 Ειρήνη Μαρκογιαννάκη / Irini Markogiannaki |
On Monday January 23rd 2017, the Athenian audience had the pleasure of witnessing a sublime performance by Zhejiang Wu Opera Troupe of the Zhejiang Wu Opera Art Research Institute at the theater “Pantheon” in occasion of the celebration of the Chinese New Year. The performance was organized by the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China and the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Hellenic Republic.
The show, which included Wu opera segments, music performances, acrobatics, martial arts display and more, was greeted warmly both by the Greek and the Chinese people in the audience who burst into thunderous applause multiple times during the performance and also at the grand finale. The “Traditional Performance 9-Pieced Segmented Dragon”, “Golden Monkey Noisy Spring” and “The Sedan Ride” were some of the favourite segments, while the performance of the popular Greek song "Never on Sunday" by the legendary composer Manos Hadjidakis with traditional Chinese instruments was a beautiful moment of connection between the two cultures.
Present at the performance were His Excellency the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the Hellenic Republic Zou Xiaoli. Among noted guests from the Greek side were the Minister of Culture of the Hellenic Republic ms. Lydia Koniordou and the Associate Professor at Peking University, Department of History and Center for Hellenic Studies Ms. Eleni Avramidou.