NIKOS KAZANTZAKIS: AN ODYSSEY IN MUSIC to Make U.S. Debut at Carnegie Hall
Conductor Vassilis Christopoulos leads the Greek National Opera Orchestra with soloists Anita Rachvelishvili and Maria Kostraki.
Tickets are now on sale for the Greek National Opera's first-ever U.S. appearance, a one-night-only performance at Carnegie Hall on October 15, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. Tickets starting at $35 are available at Carnegiehall.org, by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, or in person at the box office located at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue.
Led by conductor acclaimed Greek conductor and Music Director of the Graz Opera in Austria Vassilis Christopoulos, the Greek National Opera Orchestra is joined by internationally acclaimed Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili and Greek soprano Maria Kostraki in Nikos Kazantzakis: An Odyssey in Music, a program honoring Nikos Kazantzakis, the most widely translated Greek author, whose work has shaped musical creation in Greece for more than a century.
For its first visit in New York, GNO presents a program that traces Kazantzakis's influence across generations of acclaimed Greek composers, including Manos Hadjidakis, Mikis Theodorakis, Nikos Skalkottas, Dimitri Mitropoulos, and Giorgos Koumendakis. Kazantzakis's novels—including Zorba the Greek, Captain Michalis, Christ Recrucified, and The Last Temptation—have inspired composers across symphonic music, opera, theater, ballet, and film, creating a sustained dialogue between literature and sound.
Highlights include the U.S. premiere of the Greek National Opera's Artistic Director Giorgos Koumendakis's Amor Fati written for the fiftieth anniversary of Kazantzakis's death, Rachvelishvili's first performances of songs by Theodorakis, whose music for Zorba the Greek became synonymous worldwide with Greek cultural identity and Kostraki performing selections from Hadjidakis's Captain Michalis. The program also includes Skalkottas's Three Cretan Dances and Mitropoulos's Cretan Feast, reflecting the enduring influence of Crete—the island that shaped Kazantzakis—on modern Greek composition.
Bringing this repertoire to New York places Greek music, rooted in the cultural ground from which Western artistic traditions emerged, on one of the world's most prominent stages. The program forms a musical arc from Crete to Carnegie Hall, connecting the origins of that tradition to contemporary concert life.
The concert is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) to enhance the Greek National Opera's artistic outreach and is part of the celebratory events marking SNF's 30 years of grantmaking. The concert marks a major milestone in the company's international activity and offers a rare opportunity for U.S. audiences to experience a century of Greek musical expression shaped by Kazantzakis's literary legacy.
The October 15 concert forms part of the company's broader international touring activity and is presented under the auspices of the Consulate General of Greece to New York and the Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese of America, with a portion of proceeds supporting Together for Children.
GREEK NATIONAL OPERA
Nikos Kazantzakis: AN ODYSSEY IN MUSIC
October 15, 2026, at 8:00 p.m.
Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
Greek National Opera Orchestra
Vassilis Christopoulos, conductor
Anita Rachvelishvili, mezzo-soprano
Maria Kostraki, soprano
Ensemble of solo musicians
MITROPOULOS (1896–1960) Cretan Feast (orchestrated by Skalkottas)
SKALKOTTAS (1904–1949) Three Cretan dances (Selections from Greek Dances)
HADJIDAKIS (1925–1994) Captain Michalis
GIORGOS KOUMENDAKIS (1959–) Amor Fati
THEODORAKIS (1925–2021) Selections from Zorbas
Tickets priced starting at $35 are available at Carnegiehall.org, by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, or in person at the box office located at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue.
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