National Opera Archive now on SearchCulture.gr

The National Opera’s Virtual Exhibition, the name given to the National Opera archive, is now part of SearchCulture.gr, the online search space for cultural content developed by the National Documentation Centre (EKT). Visitors can explore the 81 years of the only opera theatre in Greece through the 2,662 items in the Virtual Exhibition.

Users of SearchCulture can explore hundreds of models and costume designs from 1941 until the present day, more than 200 recordings of famous Greek and foreign composers, scores and an amazing collection of three-dimensional objects such as masks, jewelry, clothing and props. There are rare photographs of the first performances of Maria Callas and Kalogeropoulou from the 40s and 50s, as well as works by Greek composers such as the most important composer of the Athenian operetta Nikos Hatziapostolou, Nikos Kypourgos, Paris Konstantinidis and others.

The addition of the National Opera archive to the SearchCulture content on the performing arts in Greece, which already includes the remarkable collections of the ’Lilian Voudouri’  Music Library, the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation and the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, has created a valuable volume of material useful to musicologists, scholars of performing arts in Greece, historians, students and interested citizens.

EKT and the digital public space for culture

In its institutional role of creating and disseminating knowledge, EKT collaborates with leading organisations to promote the idea of a digital public space for culture produced in Greece. The online portal SearchCulture.gr collects items from important collections to constantly expand available cultural content. At the same time, EKT contributes to the promotion of Greek culture through the European Digital Library Europeana. EKT’s objective is to share knowledge with minimum restrictions, create new ways of understanding modern civilisation and cultural heritage, and ensure citizens' access to public cultural property.

Further information

The National Opera’s mission is to offer Greek and foreign audiences high-quality productions, presenting operas, ballets, operettas, operas and concerts for children etc. The repertoire of the only national opera theatre in Greece covers four centuries of operatic art from works by Monteverdi to contemporary Greek artists.

Since March 2017, the National Opera has operated in its new facilities at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre, which was donated to the Greek State by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.