National Theater of Greece description and photos - Greece: Athens (Topic)

National Theater of Greece description and photos - Greece: Athens. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is National Theater of Greece.

Photo and description

The National Theater of Greece was founded in 1880 with a grant from King George I and Eustratius Rallis, hence its first name, the Royal Theater.

In 1881, construction began on St. Constantine Street. The architect of the project was the famous Greek architect Ernst Ziller, who created many of the city's famous buildings (the Presidential Palace, Panathinaikos Stadium, National Library, National Archaeological Museum and others). The construction lasted 20 years. In 1890, Angelos Vlachos became the director of the theater, and Thomas Ikonou (Greek theater actor, one of the first modern Greek directors) became the artistic director. In 1901, a theater school was founded on the basis of the theater. That same year, November 24, the theater opened its doors to visitors. Two plays "Death of Pericles" by Dimitris Verardakis and "Need a servant" by Kharalam Anninos were presented at the opening.

The theater quickly gained popularity, its repertoire expanded. One of the most famous productions was Aeschylus's Oresteia. During the production, a linguistic conflict flared up. On November 8, 1903, a group of students led by Professor Yorgos Mistriotis took to the St. Constantine Street in an attempt to stop the performance. As a result of the clash, one person was killed and more than ten were injured. This day went down in the history of Greece under the name "Oresteika".

In 1908, the theater fell into decay and was closed for an indefinite period, although it still continued to tour. On May 30, 1930, the National Theater of Greece was founded by a decree of the Greek Parliament with the assistance of the Minister of Education and Religion, Georgios Papandreou. In 1930-1931 the building was reconstructed. On March 19, 1932, the theater was officially opened. The first production was Aeschylus's Agamemnon.

The theater gradually expanded its activities. In 1939, the National Opera was founded as an integral part of the theater. In the same year the repertoire included the works of Shakespeare "Hamlet" and "Othello". Later, a mobile theater staff was organized to tour the provinces of the country. And in 1980, the opening of the Children's Theater took place with a play by Maurice Maeterlinck "The Blue Bird". The Summer Theater Academy in Epirus was opened in 2000.

In 2002, the National Theater of Greece joined the European Convention of Theaters.

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Topic: National Theater of Greece description and photos - Greece: Athens.