NEW YORK – Stefanos Koroneos, General and Artistic Director of Teatro Grattacielo and Artistic Director Camerata Bardi Vocal Academy, spoke to The National Herald about collaborating with the Hellenic Foundation for Culture in Athens to promote young Greek opera singers and to create a program for the 2021 Greek Revolution bicentennial celebrations.

Koroneos, a gifted singer in his own right, told TNH, “Camerata Bardi Vocal Academy (USA) and Hellenic Foundation for Culture (Greece) are bringing new perspectives to opera and culture. We believe in technology driven education and promotion that connects the two entities, and therefore the two countries, thus creating strong bonds and working relations for young singers.”

He continued, “Camerata Bardi's initiatives involve not only a high level preparation for world stages, but also their promotion through productions, live and virtual, with an eye on innovation, filmography, and multi-media arts.”

As Koroneos noted, “I was actually named U.S. Ambassador of the Hellenic Foundation and I am working on expanding their work in the U.S.”

The artistic team working on the collaboration along with Koroneos will include soprano Georgia Poulou as Artistic Administrator, director Simos Kakalas, conductor Jorge Parodi, and Agent Lewis Ehlers, OperaWire reported.

“The opera world is facing an important moment, filled with new perspectives not only in performing but also in educating and promoting the younger generations of opera singers,” Koroneos told OperaWire, adding that “within that spirit, Camerata Bardi Vocal Academy and the Hellenic Foundation for Culture are happy to contribute to a continued evolution.”

Koroneos also mentioned that Teatro Grattacielo’s streaming production of Umberto Giordano’s Fedora was highlighted by OperaWire as one of the best in the world for 2020. “It’s an incredible accomplishment that I am very proud of,” Koroneos told TNH.

According to the review in OperaWire, “Teatro Grattacielo’s darker, sepia-toned Fedora, as directed by Malena Dayen, is an opera you need to see today. It’s here to give you hope, that tomorrow exists even for those collectives who are now forced to abandon even the most familiar basis of opera performance but not giving up on the big art form’s potential as a chamber concert format. And in Fedora, you can see how everything that has been cut off can be replaced and enriched with a vengeance using smart and witty solutions.”

Teatro Grattacielo’s streaming version of Fedora is available on Vimeo.

More information about Teatro Grattacielo is available online: https://grattacielo.org/.

Information about the Hellenic Foundation for culture is also available online: https://hfc-worldwide.org/.