Zorba the Greek

Performed by the Greek National Opera
Music by Mikis Theodorakis

Zorba the Greek is based on the original characters in the novel by Nikos Kazantsakis. It was commissioned by the Arena di Verona for their 1986 season and starred Vladimir Vassiliev. Zorba was already defined as a historical event at the moment of its debut. At its World Premiere in the 1988 season and again in 1990 Zorba recorded the highest levels of public attendance (over 200,000 spectators) in the history of the Arena di Verona.

Zorba is more than a ballet, it is a spectacle that is born from the fusion of several arts: music, dance and choral song. It is an "opera omnia".

Zorba is a hero of the avant-garde, his ancestor could be Dionysos. The voice of his soul commands him to live up to the apogee of his own life. Music and dance relate the drama which centers on love and friendship. Mikis Theodorakis's music listens to and answers the world in a universal language. The Greek dance is spontaneous: Free and archaic in nature, it contributes to the action and its communicative potential. Zorba captures the spectator in its' narrated world as if "in every man there could be a heart of Zorba that beats secretly". Lorca Massine created a choreography in a style combining classical, folk and modern dance to his new libretto. A new symphonic and choral score was composed by Mikis Theodorakis based on his original film sound track and traditional bouzouki music of original film sound track and traditional bouzouki music of Greece. The spectator can experience the magic that is still alive in Greece, the power of friendship, love, and the unifying effect of music and dance on the people of the world.

Synopsis of Zorba by Mikis Theodorakis
Saturday night at the village. The boys and girls are preparing for the dance. Manolios is in love with the widow and he is making an effort to conquer her.

Madame Ortans is passing by, while in a short time Zorba is approaching her, accompanied by a stranger. He is teaching him how to dance. The stranger falls in love with the widow, but Manolios chases him away helped by the boys. Madame Ortans falls in love with Zorba. She lives in the past and she sees in him just like in every other man, the unique lover. The stranger happens to meet the widow. Love scene. Manolios and the boys watch. The widow is killed by the village people. Zorba makes the stranger forget his pain by dancing" "every time that I cry out my eyes, something shouts inside me: “Dance!". I dance and then I relax.

Madame Ortans is dying. The women in the village are stealing her personal belongings. She is closing her eyes. She is dreaming of her overkissed and long suffering life: "Oh my God, it seemed to be shorter than just a split of a second." Zorba is crying for her death. The stranger induces him to dance "Every time that I cry out my eyes something shouts inside me: Dance!!..."

The pain and the sorrow disappear through the dance little by little.

Important Information
The following are not allowed:

• Entrance into the theatre after the start of a performance, with exception during intervals
• Smoking, eating or drinking within the theatre
• Taking photos either with or without flash and videotaping the performance
• High heeled shoes
• Children under the age of 6
• During the performance mobile telephones must be switched off

Metro station: Acropolis