Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
6. GREEK SHADOW PUPPET THEATRE, 16TH CENTURY
After the golden age of Athenian drama, Greece's performing arts stagnated.
However, during the Turkish occupation, Greeks drew on an Eastern tradition of
shadow puppet theatre. The stylized, colourful spectacles were satirical and bawdy,
the main character (the fool Karaghiozis) joking at the expense of his Turkish mas-
ters.
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7. REMBETIKA EMERGES, 1870S
When the Greeks came out of 400 years of Turkish occupation, one of the first art
forms to coalesce was rembetika, a form of music that can be compared, culturally, to
the American Blues. Heavily influenced by music and instruments from Asia Minor,
rembetika lyrics tell of life's underside: drugs, destitution, erotic love and squalor.
8. MARIA CALLAS DOMINATES OPERA, 1950S AND 1960S
“La Divina”, born Maria Kalogeropoulos, was the original diva. The fiery first lady of
opera enraged many managers at La Scala and the Metropolitan with her tempera-
mental whims, but seduced millions, including shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis,
with her heavenly soprano and unforgettable gaze.
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9. MIKIS THEODORAKIS WRITES THE SONGS OF A
GENERATION, 1960S AND 1970S
Mikis Theodorakis, Greece's greatest modern composer, won international acclaim
and started a cultural revolution in his own country with works like
Epiphania
and
the instantly recognizable
Zorba the Greek
score. During the junta, Theodorakis's
songs were banned and he was jailed, making him an instant symbol of the resist-
ance.
10. VANGELIS'S CHARIOTS OF FIRE, 1981
Greek composer Vangelis won an Academy Award for his memorable score for
Chariots of Fire
, a film about Olympic runners. Vangelis is internationally recog-
nized for his electronic compositions and film scores, and retains superstar status in
Greece.
