Concert “The Prompters”
Alternative Stage of the Greek National Opera – SNFCC, Athens, Greece, 2025
The original concert The Prompters, conceived, orchestrated, and musically directed by Alexandros Gonis, interweaves the music of François Couperin and Claudio Monteverdi with the poetry of Eugenio Montale, alongside new music by Alexandros Goni himself.
“With this concert we honor those people who, through their work, have ensured an everlasting companionship. We sing the music as we whistle it while going down the stairs, we articulate speech as we murmur it while walking down the street, and we wish to remain—within this demanding lightness—faithful,” notes Alexandros Gonis.
The concert program consists of two parts. The first part bridges French Baroque chamber vocal music with 20th-century poetry. The third motet from Leçons de Ténèbres by François Couperin is combined into a single work with the poem by Italian Nobel laureate Eugenio Montale, “To My Friend Pea” (Finisterre and Other Poems, trans. Nikos Aliferis, Agra, 1995). By intertwining these two heterogeneous narratives into one musical work, a conductor, two singers, one actress, and a string quartet create a pathway for an unprecedented coexistence and dialogue.
The second part of the concert consists of ten five-voice madrigals by Claudio Monteverdi and five additional poems by Montale (trans. Nikos Aliferis). Fifteen short, self-illuminating works follow one another, transporting the listener from the rich Baroque sound to a subtler, more fragile musical whisper, which moves in harmonious parallel with spoken recitation.
Co-production: Alternative Stage of the Greek National Opera – SNFCC & Big Olive
Concept, original music, orchestration, musical direction: Alexandros Gonis
Stage visual curation: Konstantinos Pittas & KP Office
Performers: Marietta Sarri, Eirini Bilini-Moraiti, Katerina Patsiani
Musicians: Rezarta Kruja (violin I), Dimitris Kouzis (violin II), Phaedon Vryniotis (viola), Sofia Efkleidou (cello)
Project Location: Greek National Opera – SNFCC, Athens, Greece
Status: Complete
Completion Year: October 2025