorgos Koumendakis\u2019 proposal,\u201d he says of the ambitious undertaking. \u201cThe responsibility is immense \u2013 artistic, institutional, financial, technical \u2013 and it is shared by the entire creative team: choreographers, set designers, costume designers, lighting designers. It is a project that demands absolute precision, and at the same time, courage.\u201d<\/p>\n Among the team\u2019s key sources are Minotis\u2019 directing notebooks, used in conjunction with the archive of the National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation. Yet these materials cover only selected scenes and often function more as preparatory notes for different stagings of the work. \u201cThe photographic material provides visual clues that align with the libretto,\u201d Pagoulatos explains, \u201cbut there are significant gaps that must be filled with consistency, so as to preserve the coherence of the production without introducing foreign elements.\u201d<\/p>\n Does such a process constrain him creatively? \u201cThere is freedom \u2013 but within strict parameters,\u201d he replies. \u201cEven when a revival is mounted by the original director, the \u2018living material\u2019 inevitably changes: The performers, their voices, their personalities, their experiences \u2013 all of these transform the work. The same applies to the costumes in this new \u201cMedea,\u201d which are adapted to today\u2019s performers while remaining faithful to Tsarouchis\u2019 visual language. The aim is for the 2026 audience to perceive the archaic costume as a symbol of its time, not as something rigid or museum-like.\u201d<\/p>\n The return of \u2018Medea\u2019 to ancient Epidaurus carries both the weight and the emotion of an encounter with a space \u201csacred in every sense,\u201d as Pagoulatos emphasizes. The theater itself, the tragic myth \u2013 faithfully respected by the libretto and so precisely shaped by Cherubini\u2019s music \u2013 create a singular set of conditions. To this are added the figures who defined the production\u2019s legacy: Minotis, for whom \u201ctragedy was second nature\u201d; Tsarouchis, with his modern reading of ancient iconography; and choreographer Maria Hors, \u201cso deeply attuned to the ancient spirit.\u201d And, inevitably, Callas \u2013 \u201cthe singular phenomenon of the singing actress\u201d \u2013 who remains the ultimate point of reference. \u201cOne can enter this space only with respect,\u201d he concludes, \u201cwith knowledge and inspiration, but also with the awareness that one is attempting to \u2018restore\u2019 a monumental work \u2013 recreating what has been lost.\u201d<\/p>\n And if Minotis himself were in the audience? \u201cI would want him to see a performance that would not preoccupy him with questions of fidelity or deviation,\u201d Pagoulatos says. \u201cNot something he would find dated or irreverent, but something contemporary and convincing \u2013 a \u2018Medea\u2019 that can stand alongside his own, not as a replica, but as a living continuation.\u201d<\/p>\n Pritsa, head of the GNO costume department, has been preparing for this production for a long time. \u201cA contemporary revival presents significant challenges,\u201d she notes. \u201cToday\u2019s performers have very different body types from those of the past, which makes it difficult to reproduce the original patterns faithfully. At the same time, sourcing equivalent fabrics is no easy task, as the local market no longer offers materials with the same properties or quality. Even achieving the right colors proved complex. It is important to understand that this is not reproduction in the strict sense of absolute fidelity, but rather a process of reinterpretation. To the contemporary viewer, the cloak or short chiton may appear unfamiliar, even awkward \u2013 something that does not belong to our time. But here costume does not simply depict an era; it preserves memory. This work does not belong to any one individual. It belongs to time \u2013 and to all those who have served it with their hands and their minds.\u201d<\/p>\n By all accounts, Pirozzi \u2013 one of the leading sopranos of our time \u2013 embraces challenges with wholehearted intensity, true to her Neapolitan roots. We first heard her at the GNO during the centenary celebrations of Callas\u2019 birth, where she delivered an outstanding \u201cMedea\u201d: technically assured, dramatically compelling, and deeply passionate. \u201cMedea is a demanding psychological journey,\u201d she reflects. \u201cI have to complete the role while preserving both my vocal and mental health. It is easy to be swept away by the \u2018dark soul\u2019 of this woman \u2013 a truly complex and ambiguous figure.\u201d<\/p>\n On June 20, she will sing in the open-air ancient theater, at the very spot where Callas once stood. What does that mean to her? \u201cIt is a tremendous honor, both because of the history of the space and because she performed the opera there,\u201d Pirozzi says. \u201cMy initial concern was the acoustics. In open-air venues, it is crucial to have an acoustic response that supports the vocal demands of the role. Fortunately, that concern disappeared when I visited Epidaurus this summer. I sang a few phrases at the center of the theater \u2013 the experience was extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, Pirozzi does not position herself against tradition but turns inward, testing her own limits. She speaks of a balance between continuity and renewal. Her gaze turns toward Callas \u2013 not in imitation, but in dialogue. \u201cI don\u2019t want simply to sing; I want to interpret, to act through the sung word. At the same time, I hope to write a new chapter. We are in the 21st century, after all, and interpretation has evolved \u2013 even if Callas herself was, in many ways, strikingly modern. I remain deeply inspired by her vision, but I also hope to contribute a small piece of history of my own: Anna Pirozzi\u2019s \u2018Medea\u2019 \u2013 my \u2018Medea\u2019 for the 21st century.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"confronting-the-myth-created-by-callas0\"](\"https:\/\/www.ekathimerini.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f29b6b1f1e4a6827869c5004393b6cd8_824A5633aaa-1.jpg?1778219122493\")
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Desire and destiny<\/h3>\n
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The risk of reconstruction<\/h3>\n
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Passion of a Neapolitan<\/h3>\n
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