Opera house
Greek National Opera
Greece's national opera company performs in a contemporary hall within the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, with opera, ballet and music festivals on its stages and a rooftop lighthouse looking over Athens and Phaliron Bay.
The story
The company's main stage is the Stavros Niarchos Hall, with a smaller Alternative Stage for music theatre and festivals of Byzantine, contemporary and early music. Seasons mix Monteverdi's Orfeo and Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades with children's shows, and recent work includes a co-production of La Gioconda with the Salzburg Easter Festival and London's Royal Opera House. Its ballet, founded in 1939 alongside the opera department of the then-Royal Theatre, has staged everything from Swan Lake to Theodorakis's Zorba. The building shares its architectural complex with the National Library, set in a Mediterranean park. Inside, seats carry personal subtitle screens in Greek and English. The top floor, called the Lighthouse, opens onto panoramic views of the city and the bay.
Good to know
TAGGG AI- ✦Seats have personal subtitle screens in Greek and English, so non-Greek speakers can follow every opera.
- ✦Go up to the Lighthouse on the top floor for panoramic views over Athens and the bay.
- ✦Arrive early to walk the surrounding park and grounds, which have cafés and parking on site.
Plan your visit
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