Over the past twelve months, friends of Greek art music have been fortunate to witness many new developments. The unofficial 2003-2004 season held many pleasant surprises, and we hope this effort continues. In a brief overview, we will highlight the presentation of Petridis’ oratorio ‘Agios Pavlos by the tireless worker of Greek music, Byron Fidetzis; the release of a twelve-CD box set and a volume in collaboration between the Union of Greek Composers and the Cultural Olympiad; and the presentation of many Greek works by both Greek and foreign ensembles (we heard works by young Greek composers such as Minas Borboudakis and others, and will also hear works by Drositis, Evangelatos, Sisilianos, etc.). A significant development is also the publication of the magazine Antifono by the Union of Greek Composers, which joined the effort to inform music lovers in our country, alongside other musicological journals. Furthermore, we must not forget the two musicological conferences organized, one at the Ionian University last October and the other at the Megaron Concert Hall by the magazine Mousikologia. Both saw enthusiastic participation from important figures in both the domestic and international musicological community. It is also important to mention the announcement of a Music Academy opening in our country next academic year, a demand of the Greek music world for decades. Of course, there were other initiatives during the last twelve months that, due to space constraints, cannot be extensively detailed, but which also contributed in their own way to improving conditions for those who work, research, and create in the field of music.
It is within this climate that the presentation of Spyridon Samaras’ opera Rea by the ERT musical ensembles takes place, ensembles that seem to have been underperforming in recent years (especially the National Symphony Orchestra) following the death of Miltiadis Karydis. The opera is presented by the ERT National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Nikos Athinaios on August 20, with singers Dimitra Theodosiou, Ian Storey, Lucio Gallo, Dimitris Kavrakos, Marina Voulogianni, and Giannis Christopoulos. This presentation of the opera within the framework of the Athens Festival coincided with the re-release, this time on CD and electronically processed for better sound, by the LYRA company. This work had been performed twenty years prior at the Corfu Festival by the Sofia Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Byron Fidetzis. This live performance had been transferred and released on vinyl records but had never been reproduced on CD. Rea is a work that could also be described as an “Olympic opera,” as it contains many elements, which we will examine below, with direct reference to the ideals governing the Olympic Games. After all, Spyros Samaras was the composer of the Olympic Anthem, with lyrics by Kostis Palamas, for the 1896 Athens Games, and which has been heard at the opening of all Olympiads since 1920.
Samaras was born in 1861 and died in 1917. He had a great career in lyric theaters abroad, especially in Italy, where his works were performed for many years even after his death. He was one of the main exponents of the Ionian School of music. Several of his works were lost or considered lost until Fidetzis’ efforts brought them back to light. As stated in the accompanying CD booklet and as Fidetzis recounted in an interview he gave to the undersigned for the classicalmusic.gr website, Rea was found in Italy after many adventures, while Xanthoula was found in the New York Public Library.
The music originating from composers of the Ionian Islands, especially operas written in Italian, met with opposition from representatives of the national music school, whose main exponent was Manolis Kalomiris. The truth is that in their eagerness to establish a Greek idiom in music, the proponents of the national school sought an opposing force to contend with and solidify their position. Thus began a polemic against Samaras and other Ionian composers from demoticists and proponents of the national idea. Synadinos, for example, who also wrote a quite useful history of Greek music, believed that composers from the Ionian Islands wrote Italian, not Greek, music. Kalomiris was on the same wavelength during the early years of the twentieth century. On the other hand, the Ionian composers, and Samaras in particular, enjoyed a rather significant reputation and had considerable sympathy among music-loving circles in Greece at that time. It is important to mention that Kalomiris completely revised his stance on Ionian music and Samaras specifically after some years. This happened when the national music school had been fully established. Kalomiris even conducted works by Samaras during an artistic memorial organized by the Athens State Orchestra in its early years of operation and on other occasions he was given.
Samaras spent the last years of his life in Athens but unfortunately died in poverty, awaiting some form of recognition for his services to the art of music. During his stay in Athens, the composer primarily wrote operettas, and even revues, while his opera La Tigre remained unfinished due to his death.
The Plot of REA and the Semantic Concepts Developed in the Work
This opera is set in 15th-century Chios, and its overture contains almost verbatim the melody of the Olympic Anthem, which we have heard several times these days. The composer’s reason for using the Olympic Anthem melody in the overture can have various explanations. A first explanation one could offer is that the work begins with Lysias (the main hero of the work) defeating an opponent in a wrestling match. The first scene of the opera comes from the world of sports, and this is enough to make the composer use music that expresses the ultimate athletic ideal of the modern era. This is perhaps the most simplistic yet logical explanation. Another version that could be supported is Samaras’ appreciation for the music of the Olympic Anthem. We must not forget that the Olympic Anthem was established as the official anthem of the Olympic Games from the 1958 organization onwards. Also, for some years, no games were held, and Samaras may have feared that his music would be forgotten. By incorporating it into the overture of Rea, he might have believed he would preserve it.
Another important interpretation for the use of the Olympic Anthem in the opera’s overture is provided by V. Fidetzis in the accompanying booklet of this disc. Fidetzis states: “its inclusion in Rea constitutes an element of a broader symbolism that emerges beyond the conventionality of a melodramatic plot set in the Middle Ages and varied with loves, rings, and courtly intrigues.” That is, it symbolizes something transcendent, dreamlike, which is elevated to a different level from that of the dramatic story of two lovers.
This work is fundamentally a love story between Rea and Lysias, but with many hidden meanings and musical allegories. For example, Samaras uses the melody of several folk songs, with the dominant sound of “A Ship from Chios” as well as “Rinio, Rinaki,” “Tonight they killed me,” “Come, let’s go, Vlacha,” and the lullaby “Come, sleep, my daughter.” All the above are highlighted by V. Fidetzis in the introductory note contained in the accompanying CD booklet. Who, then, can speak of Samaras’ work as not being Greek?
As the curtain rises, the spectator sees Lysias defeating a wrestler and the crowd cheering the young Greek. It is important to note that in the first verses of the libretto, the spectator observes Samaras’ continuous laudatory effort towards the Greek nation. For example, the chorus sings: “Oh! Nation, whose idol is the good and beautiful, and the sun shines brighter on your land, and the light of the sky wears a crown!” while Lysias replies, “Oh joy! Oh joy! Oh people and world, you praise my nation, the race of heroes who glorified the earth.” Samaras appears proud of his Greek identity and does not cease to declare it, even in the Italian language.
As the work progresses, we follow the unfulfilled love of Rea, who is Greek and the wife of the Genoese governor Spinola, and Lysias. Guarches, a Venetian brigadier, is also in love with Rea, but she rejects his advances in every way. Guarches realizes the love between Rea and Lysias, and blinded by jealousy, he gives her a ring filled with poison to use when she reaches the ultimate point of romantic disappointment. In reality, Guarches is blinded by his love for Rea and wants to take revenge on her in every way because he cannot have her. Indeed, Guarches persuades Spinola to marry his daughter Daphne to Lysias to solidify the alliance between the Genoese and the Greeks against the common threat of the Turks. Daphne, meanwhile, has revealed to Guarches that she is in love with Lysias. Spinola announces to Rea his intention to marry his daughter to Lysias. Rea pretends not to be disturbed by this development, and Lysias does the same when Spinola proposes he marry Daphne. Despite Spinola’s and Daphne’s hopes for a positive answer from Lysias, he announces his decision to leave Chios due to an unfulfilled love. Later, we witness the meeting of Rea and Lysias, during which they reaffirm their feelings of love for each other. Guarches appears and threatens Rea that he will reveal everything to Spinola if she does not become his lover. Rea strikes him with her pin, and he threatens that both she and her lover will die. The third and final act of the drama includes the tragic end of Rea and Lysias’ love. It is night, and Lysias waits for Rea to secretly leave and live together. She appears, but shortly after, Guarches arrives and fatally wounds Lysias. Rea faints over Lysias’ dead body and, after a monologue, decides to commit suicide by inhaling the poisonous scent from the ring Guarches had given her. The two lifeless bodies are found by Daphne and her retinue, who then understand what had been happening all this time. The work ends with the sunrise and the triumph of life over death.
The finale of this opera could very well be considered Wagnerian, as death vindicates the two lovers, who could not be together in this life. Rea’s only choice after Lysias’ death is death – liberation from the bonds of her biological life, which would be empty without her beloved Lysias. The Wagnerian element is evident, and the sunrise and the presence of light justify Rea’s choice.
The Recording
In the present recording, Fidetzis, a profound connoisseur of Samaras’ score, strives to realize the musical meanings emerging from the composer’s music as best as possible with the available means. He largely succeeds, with the orchestra following him very satisfactorily in most parts. Some tonal instabilities that appear are obviously due to it being a live recording in a venue that may favor the presentation of works like Rea but not their recording.
The singers rise to the occasion of their roles and give their best. The protagonist of the Greek National Opera, Ioulia Trousa, with a notable career abroad, gives us a very convincing Rea with solid vocal technique and the necessary melodramatic texture. Also, Stefanou presents a Lysias full of robustness and power, worthy of the character Samaras would have wanted to create. Special mention must be made of the great singer, in our opinion, Fragiskos Voutsinos, who passed away in 1999. His rare, deep voice and musicality were characteristics of his singing, and listeners of these CDs will have the opportunity to confirm this if they listen to the performance of Rea. Furthermore, Kouloumbis creates a passionate Guarches, with correct placements and without any errors regarding the score. It is important to mention the excellent preparation of the Sofia Radio Choir. In the parts where the choir needs to act, it does so in an exceptional manner.
In short, a perfectly executed performance, as far as possible, that allows the listener (especially younger ones who did not have the opportunity to hear the vinyl records from twenty years ago) to rediscover Samaras and his masterpiece. Especially in the new musical environment that seems to be developing in our country, it is important for works like this to be heard and presented, as will happen on August 20 as part of the Athens Festival.
