An Art Song by Panagiotis Karousos dedicated to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at the RCM

“UNESCO awarded composer Panagiotis Karousos comes to London for an exclusive concert with arias from Prometheus Bound and Olympic Flame, chamber music and more.”

Tuesday 23^rd of June 2016, 7:00pm 

Parry Rooms, Royal College of Music, Prince Consort Rd, London, SW7 2BS

Presentation: Aida Dellal Hersham

Production: Fawley Court Concert Hall 

At this concert Panagiotis Karousos will present for the first time in England some of his best chamber music compositions, art songs and arias from his operas.

This very special concert will start with a poem written from Queen Elizabeth I of England, (Written on a Wall at Woodstock). The composer set to music the poem and dedicated especial for the occasion to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for her 90 birthdays. 

 Queen Elizabeth I of England

Written on a Wall at Woodstock

Oh Fortune, thy wresting wavering state

Hath fraught with cares my troubled wit,

Whose witness this present prison late

Could bear, where once was joy's loan quit.

Thou causedst the guilty to be loosed

From bands where innocents were inclosed,

And caused the guiltless to be reserved,

And freed those that death had well deserved.

But all herein can be nothing wrought,

So God send to my foes all they have thought.

 

The program includes three major romantic era English poets, William Shakespeare (sonnet 109), Lord Byron (Maid of Athens), and Percy Bysshe Shelley (Ozymandias).

The rest of the program: Piano Trio No.1 "D'amour", Romance for Violin and Piano, Divertimento for Cello and Piano, Guillaume Apollinaire: Automne, Johann W. Goethe: Nachtgedanken "Night Thoughts", Alphonse de Lamartine: La Harpe des Cantiques, Rachel Bluwstein: To My Country, Jorge Luis Borges: Son los ríos, Prometheus aria from the opera “Prometheus Bound”, Deianira’s aria from the opera “Olympic Flame”, Duet from the opera “Olympic Flame”.

Artists: Irene Konsta, soprano, Vasilis Asimakopoulos, bass, Monika Dhamo, violin

Mirela Ruci, cello, Paraskevi Kleisoura, piano.

Panagiotis Karousos is Greek-Canadian composer who brings to his music the philosophy and spiritualism of the Greek classics. He is the most impotent living opera composer of Greek origin. 

He did many concerts in Canada and USA with his Symphony No.1 “Liberty”, and Symphony No.2 “Olympic”. His Piano Concerto was presented under UNESCO Canadian Auspices at Montreal’s Maurice Richard Arena to an audience of 5000 people. The opera Alexander the Great presented in Montreal at the Montreal Notre Dame Basilica, in Chicago Illinois conducted by David Stech, in North Carolina Theatre under the direction of Grant Gilman, and in Toronto at P.C. Ho Theater Cultural Center of Toronto with the Sneak Peak Symphony Orchestra of Toronto University and soloists under the direction of maestro Victor Cheng. The opera Prometheus represented in Los Angeles, New York, and Washington DC. From 2013 he did major presentations of Prometheus in Ancient Greek Theaters (Epidaurus, Messina, Ancient Agora), and the National Archaeological Museum of Greece. In 2014 Prometheus presented with bass Vasilis Asimakopoulos in the United Nations and in Mamie Fay auditorium of New York under the auspices of UNESCO. His Symphony No.4 “Earth” premiered with City of Athens Symphony Orchestra with maestro Eleftherios Kalkanis. His Liederabend and chamber music was presented in Berlin from pianist Theodosia Ntokou and musicians from Berliner Camerata with impressed reviews in 2015.

In 2016 he presented the opera Olympic Flame at Lincoln Center in New York with soloists and orchestra under the direction of Jestin Pieper, and Prometheus at La Sorbonne University in Paris with Greek soloists.

The Greek National Radio Television did many profiles on him and broadcasted live his works with some of the most talented artists of opera and classical music.

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