Alternative Stage Founding Donor
Major Sponsor of the Greek National Opera
The contemporary opera The Fall of the House of Commons, inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's dark universe, brings to life a fantasy world, a reality not far from ours, on the Alternative Stage.
A contemporary opera about the broken ecosystem of postmodern cities, as envisioned by its creators. The inner space of modern apartments more and more reminds us of a reflection on a turned-off high-definition screen, where human and artificial intelligence coexist in a mysterious way. All the goods are home delivered, relationships are formed and break indoors, fantasies sound like phone ringtones.
Conversing with Edgar Allan Poe's archetypal story The Fall of the House of Usher, where both the house and its residents are merged in a closed circuit, the work tracks the sounds produced by the life inside and outside the walls of a typical contemporary apartment. The self-referential universe of the couple living in it exudes a spectral balance. A dominant position is held by the android supervisor Erika_7, who's always available to rewrite the house's memory and offer solutions to the symbiosis crossword puzzle.
Poe's dramaturgical conversation is used to contrast the sophisticated and the kitschy, but also to functionally combine musical idioms ranging from the repository of classical melodrama to various styles of postmodern music. The musical composition draws upon a wide range of ideas, with a focus on the hybrid trends in 21st-century vocal music.
The production was presented in June 2023 as part of the Athens Epidaurus Festival.
The production The Fall of the House of Commons is part of the GNO Alternative Stage's unit of programming titled MUSIC THEATRE DAYS, which falls under the ACT FESTIVAL EVENTS OF THE GNO ALTERNATIVE STAGE 2024-2025 (MIS 6002467) with code 202408570049 (Priority: Fostering regional social cohesion through the enhancement of mechanisms and infrastructure to support employment, education, health care and socioeconomic inclusion of the programme Attica 2021-2027) and is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and National Resources.
Fully accessible performances of the The Fall of the House of Commons
The performances of The Fall of the House of Commons will be fully accessible on the 4th and 11th of May 2025, providing an inclusive audiovisual experience for all audiences in collaboration with ATLAS E.P. In this context, there will be designated seats for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and use Greek Sign Language, places for those who rely on captions (CAPS) covering the entire audio channel, as well as seats for individuals who are blind or have limited access to the visual channel of communication and use the audio description (AD) service. Guide dogs for the visually impaired will also be permitted.
Audience members who wish to use the accessibility services are requested to purchase their tickets at the GNO Box Office, over the phone at 2130885700, or via email at . If you need assistance with your reservation, you can also contact ATLAS E.P. at 6993507553 or via email at .
The full accessibility services for this production are funded by the Ministry of Culture, as part of the projectSUB.1.1.6 Attracting 65+ individuals and persons with disabilities to events of the Greek National Opera. This project is implemented as part of the Greece 2.0 - National Recovery and Resilience Plan with funds from the European Union-NextGeneration EU.
