It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas - The Best from Greece

From beloved ballet classics and a jazz concert with Nordic flavour, to choir singing and a social initiative inspired by true Christmas spirit, there is a little something for everyone, particularly the youngest devotees of the holiday season.

Here is a selection of arts and cultural events to be enjoyed over the Christmas period: 

 

 

Piotr Ilych Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet Swan Lake will be staged in the heart of the festive season, at Athens’ Megaron Mousikis between December 16 and 30. A total of 22 matinee and evening performances will be held at the venue.

 

Prominent dancers who regularly appear on the world’s biggest theatre stages feature in the production of the dramatic love story. In the lead roles, Alina Cojocaru and her permanent partner Johan Kobborg, who call London’s Royal Ballet home, will open the series of shows on December 16 and 17. St Petersburg’s Mariinsky Ballet Company principal dancers Alina Somova and Yevgeny Ivanchenko will then step into their pointes, appearing on December 18 and 19, followed by several more brilliant dance pairings. 

 

The Kremlin Ballet’s Corp de Ballets will complement the lead dancers in the production choreographed by Lev Ivanov, Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky, enhanced by the expert choreographic intervention of Andrei Petrov.

 

 

An enchanting Italian baroque music concert is scheduled for two post-Christmas dates, on December 27 and 28, at the Michalis Cacoyannis Foundation. Presenting works for the flute, recorder, viol and harpsichord by acclaimed baroque composers Arcangelo Corelli, Domenico Scarlatti, Pietro Antonio Locatelli and Diego Ortiz, it promises audiences an atmospheric evening filled with lyricism and drama.

 

Performances will feature Natalia Geraki on the flute, Dimitris Kountouras on the recorder, Andreas Linos (photo) on the viol and Markellos Chrysikopoulos on the harpsichord.

 

The event is dedicated to the birthplace of the classical style of music which emerged in Italy - specifically Florence in the late Renaissance, around 1600 - and spread to most of Europe.

This is the second time that the Cacoyannis Foundation is celebrating Christmas with a baroque music concert. 

Expect to hear Corelli’s famed “Christmas Concerto”, which he composed around 1690, bringing him fame and wealth.

 

 

 

Another eternal Tchaikovsky masterpiece and firm favourite on the festive calendar, The Nutcracker continues to delight children and adults alike. The National Opera of Ukraine’s world-famous Kiev Ballet - with a repertoire of 24 complete ballet productions - is bringing its production of the classic coming-of-age Christmas tale to Athens’ Badminton Theatre on Christmas Day, December 25. Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov are among the greats who have choreographed Alexandre Dumas’ adaptation of ETA Hoffman’s story The Nutcracker and the King of Mice. The ballet, which includes the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy”, may have been presented in various ways, but Tchaikovsky’s uplifting score has stood the test of time. An ideal gift for youngsters, no doubt tickets will be snapped up quickly.

 

 

Worldly young choir singers trained at Victor Popov’s Moscow-based academy will fill the Megaron’s Christos Lambrakis Hall with melodious notes on December 13 and 14. Popov’s Children’s Choir of Moscow is performing a programme of Christmas folk songs and carols from Russia - many inspired by nature, the Ukraine, the UK and Austria - as well as works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Camille Saint-Saens and Giuseppe Verdi. Naturally, they will also present works by Russian composers, including Sergei Rachmaninov and Pavel Chesnokov. The choir will also sing four versions of “Ave Maria”, in addition to rarely-heard traditional Russian carols in a cappella, a style of singing in which they specialise. 

 

With a repertoire comprising thousands of compositions, from cantatas and classical music to patriotic Soviet songs, the choir is extremely popular in Russia and beyond. The youthful vocalists have staged concerts throughout Europe, Asia and North America and at international festivals, and appeared alongside some of the biggest names in opera such as Montserrat Caballe.

 

Featuring Alexey Petrov as chorus master, soprano Svetlana Kasyan, trumpeter Andrei Ikov and church organ player Liubov Vezhnik, the show will put audiences in a joyous mood.

 

Nordic jazz 

 

How about a Yuletide party with swinging sounds and delicious Christmas specialities from northern Europe? The Danish Institute is hosting a Nordic Christmas concert and reception featuring Danish-Norwegian-Swedish jazz band the Magnus Hjorth Trio on December 14. 

 

Organised by the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish Institutes in Athens, the event will feature singer, saxophonist and all-round entertainer Mads Mathias (photo) performing Christmas evergreens such as “White Christmas”, “Winter Wonderland” and “Frosty the Snowman”. 

 

The young Mathias has already made a name for himself on the jazz scene as a charismatic crooner, talented saxophone player  and front man for the Danish neo-traditional jazz orchestra Six City Stompers.

 

 

Thessaloniki Allios (A Different Thessaloniki), a citizens’ collective based in the northern port city, is preparing to hold a Christmas gathering with a social conscience on December 17. 

 

Established last year in an effort to improve quality of life in Thessaloniki, following an urban experiment spearheaded by free press magazine Parallaxi, the event has been organised to help out fellow citizens in need. 

 

In collaboration with Doctors of the World, the Agios Stylianos municipal creche and youth support organisation Arsis, Thessaloniki Allios has issued a call for the collection of food, medications, blankets, sleeping bags, towels, bed sheets, pillow cases, nappies, games, children’s and men’s clothing, shoes, kitchenware and educational books, among other items. Items can be dropped off at Thessaloniki port’s Warehouse D on the day. 

 

The warehouse will be suitably decorated and host a Christmas music concert featuring musicians from the State Thessaloniki Conservatory, the reading of Christmas fairytales, Christmas tree ornament and gift workshops for children, as well as the performance of excerpts of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by student actors. Tea, mulled wine and baked Christmas goodies will be served to all visitors.