Cultural Events in Volos

Updated: 2004-06-28 15:06

There will be three major cultural events in the Olympic city of Volos as part of ATHENS 2004 cultural programme.

The programme of cultural events for Volos was unveiled at a press conference by the cultural adviser to the ATHENS 2004 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, Thanos Mikroutsikos.

1. The Argonauts

The dance theatre piece Argonauts is based on the famous legend of Jason, the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece. It will have its world premieres on 8, 9 and 10 August in the Olympic city of Volos, the ancient city of Iolcus, starting-point of the Argonauts on their legendary expedition over three thousand years ago!

The work is a multi-media multi-cultural spectacular showcasing the cultural, historical, social and competitive ideal of the Olympic Games. The performance is a joint venture involving ATHENS 2004 Public Relations & Events and the Music Theatre Centre of the municipality of Volos.

The performance closely follows the legend: the adventures of the Argonauts on their way to Colchis, the meeting between Medea and Jason, the challenges they faced in stealing the Golden Fleece, and their successful voyage back to Iolcus, where they organised a Panhellenic Games in honour of Jason’s father the king, who had died in the meantime, the famous Games for Pelias.

“The Argonauts are role models for athletes” says the scriptwriter, Nikos Tsaknis of Volos. “At the heart of the myth is the running of a race. Movement is the symbol throughout - movement at critical moments in individual and collective achievements, movement in battle, movement in running, movement in hymns and the dance. All these are constantly in the foreground”. Tsaknis’ research suggests to him that the Argonauts displayed important athletic prowess and exhibited features of a legendary Olympic tradition. In their ranks were three Olympic victors in a single person: Hercules, winner in the Pankration, the Wrestling, and the chariot race. Also among them are three ‘founding fathers’ of a sport: Jason, inventor of the Pentathlon, Pelias, inventor of wrestling, and Hercules, inventor of the track race. On three occasions during their expedition they organised a Games. The first of these – we are told by the sources- had a complete programme of events, and prizes for the victors. Pindar, poet of the Olympics, wrote hymns in honour of victors at the Panhellenic Games. In them he refers to the illustrious Argonauts as prime examples of athletes for ancient Olympic victors. Their representations and altars abound at Olympia, with the Games of legend being depicted and the victors having pride of place.

“The piece’s main elements are music and movement in the broadest sense of the terms. Dance, acrobatics, gymnastic exercises, pantomime, constructions, props, video and 3-D projections will be in an abstract way part of the whole performance, simple but at the same time dynamic and intense” said Dimitris Marangopoulos, the art director. The premiere is expected to attract considerable interest, as leading creative artists from Greece and from the Czech Republic are taking part:

Idea-Research-Script: Nikos Tsaknis
Art concept: Dimitris Maragkopoulos, Miloslav Hermanek, Vaclav Janecek
Creation: Lanterna Magica
Adaptation for the stage: Vaclav Jcnacek
Direction, Photography: Petr Cepicky
Music: Dimitris Marangopoulos
Sets & Lighting: Miloslav Hermanek
Costumes: Pavel Knolle
Choreography: Jan Kodet
Sound Engineer & Music Producer: Agis Gyftopoulos
Performers: Lanterna Magica
Production: PrimeArt

Vaclav Janecek, who has undertaken the adaptation for the stage, points out that in order to choose the means of expression and process them it was necessary to bring together all the creative components in the production so as to present to the public an expressive theatrical performance fitting to the theme and not just a shallow or simple enactment. The magic of the Czech dance group provides a strong link with cinematography, images and live performance at the heart of the creative process.
The performance has a markedly theatrical style, is non-verbal and is centred on dance; modern choreography, based on an original combination of body and dance that permits the creation of a single ‘instrumenta’ entity. The adventures during the mythical expedition spring from free linkage of artistically choreographic images encircled by and steeped in a rich musical composition.

2. Overnight Passage Ceremony of the Olympic Torch in Volos – Major Concert by the Volos Municipal Symphony Orchestra and Dimitris Sgouros (piano)

On 31 July, as part of the overnight ceremony for the Olympic flame during its visit to Volos, ATHENS 2004 and the Municipality of Volos presents a major concert given by the Volos Muncipal Symphony Orchestra on the seafront, at the Monument to the National Resistance.

As well as the Greek national anthem and the Olympic anthem - both part of the Ceremony protocol – the following works will be performed:

Padovanis Symphony - Orhcestral Overture in C major (6’)
Koukouselis Torch Relay (4’)
Theodorakis Little Horse - from the ballet ‘Carnaval’ (4’)
Skalkottas Kleftiko (5’)
Rachmaninoff Second Concerto for piano and orchestra, Op 18 (34’)

The Volos Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Symeon Kogan. The soloist is the world-famous Greek pianist Dimitris Sgouros.

3. Exhibition of Photographs - Nea Ionia Municipality, Magnisia

A unique sidelight on Football will be the Planet Football exhibition with fifty photographs by celebrated MAGNUM photographers, a joint venture between the Goethe Institute, ATHENS 2004, and the muinicipality of Nea Ionia (Volos). The exhibition will be held in the foyer of the Metaxourgio, from 28 July to 8 August, as a photographic link with the coming major sporting event in the Panthessaliko Stadium.