FULL LIONELLA (Spyridon Samaras) Athens 2023 Anna Stylianaki, Dimitris Paksoglou, Christos Kechris
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: LIONELLA
- Composer: Samaras Spyridon
- Libretto: Fontana
- Venue & Opera Company: Olympia, City of Athens Music Theatre "Maria Callas", Athens, Greece
- Recorded: May 6, 2023
- Type: Concert Live
- Singers: Anna Stylianaki, Dimitris Paksoglou, Christos Kechris, Haris Andrianos, Christophoros Stamboglis, Antonis Dimou, Ioanna Vrakatseli
- Conductor: Byron Fidetzis
- Orchestra:
- Chorus: City of Athens Chorus
- Chorus Master: Stavros Beris
- Stage Director:
- Costume Designer:
- Lighting Designer: Stella Kaltsou
Information about the Recording
- Published by: Olympia City Music Theatre
- Date Published: 2023
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
- Subtitles: yessubs, itsubs
- Video Recording from: YouTube FULL VIDEO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
The musicological research by Byron Fidetzis reveals another great work of Greek music. Written around the end of the first, powerful period of compositions of the musician from Corfu, Spyros Samaras, “Lionella” was presented during the spring of 1891 in Teatro alla Scala of Milan. Until the beginning of the 21st century there was no access to this work, with the exception of the small “Hungarian Rhapsody”. The new orchestration was done by Byron Fidetzis in 2021, based on the spartito of “Lionella”, which seems to be the only that has been saved through the course of time.
The opera is about the passion of the Hungarian aristocrat and army officer Andor for gambling. This passion wins even over his love for Lionella, a young and beautiful gipsy daughter who, because of her great love for Andor, has broken ties with her family and even her race.
Spyridon-Filiskos Samaras (also Spyros, Spiro Samára; Greek: Σπυρίδων Σαμάρας) (29 November [O.S. 17 November] 1861 – 7 April [O.S. 25 March] 1917) was a Greek composer particularly admired for his operas who was part of the generation of composers that heralded the works of Giacomo Puccini. His compositions were praised worldwide during his lifetime and he is arguably the most important composer of the Ionian School. He composed also the Olympic Hymn on lyrics of Kostis Palamas. Among his works are the operas Flora mirabilis (1886) and Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle (1905).
Samaras was born in Corfu. His mother was from Constantinople and his father Skarlatos Samaras, a diplomat from Siatista. As a young man, he studied with Spyridon Xyndas (Σπυρίδων Ξύνδας). From 1875 to 1882 he studied at the Athens Conservatory with Federico Bolognini, Angelo Mascheroni and Enrico Stancampiano. His first opera Torpillae (now lost) was premiered in Athens in 1879. He went to Paris in 1882 to study at the Paris Conservatoire and became a favorite of Jules Massenet. His other instructors included Léo Delibes, Théodore Dubois, and Charles Gounod. He worked successfully as a composer in Paris for three years and then migrated to Italy in 1885.
Samaras quickly became an important figure in the opera scene in Italy. His opera Flora mirabilis première in Milan in 1886 and in 1888 Medgé was successfully staged at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome with French opera star Emma Calvé in the title role.
He became closely associated with Edoardo Sonzogno, a Milanese publisher. Sonzogno founded the Teatro Lirico Internazionale and chose Samaras’ La martire for the theater’s opening on 22 September 1894. The opera had premiered previously that year in Naples and is based on a libretto by Luigi Illica with many naturalistic elements, which gave space to Samaras’ musical personality for an equal treatment.
Samaras’ works enjoyed wide distribution; his operas were staged in Paris, Monte Carlo, Cologne, Berlin, Vienna, Malta, Bucharest, Constantinople, Smyrna, Alexandria, Cairo, Greece and Italy. He wrote fifteen stage works, the last three on texts by Paul Milliet; Storia d’amore o La biondinetta (1903), Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle (1905) and Rhea (1908).
He returned to Greece in 1911, thinking that he would be appointed director of the Athens Conservatoire. However he was not, partly because of the “National School controversy”. The composers of the so-called “National School” considered the composers of the Ionian School, like Samaras, too much Italian influenced.
He supported himself by composing operettas aiming at satisfying a variety of audiences, rather than continuing in his usual creative vein. His last opera, Tigra, although started about this time and containing some of his best music, was never finished.
Samaras was chosen by Demetrius Vikelas for composing the Olympic Anthem, on lyrics by Kostis Palamas. The Anthem was first performed during the opening ceremony of the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Olympic Games. It was declared the official anthem of the Olympic movement by the International Olympic Committee in 1958 and has been used at every opening ceremony since the 1960 Winter Olympics. He died, aged 55, in Athens.
A bust of Samaras was toppled in Corfu in August 2020.
Quoted from Wikipedia