Two of Greece’s most influential and groundbreaking artists, composer Lena Platonos and singer Maria Farantouri, will take the stage at the historic Odeon of Herodes Atticus (Irodion) beneath the Acropolis on June 19 as part of the Athens Epidaurus Festival.
A pioneer of electronic music in Greece, Platonos shares the stage with the legendary Farantouri, whose six-decade career has been defined by her interpretations of works by leading Greek and international composers and her enduring association with songs of protest, freedom and social justice.
The concert will feature Fragments of the Silent Ones, a work inspired by the female poets of the ancient world, including Sappho, Corinna, Telesilla, Anyte, Praxilla, Moero, Nossis, Diophile and Erinna, as well as texts connected to traditional healers.
That ancient text comes to life set to Platonos’ distinctive electronic soundscapes, paying tribute to nature and its humble creatures, friendship, love and war, life and death, and gender equality and creating a dialogue between the ancient and modern worlds.
The Athens performance will also feature the premiere of Fortunes, a new composition inspired by the Platonic concept of the soul’s immortality as expressed in the “Myth of Er,” the concluding allegory of Plato’s Republic. Adapted into modern Greek by Thanos Tsaknakis, the work will feature acclaimed flute soloist Stathis Karapanos alongside Farantouri.
Completing the program is a performance of Platonos’ pioneering 1981 album Sabotage, which set the foundations for Greece’s electronic music scene still resonating today, more than four decades after its release.
Staged beneath the Acropolis at one of Greece’s most iconic cultural venues, the concert promises a rare meeting of two artistic forces whose work has helped shape the country’s contemporary musical and cultural identity.
* Tickets are available online.
