Halepas

Bologna, Arena del Sole, 14-15 October 2022

A contemporary musical tragedy, a post-pop visual and sound work based on the unknown story of “the Auguste Rodin of Greece”.

In Greek with Italian and English subtitles

Bologna, Arena del Sole
October 14 h 21.30
15 October 20.00

Duration 1 hour and 15 minutes
Italian premiere

 

halepas @andreas simopoulos

Directed by Argyro Chioti
Libretto The Boy
Concept & Stage Direction Argyro Chioti
Music Composition & Sound Design n Jan Van Angelopoulos
Set & Costumes Efi Birba
Lighting Design Tasos Palaioroutas
Physical Training Chara Kotsali
Dramaturgical Consultant Efthimis Theou
Artistic Collaborator Nefeli Gioti
Technical Sound Supervisor Nikos Kollias
Line Production Maria Dourou / VASISTAS
With Georgina Chriskioti, Simos Kakalas, Chara Kotsali, Antonis Miriagos, Giorgos Nikopoulos, Dimitris Sotiriou, Aliki Stenou, Argyro Chioti

Produced by ONASSIS STEGI
CoproductionEmilia Romagna Teatro ERT / Teatro Nazionale
Supported in tour byOutward Turn Program di ONASSIS STEGI

The Athenian director Argyro Chioti stands out in the European theatrical scene for her work on stage forms that look toward poetry and are characterized by an intense chorality and physicality.
In the frame of VIE 2022 she presents her latest work, a contemporary music tragedy about the lives and deaths of Yanoulis Halepas, the Greek sculptor who was artistically reborn in the twilight of his years. Ascetic figure of Greek sculpture, Halepas was called by someone “the Auguste Rodin of Greece”, by others “a saint, a madman, a genius, an artist cursed”.
Through dream-like illusions, theatre-maker Argyro Chioti walks to the difficult path that was the sculptor’s life, always between silence and absurdity, stillness and creativity. With her on this journey, two of the most innovative Greek artists: the musician and film director The Boy, author of the libretto, and the composer Jan Van Angelopoulos who signs the music of the show. On the stage, an exceptional ensemble cast.

Yanoulis Halepas was born into a famous family of marble sculptors on the Greek island of Tinos, in the middle of the Aegean Sea – amid the marble slabs and plentiful dust of his family’s stone cutting workshop. At the age of 24, he created the most famous grave monument in modern Greek art – the “Sleeping Maiden”, found in the First Cemetery of Athens. Directly after that, he had a nervous breakdown that incapacitated him for 40 years. He was committed to a psychiatric hospital, and spent many years in isolation. Only after the death of his domineering mother was he “resurrected”, returning to his art and to life. Then, at 65 years old he experienced his spiritual awakening and an old age characterized by sweeping renaissance. As he himself said: “The new (old man) Halepas outdid the old (young man).”

In the fall of 2018, Argyro Chioti found herself on the island of Tinos and stayed in Pyrgos, Yanoulis Halepas’ village. This was when she began researching his life and work, with a view to it culminating in a show: during the lockdown “Halepas” creative team made a research trip that took them into the mountains and quarries of the island, and to the Pyrgos School of Marble Sculpture. As a result of this, Alexandros Voulgaris (The Boy) completed a first draft of the libretto, and Jan Van Angelopoulos prepared the first scores based on the sounds of marble being quarried.

VIE Festival focuses on contemporary creation with the aim of intercepting new identities in the field of live performance. It takes place annually in different cities in the Emilia-Romagna Region and is organized by Emilia Romagna ERT / National Theatre.
The path of VIE 22 winds through the different approaches and styles of the contemporary scene, both Italian and international.

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