1821 is not only a valuable legacy of models of heroic behavior, during the Greek Revolution, for those to come, but also the starting point of the nation-state, the beginning of the history of the Greek state.
In the ten years 1821-1830 its fragmented society Greece with politicians and the military competing for control of the emerging state, he managed to stand bravely, and from this society another Greece emerged, as an independent state. This is exactly why the Greek Revolution has power and significance for European history. The Greeks managed to keep their Revolution alive for ten years and thus encouraged the other European peoples.
In the context of the events of the University of Athens for the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the Revolution of 1821, the School of Philosophy with the support of the Attica Region presented at Veakeio Theater of Piraeus and in Aula of the School of Philosophy, the opera of the Cephalonian composer Nikolaos Metaxas-Tzanis "Markos Botsaris". This performance, which was essentially based on the research activity of the Department of Music Studies, was characterized by the Rector of EKPA, Professor Meletios - Athanasios Dimopoulos, as a leading academic and artistic event of the School of Philosophy.
The impressive idiosyncrasy of this musical event is described by the Dean of the School of Philosophy and Professor of the Department of Music Studies in his introductory note in a very elaborate program: Members of the Greek Music Study Laboratory discovered in private archives one of the oldest Greek lyric works with theme of the Greek Revolution. It is a melodrama in three acts by Nikolaos Metaxas-Tzanis about the great Souliot fighter, Chief Markos Botsaris, a composition from 1854, which until today was considered lost. The work was studied and restored musically in order to be performed, according to a world first interpretation, in full stage form.
N. Metaxas-Tzanis (1825-1907), apart from being a great artist, fought through the Radical Movement for the Union of the Ionian Islands with Greece and was persecuted for it. According to the same program, Nikolaos Maliaras, Professor of the Department of Music Studies and President of the Athens Philharmonic Orchestra, who took over the musical direction of the performance, Metaxas had studied in Italy, like most of his contemporary Ionian composers, and his work is in in the well-known and tried and tested recipe of the Italian bel-canto, and that is why it is full of beautiful melodies, vocal ensembles and choirs. The historical context is the famous battle of Kefalovrysos, where, despite its victorious result, Markos Botsaris was killed.
It is a fact that the melodic music of N. Metaxas-Tzanis in combination with wonderful voices (Eleni Kalenos and others), the Mixed Choir of the Department of Music Studies and musical performances by the fine Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Professor N. Maliaras, as well as the direction (Isidoros Sideris), the sets / costumes (Giannis Katranitsas), the choreography (Dionysis Tsaftaridis) and video-art (Kleanthis Karapiperis), captivated the viewer and moved him deeply. This artistic event was an ideal combination of historical research and artistic expression.
The anniversary of the Greek Revolution is an opportunity for self-knowledge and self-criticism, it is an opportunity to reflect on our obligations to the precious legacy of our ancestors. And performances, such as that of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Athens, honor our past and look forward to our future with optimism.
Associate Professor Stella Priovolou
President of the Body of Peer Professors of EKPA, Dean of the Municipal People's University of Agios Paraskevi.
