Halepas
Concept & Stage Direction: Argyro Chioti
Libretto: The Boy
Onassis Stegi
Yannoulis Halepas, that ascetic figure of Greek sculpture – whom some called “the Auguste Rodin of Greece”, others “a saint, a madman, a genius, an artist cursed” – encounters the gaze of Argyro Chioti and the words of The Boy.
“Perhaps you were right after all – things would be better had I never dreamed of the sculpture that would save the world”
From his birth in the village of Pyrgos on the island of Tinos – amid the marble slabs and plentiful dust of his family’s stone cutting workshop – through to his legendary sculpture of the “Sleeping Maiden” that stands inside the First Cemetery of Athens. And from his breakdown, his committal to a psychiatric hospital, and his many years spent in isolation up in the mountains of his island, through to his spiritual awakening and the sweeping renaissance that characterized his old age. As he himself said: “The new (old man) Halepas outdid the old (young man).”
Through dream-like illusions, Argyro Chioti walks to the difficult path that was the sculptor’s life, always between silence and absurdity, stillness and creativity, presenting the contemporary music tragedy “Halepas” with a libretto by The Boy, music by Jan Van Angelopoulos, set designs by Efi Birba and an exceptional ensemble cast.
HALEPAS’ habitat, a peculiar greenhouse with scattered trees, creates a natural cypress grove. All this forms part of a soundscape dominated by Tinos’ winds, and the rumble and din of marble carving as they were pinned in the mind of Halepas to awaken our nightmares and dreams.
“What does a mental breakdown involve today? How many people around us can’t handle ‘normality’?” asks Chioti. “Observe Halepas’ life: everything hanging by a thread. And you also see it in your own life, what it means to find yourself in a weak moment and what it means to have someone say, ‘Come on, you can do it’.”
Artistic & Production credits
Libretto: The Boy
Concept & Stage Direction: Argyro Chioti
Music Composition & Sound Design: Jan Van Angelopoulos
Scenic installation & Costumes Design: Efi Birba
Lighting Design: Tasos Palaioroutas
Physical Training: Chara Kotsali
Collaboration in Rehearsals (Performer): Aliki Stenou
Dramaturgical consultant: Efthimis Theou
Artistic Collaborator: Nefeli Gioti
Musical training consultant: Katia Molfesi
Technical Sound Supervisor: Nikos Kollias
Costumes creation: SANDI COUTOURE atelier
1st Assistant to Director: Katerina Kotsou
Set Designer Assistant: Vassia Liri
Costumes Designer Assistant: Alexandros Garnavos
2nd Assistant to Director: Konstantinos Kardakaris
With: Argyro Chioti, Georgina Chryskioti, Efthimis Theou
Chara Kotsali, Antonis Miriagos, Giorgos Nikopoulos, Dimitris Sotiriou, Aliki Stenou
Line Producer: Maria Dourou / VASISTAS
Production Onassis Stegi
Coproduction ERT Emilia Romagna Teatro (Italy)
“HALEPAS” tour is supported by Onassis Stegi’s “Outward Turn” Cultural Export Program
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Yannoulis Halepas was born into a famous family of marble sculptors on the Greek island of Tinos. At the age of 24, he created the most famous grave monument in modern Greek art – the “Sleeping Maiden”, found in the First Cemetery of Athens. Directly after that, he had a nervous breakdown that incapacitated him for 40 years. Only after the death of his domineering mother was he “resurrected”, returning to his art and to life. By then, he was 65 years old.
The Onassis Foundation owns a large body of sculptures, drawings, models, and casts of pieces by Yannoulis Halepas, drawn from the most important collection of his work – that of his niece and nephew, Irene and Vassilis Halepas. Furthermore, the marble fireplaces at the Onassis Library, as well as the sculpture titled “Hecatoncheira” (“The Hundred-Handed One”), were created by the sculptor.
In the fall of 2018, Argyro Chioti found herself on the island of Tinos and stayed in Pyrgos, Yannoulis Halepas’ village. This was when she began researching his life and work, with a view to it culminating in an Onassis Stegi production, presented as part of the 2020-2021 season. The pandemic put paid to this plan.
In an attempt to make the most of the dead time brought on by lockdown, Onassis Stegi awarded an artistic fellowship to the “Halepas” creative team. This allowed for a research trip that took them into the mountains and quarries of the island, and to the Pyrgos School of Marble Sculpture.
“Halepas” is the third production to be directed by Argyro Chioti for Onassis Stegi. It follows Efthimis Filippou’s “Bloods” (2014) and Dante’s “The Divine Comedy” (2017). Both these productions were also presented on stages in France.
Argyro Chioti
Argyro Chioti was born in Athens and works as a director and actress between Greece and France. In 2005 she cofounded the VASISTAS theater group.
She’s interested in stage forms looking toward poetry, with intense dance and bodily expression, often creating music choreographies in present time, which focus on humans and the ways of being in certain social contexts.
Her most recent stage directions are Aristophanes’s “Frogs” (Athens & Epidaurus Festival, 2021) and Efthymis Filippou’s “Eau de Cologne” (National Theater of Greece, 2019-20). She has also staged at the Onassis Stegi Efthymis Filippou’s “Bloods” (2014), and Dante’s “The Divine Comedy” (2017). In 2011, VASISTAS received the Honorary Distinction for Best New Artist by the Greek Association of Theater and Music Critics, for the performance “Spectacle” (an Athens & Epidaurus Festival production, 2011). In 2013, Argyro Chioti was honored with the “Eleftheria Sapountzi” award, for her stage direction and artistic work.
The Boy (Alexander Voulgaris)
The Boy (Alexander Voulgaris) born in Athens, he is a film director and musician.
He has directed six feature films (“Crying?”, “Pink”, “Higuita”, “Thread”, “Winona”, and “Gym”) that have screened and won awards at many festivals, both in Greece and around the world.
He has released more than 25 albums of music (“Please Make Me Dance”, “Kostoumaki”, “Iliotherapia”, “Etoimoi”, “Paradouleftra”, “Antilopi”, “Audrey”, and more) and has written music for film and theater.
He has also appeared as an actor on stage and screen, has directed music videos, and in recent years has taught film at drama schools.
Production Info
Organization : International Festival of Andros
Open-air theater of Chora, Andros
COPRODUCED BY ERT
EMILIA ROMAGNA TEATRO (ΙΤΑΛΙΑ)
➤ Tuesday, 16th of August, 21:00
Duration: 75’
Regular price: 15 €
Discounted admission for students, unemployed and people with disabilities: 13€