Lately, it seems to be a season of firsts for me! After my first-ever backstage experience at the Opéra de Lyon earlier this week, this was not only my first time stepping into the Greek National Opera but also my first time setting foot on the land of Maria Callas! As much as I travel across Europe, the opportunity had never presented itself to combine business with pleasure—a trip to Athens paired with an opera night.

Well, that’s finally changed! Not only did I (perhaps too much) enjoy everything Athens has to offer in terms of food and lifestyle (shoutout to Fotis for the amazing recommendations—thank you if you’re reading this!), but I also got to experience the Greek National Opera for the first time.

A brief history of the Greek National Opera: Established in 1939, the Greek National Opera found its permanent home at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in 2017. The venue, designed by renowned architect Renzo Piano, is a modern architectural masterpiece, featuring a stunning glass facade and housing a main auditorium with a capacity of approximately 1,400 seats. The theater is known for blending tradition with contemporary artistic expression, often showcasing both classic and avant-garde productions.

And what did I see? La Bohème! The Forrest Gump of opera—timeless, universally loved, and nearly impossible to mess up. Well… nearly. Let’s just say last night’s production was thankfully not that disastrous (looking at you, Opéra Bastille’s La Bohème on the Moon debacle), but it certainly didn’t leave me with much to rave about either.

This production was set in a modern-day apartment, with classic costumes and an overall traditional staging. Nothing particularly exciting, nothing particularly innovative—just fine, I suppose.

That being said, two things truly stood out last night:
1️⃣ The strength of the cast overall, with a special mention to Annie Fassea as Musetta. What a voice—an absolute pleasure to listen to!
2️⃣ The music, conducted by Konstantinos Terzakis. Not a single false note, perfectly executed from start to finish. Flawless.

But beyond that? I really don’t have much to say. And I won’t just write for the sake of writing. It was a pleasant evening, one I’ll remember for being my first opera experience in Greece, but the staging left me incredibly underwhelmed. I know I’m in Athens and can’t expect the same level of grandeur as Vienna or Milan, but the set design… yikes. It was truly disappointing.

A decent night at the opera, but definitely not one for the history books.

CAST

Rodolfo
Konstantinos Klironomos

Schaunard
Marios Sarantidis

Benoît
Vangelis Maniatis

Mimì
Anna Stylianaki

Marcello
Dimitris Tiliakos

Colline
Tassos Apostolou

Alcindoro
Kostis Rassidakis

Musetta
Annie Fassea

Parpignol
Thanassis Evangelou

Customs sergeant
Ioannis Kontellis

Customs official
Yannis Stamatakis