Economy Hotel Athens Greece: Opus Elgin 29 May 2012 Athens Concert Hall

The Libretto of the Opera

The libretto is a product of long and extensive research, reflecting only the facts. Beyond the music, which I hope you find enchanting, I would like to assist the new generation, and all citizens of the world for that matter, understand the facts that occurred. By providing the necessary knowledge, maybe one day, over time, all voices from around the world together will be heard, and thus finally obtain the safe return of the Parthenon Marbles to their homeland.

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Parts of the libretto consist of a number of poetic works by Sophocles, Lord Byron, Ernest Renan, Angelos Sikelianos, Friedrich Schiller, Percy B Shelley, Richard Aldington, and by Kiki Dimoula on this specific issue.

First Scene & Second Scene: Overture and Inauguration of Marbles. While the overture is being played, on stage the buildings of the Acropolis are being shown. People of that era (432 BC) come to take part in the ceremony of the inauguration of the works of Pericles, Pheidias, Iktinos, Kallikratis, etc. The person responsible for the Protocol announces the various personalities of politics, science and art. The atmosphere is festive and that is customized to the music of the Opera.
Third Scene: In this scene the statues come to life.With the arrival of the evening all officials have left. There is no soul on the sacred rock of Acropolis, only the ancient buildings and the sculptures on their bases, metopes and columns. The goddess Athena, in an event such as the inauguration, welcomes the gods. Former Kings, rulers etc. (like Kekrops, Solon, Aeschylus, etc.), who also come to life, form with Karyatida a choir. On stage Athena speaks and Poseidon responds on behalf of the gods (choir sings as well).
Fourth Scene: Heavy are the strides of the time: In this scene the consequences of time passing and various disasters on the Parthenon building, in the form of projections, are shown, while the gods are powerless to do something. They just comment on the dramatic events. The scene shall cover the period of 432 BC until the advent of the Elgin arrival around l800 ad.
Fifth Scene: In this scene the meeting of Elgin along with his colleagues take place on the Acropolis, where they decided how many and what Marbles statues will be removed, and that these tasks will be supervised by the painter Louzieri Pastor Hunt.
Sixth Scene: Shows the destruction and theft of the statues by Elgin, while on the lower foothills of the Acropolis, Turkish soldiers control the protests of the citizens who are resisting to the “opus Elgin”. Shows the transfer of the statue of Karyatida to the ship from where she "calls on the gods to help her return to the Acropolis”, and after her disappointment she sings an aria about her unfortunate luck.
Seventh Scene: Lord Byron visited the scene and is speechless upon seeing the disaster. He blames Elgin for the unprecedented destructive project. Then goddess Athena comes to life, who curses Elgin for the destruction of the temple.
Eighth Scene: In this scene an International Tribunal takes place, where various personalities of the era, in which Lord Byron submits his arguments on the crime of Elgin and his associates.
Ninth Scene: In the modern era, Melina Mercuri speaks at an international conference in Greece (Acropolis) and pleas for the assistance of the international community for the return of the Parthenon Marbles.
Tenth Scene: This scene unfolds in the British Museum where the gods come to life and demand their return to Athens. Afterwards Maria Callas comes to life as well, and sings an aria with lyrics by Kikis Dimoula. The Gods’ continue to protest and the whole scene connects via teleconference to the new Athens Acropolis Museum where the gods there show the protesting gods in London the empty spaces left for their return: We are expecting you. Looking forward to seeing you soon