|
KYPRIA 2004:
Letter from the Minister of Education and Culture of Cyprus
The "KYPRIA" International Festival is in its 14th year in the
cultural life of our island. Its presence is a strong one, to judge
from the continuous interest and growing response, year by year, of
the public to the events hosted within the framework of the
Festival. This indisputably confirms the fact that the "KYPRIA" has
become established in the conscience of our people and is now
considered to be the most important festival on the island, offering
a variety of cultural events of a high standard. This, of course, is
not a reason for complacency, since there is always scope for
further improvement and upgrading the quality of the Festival with
regard to both its conception and further course and also the
character of the events which are hosted in its program.
Here I would like to stress the particular emphasis and attention
given to the selection of events for this year's Festival. The
selection has been made with the aim of providing an opportunity for
the representation and participation, to the greatest possible
extent, of Cypriot creators and Cypriot artistic groups. The
selection was made without, of course, detracting from the character
of the Festival, which continues to be an international one.
In the field of opera, Gaetano Donizetti's masterpiece "Caterina
Cornaro" will be performed, with the participation of the Cyprus
State Orchestra (under the direction of Agis Ioannides) and the "Aris"
choir, Limassol.
In the field of theatre, Satirico Theatro and the Turkish Cypriot
Municipal Theatre of Nicosia will stage Aristophanes' "Lysistrata".
This is a production in which cultural bodies from the two
communities of Cyprus are collaborating, a fact which demonstrates
yet again that culture can act as a bridge of communication between
the two communities, the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot. In
addition, the "Diadromi" Theatre will perform "The Trojan Women" of
Euripides.
In the field of music, the State Orchestra of Athens will perform
the poetic symphony "Hamathen" by Christos Pittas; the Philharmonia
Orchestra of London, under the direction of Spiros Pisinos, will
perform works by Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Rossini, Brahms,
Beethoven and Stylianou; the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, with
Martinos Tirimos, will perform works by Mozart, Beethoven,
Mendelssohn and Bizet; the Japanese ensemble Reigakusha will perform
traditional Japanese music, as well as works by the Cypriot composer
Faidros Kavallaris, inspired by the Japanese musical tradition; the
Limassol Folklore Association will present "Strolling in Tradition",
a performance with music, songs and dances from Greece, Asia Minor
and Cyprus. There will also be a performance entitled "En Chordais",
in which music, voice and dance ensembles from Cyprus will
participate in a programme that includes music, songs and dances
from Asia Minor, the Aegean and Cyprus.
In the field of dance, the contemporary dance group Dance Anonymous
will perform the work
"Petra: the awakening of the myth", with choreography by
Harry Mavromichalis, and the Academy Ballet of St Petersburg will
perform the work "Eros tas Aphroditas" to music by Andreas
Charalambous.
I believe that this year's festival, too, will attract the attention
and interest of the public and will, through its varied programme,
satisfy its demands for high quality artistic events and creations.
I wish to express my warm thanks to the sponsors of the various
events in the Festival for their willingness to support and
contribute to the realization of the events.
Finally, my warm thanks go to the management and staff of the
Cultural Services for their contribution to the organisation of the
Festival.
Pefkios Georgiades
Minister of Education and Culture |
