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The life, ideas, and martyrdom of Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno will be brought to life at the GNO Alternative Stage at the SNFCC through a new opera production titled The Word, featuring music by the renowned composer and maestro Alkis Baltas and a libretto by Eleni Zafiriou. Directed by Angela-Kleopatra Saroglou, it will have two unique performances on the 18th and 19th of April 2026. The role of Giordano Bruno will be performed by the internationally acclaimed baritone Tassis Christoyannis.
The opera The Word dramatically and contemplatively illuminates a man's unrepentant stance against obscurantism by recording his inner conflicts, scientific visions, and uncompromising choice to die as a free individual rather than renounce his truth.
Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) was condemned for heresy by the Holy Inquisition and was sentenced to death by burning at the stake for his theories about the immensity of the universe, the Earth's motion, and the existence of solar systems. Despite threats to kill him, Bruno refused to utter the word I renounce regarding his theories until the very end of his life.
Within his cell, Bruno recalls periods of his life and his scientific theories as he engages in a difficult dialogue with his conscience and grapples with the dilemma of choosing between life and death. Before the Inquisitors, he defends his ideas and opposes obscurantism. In the end, he walks towards the inflamed stake with a full heroic consciousness, remaining faithful to the theoretical principle he both taught and fully practiced.
Synopsis
The work fictionalizes four final snapshots in the life of an unwavering consciousness that shone during the Renaissance: the heroic consciousness of Giordano Bruno. Bruno was a thinker, philosopher, astronomer, and poet who, when faced with the Inquisition's fierce ecclesiastical court, refused to recant his beliefs and was sentenced to death by burning.
First snapshot: In an inhumane prison where he was held isolated for seventeen years, Bruno recounts stories and reminisces about events from his turbulent life.
Second snapshot: As he prepares to face his judges, he engages in a dialogue with his consciousness. This dialogue explores issues ranging from the dread humans feel when faced with the imperative necessity of the end to the adoption of an ethical stance against such an inevitability. The decision he makes will be decisive not only for himself and his era but also for the future.
Third snapshot: Before his judges, he doesn't apologize; he takes stock of his life. He fulminates against his punishers, and with his arguments, he shifts the blame onto them. I will not apologize. With my heart, I will speak and give an account of my life. I will not apologize! That is for the wrongdoers. And the wrongdoers in our case are you!
Fourth snapshot: Giordano Bruno atop the burning stake unleashes the fiery arrows of his soul's tremendous strength against the hypocrites and obscurantists, against the defenders of an inhumane, irrational, and degenerate world.
He also predicts the future. He foretells that his sacrifice will serve as fertilizer, helping the seeds of human society's historical advancement to sprout.
The power of the word
Eleni Zafiriou's libretto, penned with poetic expression and rhythmic flow, is entirely a work of fiction, although it touches upon real-life figures, events, and circumstances. The author's intention, inspired by Giordano Bruno's ideological strength, was to capture man's emotions, thoughts, ideals, conflicts, exceptional mental resilience, and uplifting qualities, who, when faced with all kinds of death squads, opposes the corruption and degeneration of life until the very end. Can a word play the leading role in inspiring a libretto? Undoubtedly, yes, if that word is the word renounce. And there lies the hidden identity of the title of the opera, The Word. I - renounce - is the word that has historically led, and will continue to lead everyone to face their own consciousness in their inner battlefield, in a cunning, misleading, and seductive manner; there, where a person gives their own special fight for their beliefs, values, and worldview. Alone, armed with their morality and the strength of their convictions. Alone, like a weighmaster who uses either the deceptive image of a degenerate reflection of life or the truth of objective reality as a counterweight, notes Eleni Zafiriou.
From word to music
The opera's music bears the stamp of distinguished composer and maestro Alkis Baltas, who will also be conducting the production. Eleni Zafiriou's libretto, with its powerful, emotionally charged scenes and poetic style, enthused the composer, leading him to create this opera, which was completed in 2024. Eleni Zafiriou's powerful libretto gave me, as a composer, numerous opportunities to convey ideas and emotions through the music, without the need for them to be realistically conveyed on the stage. The element that moves me in Bruno - apart from his philosophical ideas and poetic visions - is his devotion to what he believes in and his refusal to renounce his theories, even knowing that this will lead to his death. I tried to include the poet Bruno, his philosophical, clear thinking, and, ultimately, his mental strength in my music, notes Alkis Baltas.
The production is staged by Angela-Kleopatra Saroglou, in her new collaboration with the Alternative Stage, following the one-act chamber operas by Haris Vrondos, Requiem Akhmatova & The Anniversary (2021). The stage and sets are designed by Yannis Katranitsas, the lighting design was created by Christos Tziogkas, and the video projections by Vasilis Kehagias.
Giordano Bruno will be portrayed by Tassis Christoyannis, and the Voice of Consciousness by Marisia Papalexiou.
The vocal ensemble consists of Christos Amvrazis, Paris Dimatsas, Yannis Kavouras, Nikos Masourakis, Philippos Vazakas, and Dimos Vlachos.
Also performing will be a three-member instrumental ensemble, including Triantafyllos Loukas (violin), Asterios Pouftis (cello), and Thalia Athaniti (piano, harpsichord, organ).
Brief biographical notes
Angela-Kleopatra Saroglou
Born in Thessaloniki, Greece, she completed her singing studies in Greece and Italy and, until 2007, pursued a career as both a soloist and a chorus singer. She also studied at the School of Drama, Faculty of Fine Arts, at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Since 1999 she has worked as an assistant director and revival director for opera productions in Thessaloniki, at the GNO in Athens, and in numerous opera houses across Europe and the USA. As a director, she has staged Henri Sauguet's La Voyante, Baldassare Galuppi's L'amante di tutte, Georges Bizet's Carmen, and two contemporary chamber operas by Haris Vrondos for the GNO. She has also directed Georg Friedrich Handel's Scipione (H?ndel Festspiele, Bad Lauchst?dt, Germany) Giorgos Hatzinasios' opera El Greco (Megaron - The Athens Concert Hall), Gian Carlo Menotti's The Telephone and Francis Poulenc's La Voix humaine (Thessaloniki Megaron Concert Hall). She has additionally directed scenic monologues based on Franz Schubert's song cycles Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise (Athens, 2016) as well as two operettas by Theofrastos Sakellaridis (Limassol, Cyprus, 2022/23). She served as dramaturg and co-director, alongside Alexandros Efklidis, for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the GNO in 2019 and Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus in 2020. As a dramaturg, she has collaborated with Arnaud Bernard on productions of Nabucco (Arena di Verona), La fanciulla del West (Mariinsky Theatre) and Adelaide di Borgogna (Rossini Opera Festival). She has also worked as an acting coach for opera singers at the GNO Opera Studio and has delivered numerous masterclasses in Greece, Cyprus, and China.
Marisia Papalexiou
Greek mezzo-soprano, she studied Law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and classical singing at the Athens Conservatoire, from which she graduated with honours unanimously and first prize. She completed her musical studies in Paris and Düsseldorf. She was a member of the Chorus of the GNO. As a soloist, she has participated in productions at Megaron - The Athens Concert Hall, Thessaloniki Concert Hall, Athens Epidaurus Festival, GNO Alternative Stage as well as in independent productions and concerts featuring works by young Greek composers. She has collaborated with the Athens State Orchestra, Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, Armonia Atenea, Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation Symphony Orchestra and Thessaloniki Municipal Symphony Orchestra. At the GNO, she has appeared as Maddalena, Suzuki, Carmen, Mercédès, Lola, Prince Orlofsky, Bersi, Fenena, and others. She has also collaborated with the Cottbus State Theatre in Germany. Notable milestones in her collaborations include the dual role of the Muse and Nicklausse in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, a co-production of the GNO and La Monnaie directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski, and the role of Jenny in The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, directed by Yannis Houvardas at the GNO.
