Th.Sakellaridis, I Want to See the Pope!

Following last year's great success of its abridged presentation at the GNO Foyer, the once-upon-a-time most celebrated operetta by Theophrastos Sakellaridis is re-staged this time on the Olympia Theatre principal stage. Indeed, this is the first time the play is being presented by the Greek National Opera which over the last years has proved its continuous support for the Greek operetta by staging The Cretan Girl and Halima. The operetta I Want to See the Pope! is drawn from Sakellaridis's contemporary urban themes that undermine the foundations of bourgeois life and judge harshly the institution of family. The composer (who also wrote the librettos for many works dealing with the same issue) follows the patterns of this genre and demonstrates a particular inventiveness in the levels of music and theatre in his attempt to portray characters whoupset the norms of family life. The play was first staged at the Papaioannou Theatre by the eponymous theatre company, on 6th July 1920 and its success was instant. In fact, the song bearing the play's title not only was widely sung, but also became a separate sketch in its own right in revues and, in any case, it was the great success of that year. However, right from the very first performances, there were reactions from the Catholic Church, protesting against the scandalous content of the operetta ridiculing its leader. The scandalous course of the play culminated on 11th December 1921, when the main song of the Sakellaridis’ operetta served as a pretext for a murder in front of the Catholic Church of Piraeus.