Alternative Stage Founding Donor
Major Sponsor of the Greek National Opera
Distinguished soprano Aphrodite Patoulidou, who has left her own distinctive mark on major stages all over the world as an opera and metal music singer in recent years, will present a singular anti-Valentine recital titled My Bloody Valentine at the GNO Alternative Stage in the SNFCC, on Wednesday, 12 February 2025, at 20.30.
Dedicated to all the broken-hearted people, lonely souls, and those who feel alienated from the cheerful celebrations of Saint Valentine's Day every year, the recital My Bloody Valentine offers an evening filled with music that explores the dark and often unconfessed aspects of love while revealing an operatic, otherworldly, Gothic experience.
Accompanied by the celebrated German pianist Eric Schneider, Aphrodite Patoulidou will perform a diverse programme featuring music that spans from the great Romantic composers' pieces to adaptations of jazz compositions and traditional songs, all set against an evocative Gothic backdrop. The programme will present works by Wolf, Clarke, Loewe, Mahler, Menotti, Britten, Rachmaninoff, Riadis, Rogers, Sibelius, Chopin, Schumann, Schubert, Strauss, Zemlinsky, and others.
With the recital My Bloody Valentine, Aphrodite Patoulidou creates an emotionally intense kaleidoscope of atmospheric melodies on one-sided love, betrayal, and the abrupt transformation of transcendental love to ardent hatred.
A few words about My Bloody Valentine
The unusual recital My Bloody Valentine includes songs and musical pieces that have been selected and will be performed by soprano Aphrodite Patoulidou, an artist with many significant distinctions who has performed on numerous prestigious European stages. In recent years, the talented soprano has made her mark as a performer of opera, classical singing, metal music, and traditional songs from across Europe, strongly holding the belief that music should not be categorized into distinct genres, but instead should be experienced through connections that bring together different musical styles to evoke unparalleled emotional responses from both the audience and the artists.
The recital My Bloody Valentine is a signature work by Aphrodite Patoulidou. It showcases her unique ability to create exceptional concert experiences inspired by her inexhaustible passion for dark romantic themes, combining visual elements with the timbre of the nyckelharpa, a peculiar traditional string instrument from Sweden. By connecting romantic, modern, and folk traditions with the concept of a recital, she transcends the boundaries of distinct genres to craft a deeply personal and evocative musical experience.
A few words about Aphrodite Patoulidou
Born in Thessaloniki, Aphrodite Patoulidou carves out an international career while seated in Berlin. As a distinguished soprano, she was one of the first artists to participate in Barbara Hannigan's Equilibrium Young Artists initiative, performing Anne Truelove in Stravinsky's opera The Rake's Progress in 2018. Since then, she has collaborated with leading orchestras such as the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, and the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, to name but a few.
Her operatic repertoire includes the roles of Woman (La voix humaine), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Belinda (Dido and Aeneas), and Sophie Scholl (Weisse Rose). She has performed at venues such as the Berlin State Opera, the Royal Theatre of La Monnaie in Brussels, Teatro Real in Madrid, and the Greek National Opera.
She has recently debuted with the Cleveland Orchestra and toured with the London Symphony Orchestra, performing Mahler's Symphony No. 4 and Vivier's work Lonely Child. Her virtuosic performance in Britten's Les illuminations with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin received rave reviews. As a visual artist, she has created artworks for the metal band GRINN.
The concert MY BLOODY VALENTINE is part of the GNO Alternative Stage's unit of programming titled CYCLE OF THEMATIC CONCERTS, which falls under the ACT FESTIVAL EVENTS OF THE GNO ALTERNATIVE STAGE 2024-2025 (MIS 6002467) with code 202408570049 (Priority: Fostering regional social cohesion through the enhancement of mechanisms and infrastructure to support employment, education, health care and socioeconomic inclusion of the programme Attica 2021-2027) and is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and National Resources.
