Photos: Greek bicentennial show goes on despite pandemic
Published on Mar 14, 2021 02:13 PM IST
Greece gained its independence after a grueling nine-year war. A century later, the Greeks were on the losing side in Asia Minor as modern Turkey was created out of the collapsing Ottoman Empire. Bicentennial events intended to display Greece's modern accomplishments have been postponed, scaled back or moved online because of the pandemic. National parades by school children set for Greece's March 25 independence day holiday were canceled Friday amid the latest surge in COVID-19 infections. Like the National Opera, other cultural institutions formed small work teams to salvage their celebration plans even as they faced acute financial pressure due to lockdown measures now in their fifth consecutive month.
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Published on Mar 14, 2021 02:13 PM IST
Actors Marios Panagiotou, left, and Konstantinos Arnokouros speak, during a rehearsal of "The Free Besieged" at the Greek National Theater in Athens, Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (AP)
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Published on Mar 14, 2021 02:13 PM IST
Singers and the orchestra of the Greek National Opera perform during the video recording of "Despo-Greek Dances" Opera and dance performance in Athens, Saturday, March 6, 2021. Dozens of museum exhibitions, theater productions, discussion panels and historical re-enactments were planned in Greece for this year to commemorate the bicentennial of the 1821-1832 Greek War of Independence. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, mezzo-soprano Artemis Bogri and her fellow singers stepped onstage in an empty theater to perform the Greek National Opera’s new production of “Despo,” one of the events marking 200 years since the war that resulted in Greece’s independence from the Ottoman Empire and rebirth as a nation. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)(AP)
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Published on Mar 14, 2021 02:13 PM IST
Giannis Mitrakis holding Elpida Skourou, right, and Elena Kekkou, dancers of the Greek National Opera Ballet, perform during a rehearsal of "Despo-Greek Dances" Opera and dance performance in Athens, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021.(AP)
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Published on Mar 14, 2021 02:13 PM IST
Greek soprano Artemis Bogri holding a sword, sings during a rehearsal of "Despo-Greek Dances" Opera and dance performance in Athens, Thursday, March 4, 2021. (AP)
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Published on Mar 14, 2021 02:13 PM IST
Dancers of the Greek National Opera Ballet, perform during a rehearsal of "Despo-Greek Dances" Opera and dance performance in Athens, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. (AP)
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Soprano Artemis Bogri wearing a Greek traditional costume prepares with others for the rehearsal of "Despo-Greek Dances" Opera and dance performance in Athens, Thursday, March 4, 2021. (AP)
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Published on Mar 14, 2021 02:13 PM IST
Elton Dimrochi holding Elpida Skourou, dancers of the Greek National Opera Ballet, perform during a rehearsal of "Despo-Greek Dances" Opera and dance performance in Athens, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. Dozens of museum exhibitions, theater productions, discussion panels and historical re-enactments were planned in Greece for this year to commemorate the bicentennial of the 1821-1832 Greek War of Independence. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, mezzo-soprano Artemis Bogri and her fellow singers stepped onstage in an empty theater to perform the Greek National Opera’s new production of “Despo,” one of the events marking 200 years since the war that resulted in Greece’s independence from the Ottoman Empire and rebirth as a nation. (AP)
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Published on Mar 14, 2021 02:13 PM IST
Greek soprano Artemis Bogri poses for the photographer Andreas Simopoulos before a rehearsal of "Despo-Greek Dances" Opera and dance performance in Athens, Thursday, March 4, 2021. (AP)
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Published on Mar 14, 2021 02:13 PM IST
Greek soprano Artemis Bogri sings during a rehearsal of "Despo-Greek Dances" Opera and dance performance in Athens, Thursday, March 4, 2021. (AP)
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Actor Alexandros Mavropoulos, wearing a face mask listens to the instructions by director Thanos Papakonstantinou during a rehearsal of "The Free Besieged" at the Greek National Theater in Athens, Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (AP)
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Actress Lena Drossaki during a rehearsal of "The Free Besieged" at the Greek National Theater in Athens, Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (AP)
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Published on Mar 14, 2021 02:13 PM IST
Greek soprano Artemis Bogri performs during a rehearsal of "Despo-Greek Dances" Opera and dance performance in Athens, Thursday, March 4, 2021. (AP)
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Actress Lena Drossaki stretches during a rehearsal of "The Free Besieged" at the Greek National Theater in Athens, Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (AP)
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Published on Mar 14, 2021 02:13 PM IST
Actor Konstantinos Arnokouros wearing a face mask, prepares, prior to a rehearsal of "The Free Besieged" at the Greek National Theater in Athens, Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (AP)
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Published on Mar 14, 2021 02:13 PM IST
Singers and orchestra of the Greek National Opera perform during the video recording of "Despo-Greek Dances" Opera and dance performance in Athens, Saturday, March 6, 2021. (AP)
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Published on Mar 14, 2021 02:13 PM IST
Elpida Skourou, right, speaks with George Hatzopoulos, both dancers of the Greek National Opera Ballet before a rehearsal of "Despo-Greek Dances" Opera and dance performance in Athens, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. (AP)
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Published on Mar 14, 2021 02:13 PM IST
A cameraman prepares for the video recording of "Despo-Greek Dances" Opera and dance performance at the empty Greek National Opera in Athens, Saturday, March 6, 2021. (AP)
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Published on Mar 14, 2021 02:13 PM IST