VASILIS TSITSANIS – “Forever”

The music and songs of Vasilis Tsitsanis fill the Pallas Theater in the new year. With Yannis Stankoglou in the role of narrator and renowned artists Yannis Kotsiras, Lena Kitsopoulou, Rena Morfi, Imam Baildi, and Anatoli Margiola on stage, the long-awaited narrative concert “Vasilis Tsitsanis Forever,” marking the 110th anniversary of the birth of the most important creator of Greek folk music, comes on February 10 and 11. Directed by Giorgos Papageorgiou, with texts by Giorgos Skampardonis.

 On the occasion of the 110th anniversary of the birth of Vasilis Tsitsanis, a special narrative concert featuring prominent performers and actors on stage will bring the work and era of this leading Greek artist to life at the Pallas Theater for two nights only.

Composer, lyricist, bouzouki virtuoso, and singer, Vasilis Tsitsanis was the most important creator of Greek folk music and folk songs of the 20th century. This artistic event, taking place on February 10 and 11, magically combines music with storytelling, creating images that will transport viewers to another, unique era.

A journey through the timeless songs of Vasilis Tsitsanis, which have never ceased to move listeners from different generations. Narrative elements will connect the past with the present in a “magical & dreamy” evening full of joy, dedicated to a great Greek, the man who changed Greek folk music forever. Directed by Giorgos Papageorgiou, with texts written especially for this evening by Giorgos Skampardonis.

Vasilis Tsitsanis’ greatest hits are performed in classic renditions and covers by renowned artists, including Yiannis Kotsiras, Lena Kitsopoulou, Rena Morfi, Imam Baildi, and Anatoli Margiola. Yiannis Stankoglou will be the narrator for the evening.

Together with the Vasilis Tsitsanis Orchestra, curated by Manolis Pappos, they will weave old and new sounds together, creating a unique result that will connect the past with the present.

Written by: Giorgos Skampardonis

Direction: Giorgos Papageorgiou

Singers: Yannis Kotsiras, Lena Kitsopoulou, Rena Morfi, Imam Baildi and Anatoli Margiola

Narrator: Yannis Stankoglou

Orchestra: Vasilis Tsitsanis

Music supervision by Manolis Pappos

THE GREATNESS OF VASILIS TSITSANIS’ UNIQUENESS THROUGH THE EYES OF GREAT GREEKS

MANOS HATZIDAKIS – Tsitsanis, a child of underground currents, streetwise and rebellious, with a Byzantine education from the psalmody he practiced in his village, spread a sensitive eroticism throughout the country. He was great at a time when he did not suspect that he was great.

Shortly before the war of 1940, Tsitsanis sang “My Lady, Crazy Witch” for the first time. It was a brilliant composition, I would say, on the theme of love, whose power and truth bring us closer to Kornaros’s “Erotokritos” and, hundreds of years later, to Lorca’s “Blood Wedding.” Its melodic line, unimaginable in its conciseness and simplicity, is reminiscent of Bach.

MIKIS THEODORAKIS – Vasilis Tsitsanis has left a deep and lasting mark on our era with his work. How did this miracle happen, and how did this child from Trikala, who emigrated to Thessaloniki as a teenager, transform the essence of our musical tradition in his soul and mind and give it back to us in new, simple, and perfect musical forms? But here we are, an entire generation of musicians and poets, recognizing you as our teacher. Tsitsanis is the Theophilos of Greek folk music.

DINOS CHRISTIANOPOULOS – Tsitsanis found a song that was vulgar, crude, and despised; he found it on the lips of prisoners and felons, in the slums of the market and the port—and he cleansed it of all obscenity and vulgarity, he threw out the slang and idioms, cut out the many twists and turns and Turkish motifs, enriched his themes with social elements, and made it embrace the passions and desires of the Greek soul.

YANNIS TSAROUCHIS – Tsitsanis, an eternal symbol of Greek music, who with dance and song, the poetry of words and body, sweeps away all these constructs of Balkan respectability to give the Greek people the music that suits their beauty.

NIKOS ENGONOPOULOS – His lyrics have depth and high-quality emotion. His lyricism is as powerful as it is genuine. His music is beautiful, original, and authentic. This man has suffered in life and knows it, and he has the strength and the means to express it.

DIONYSIS SAVVOPOULOS – Vasilis Tsitsanis is the only Greek revolution that succeeded, without him even knowing it and without this revolution ever becoming a regime. A blessed man, a blessed peacemaker. What Vasilis Tsitsanis achieved has not yet been achieved by our political life.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE VASILIS TSITSANIS ORCHESTRA

The Vasilis Tsitsanis Orchestra was founded on the initiative of his family and Seed Point, Vasilis Tsitsanis’ music publisher, with the main purpose of presenting the work of this unique creator live. An orchestra for the composer, lyricist, bouzouki virtuoso, and singer Vasilis Tsitsanis, who took music from the margins and infused it with talent, inspiration, creativity, and hard work, creating folk songs that touched the hearts of all Greeks. By uniting East and West, tradition and modernity, he quietly but effectively managed to unite all Greeks, achieving something that even today is not easy to comprehend. Tsitsanis’ deep need to communicate and be inspired by the world was fulfilled by his appearance on stage every night for 45 whole years and until the end of his life, always accompanied by a great orchestra. This orchestra serves Vasilis Tsitsanis’ great love for the proper presentation of his songs. Under the guidance of Manolis Pappos, a master of the bouzouki and a profound connoisseur of Tsitsanis’ work, and accompanied by talented musicians, will present his work as he himself defined it, through his many years on stage and in recordings. In addition, it will attempt what Tsitsanis himself would have done if he were alive, collaborating with enlightened musicians/composers to present his songs in a new, different way, reintroducing us to this unique, ingenious, and generous Greek.