PRESS RELEASE
«La vie en rose»
Musical dedication to Edith Piaf
Region of Central Macedonia Cultural Center
All proceeds will be donated to ‘’The Children’s Asylum’’
Monday, February 4, 2019/ 21:00/ Vasiliko (Royal) Theater
The legend of Edith Piaf will come alive on Monday, February 4, 2019 at the Vasiliko Theater. The Region of Central Macedonia Cultural Center in cooperation with the Thessaloniki Administration of Culture and Tourism presents a musical dedication to this most melodic of songbirds. All proceeds from the concert will be donated to «The Children’s Asylum» which is celebrating 100 years of generous care and service to the city.
The Thessaloniki City Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Lisa Xanthopoulou will join together with the outstanding Vasiliki Roussi, who for the past years has embodied the role of the legendary songstress in theatrical productions in mostly German-speaking countries. This concert-show which will be filled with immortal songs such as ‘’La vie en rose’’, ‘’ ’Non, je ne regrette rien’’, ‘’Padam-padam’’, etc. will become a look at the life of Edith Piaf. Her life and songs seemed to be tied together with an indelible thread. ‘’Every time she sang, you felt like she was giving a piece of her soul,’’ the poet and her dear friend Jean Cocteau has said about her. Edith Piaf, herself, has even said ‘’If I had had a calmer, quieter, more normal kind of life, I could not have given my audience what I give them now.’’
Biographical Notes
Vasiliki Roussi
Vasiliki Roussi studied dance, singing and acting at the Theatrical School an der Wien, where she began her career in the musical Cats. She later worked as an actress at the Royal Theater in Switzerland where she performed, amongst others, the roles of Angelique in Moliere’s ‘’The Imaginary Invalid,’’ Hero in ‘’Much Ado About Nothing,’’ Abigail in ‘’The Crucible,’’ and Irina in ‘’Three Sisters.’’ Ms Roussi has worked with Austrian director Xaver Schwarzenberger and she has appeared in many television series and movies. In the area of music Vasiliki Roussi has performed in Germany, Austria and Switzerland many great women’s roles such as Anita in ‘’West Side Story,’’ Sally Bowles in ‘’Cabaret,’’ Lucy in ‘’Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,’’ and Charity in ‘’Sweet Charity,’’ to name a few. Since 2012 she has been bringing to life the role of Edith Piaf in a work by P. Holzwarth at the Lübeck Theater and in another work of the same name as the title character by P. Gems in Stuttgart, where she won the audience award for best actress, 2016. The summer of 2017 she appeared at the Festival Schlossfestspielen Biedenkopf where she performed the leading role in the musical Die Hatzfeldt. In Heidelberg during the summer of 2018 she played the role of Zeitel in Fiddler On The Roof. In 2019 she will sing songs by Kurt Weill with the Weimar State Orchestra and in the summer of 2019 between other appearances she will perform concerts featuring the songs of E. Piaf and Z. Bell in collaboration with the State Orchestra of Gera.
Lisa Xanthopoulou
Lisa Xanthopoulou was born in Thessaloniki, were she studied piano, advanced music theory and choral conducting at the State Conservatory and the Music College of Thessaloniki. In 1992, she completed her studies at the Department of Music of the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki. In 1998, she graduated from the Universtität der Künste in Berlin. During the course of her studies, she was selected by the German Music Council (Deutscher Musikrat) to participate in their support program for young conductors (Dirigentenforum), where she had the opportunity to work with distinguished maestros such as: K. Sanderling, D. Kitajenko, K. Masur, and others. In 2002, she was chosen to participate in the Maestros von Morgen program (Tomorrow’s Maestros). She has received awards at international conducting competitions such as the 2002 Bad Homburg Conductors’ Contest, the 5th A.Pedrotti Conductors’ Contest in Trento, Italy, in 1997 and the 5th International Conductors’ Contest in Cadaques, Spain. In September 2005, she was appointed Artistic Director of Thessaloniki Opera, the first time this position was introduced. During her administration she also established an educational program named “Pes Opera”. This pioneering program has familiarized thousands of children and young people with opera as an art form. In April 2018 she became Artistic Director of Thessaloniki City Symphony Orchestra. She has conducted performances and concerts in Germany, Italy, Cyprus, Turkey, S. Korea and Egypt. Also, she regularly collaborates with all cultural organizations in Greece.
Thessaloniki City Symphony Orchestra
The TCSO was founded in 1987 under its original name of ‘’Municipal Orchestra’’ and its first artistic director was Kosmas Galileas. The artistic direction and coordinating of the orchestra was later assumed by Dimitris Agrafiotis, Byron Fidetzis and Christos Grimpas. It consists of acclaimed musicians and is actively involved in the city’s musical events. Besides performing their own regularly scheduled concerts the orchestra also puts on educational concerts, it appears in co-productions with renowned artists, it has performances with other orchestras, it participates in festivals and international competitions, and it has performed concerts all over Greece and abroad, as well. Throughout the years of its existence the TCSO has had the pleasure and honor to host great soloists and conductors such as: D. Sgouros, G. Demertzis, L. Kavakos, M. Tirimos, G. Vakarelis, G. Lazaridis, S. Katsaris, V. Repin, Oistrach, among others. The orchestra has appeared at the Athens Concert Hall, the Lycabettus Theater, as well as in numerous cities throughout Greece (Veria, Larisa, Naoussa, Mesolongi, Drama, Igoumenitsa, Kavala, Serres, Volos, Preveza, Kastoria, and Corfu, to name a few) and outside of Greece at the Ancient Theater of Ephesus and in Cyprus. The TCSO has also performed many operas and ballet. It has made recordings of Vivaldi’s ‘’Four Seasons’’ with soloist L. Kavakos and maestro Kosmas Galileas and Haydn’s ‘’The Creation’’ under the direction of Byron Fidetzis. As of 2001 the position of permanent conductor is held by Haris Iliadis. The role of artistic coordinator for the orchestra has been taken over by conductor Lisa Xanthopoulou as of April 2018.
Other contributors:
Artistic Direction : Athanasios Kolalas
Graphic Design – Poster: Alexia Valtadorou
Producer: Region of Central Macedonia Cultural Center
Public Relations/ Communication: Effie Tsampazi
Information:
Monday, February 4, 2019
Time: 21:00
Royal Theater: Alexander the Great Avenue
Ticket price: 10€ (main floor/ box), 8€ (rear gallery), 5€ (unemployed/ students).
Advanced ticket sales: www.viva.gr
