Camerata Friends of Music Orchestra
The Camerata Friends of Music Orchestra was founded in 1991 by the Friends of Music Association to serve as the permanent orchestra of Megaron the Athens Concert Hall. Its conductors were Alexandros Myrat (1991-2009), Sir Neville Marriner, who was its artistic director from 2000-2001 and then its honorary president (2001-2007), and the British conductor Christopher Warren-Green from 2004-2009.
THE BEGINNING
Its establishment, combined with its standard of operation and high quality, created new standards for the musical life of the country. Based at Megaron the Athens Concert Hall, the Orchestra’s activities slowly began to expand throughout Greece and beyond its borders.
With George Petrou at the helm of the Orchestra since 2012, the Camerata has been gaining international recognition under the name Armonia Atenea. It developed expertise in historical performance practices and presents the 18th and 19th century repertoire with a completely new perspective. For the first time in Athens, a Greek ensemble performs works by Mozart and Beethoven on period instruments, while the Orchestra performs a particularly bold repertoire with an emphasis on Greek musical production. Soon, the Camerata Friends of Music Orchestra became a favourite ensemble of the Greek public and, in addition to its regular concerts at the Athens Concert Hall, it also appears at the Onassis Cultural Centre and the Herod Atticus Theatre as part of the Athens Festival.
Very quickly, its reputation spreads beyond the borders of Greece. For the first time, a Greek orchestra becomes so popular abroad that it is repeatedly invited to perform in historic concert halls in Europe.
CAMERATA FRIENDS OF MUSIC ORCHESTRA FIRSTS
Camerata is the first Greek orchestra to appear at the famous BBC PROMS, the Salzburg Festival, the iconic La Scala in Milan, and is the first Greek ensemble to record with the recording giants DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON and DECCA.
Another important achievement for the Orchestra is the fact that the viewers of the music TV channel MEZZO voted Handel’s Alexander as the best opera production of 2012, among productions of famous opera houses and great artistic institutions in Europe, such as La Scala di Milano, the Bavarian State Opera, the Glyndebourne Festival, etc.
In addition, the Camerata was the first Greek orchestra to stage productions of symphonic musicals with great success, creating new standards in Greece for this musical genre.
The Camerata is the only Greek orchestra that, during the pandemic period, filmed and presented Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony [Ludwig van Beethoven] online in an interactive 360-degree projection with free streaming for the public.
The Orchestra also participated in the celebratory opera gala under the renowned conductor Marcellus Chryssikopoulos, for the 30th anniversary of Megaron the Athens Concert Hall, with the Greek audience’s favorite soprano Marlis Petersen as soloist.
The Camerata regularly performs in the most important concert halls and the largest opera houses in Europe: Theatre des Champs Elysee Fields Theatre, Pleyel Hall in Paris, Royal Opera House in Versailles, La Scala in Milan, Musikverein and Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Capitoline Theatre in Toulouse, Opera House in Montpellier, Bozar Hall in Brussels, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Konzerthaus in Dortmund, Opera House in Wiesbaden, Markgraefliches Opernhaus in Bayreuth, Cuvilliés Theatre in Munich, Palau de la Música in Barcelona, Teatro Real in Madrid, Teatru Manoel in Malta, Wigmore Hall in London, Opera House in Lausanne, CRR in Istanbul.
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS
The Orchestra regularly participates in international artistic events, such as festivals: Baroque in Bayreuth, Salzburg, “Enescu” in Bucharest, “Handel” in Halle and Karlsruhe, “Clara” in Brussels, Early Music in Innsbruck, Opera Rara in Krakow, “Gluck” in Nuremberg, Balle d’Isria at the Martina Franca in Italy, and the La Seine musicale concert series in Paris, each time receiving rave reviews from the international press.
Since 2012, Camerata has staged more than 20 stage productions in Greece (many in first nationwide presentation) in co-production with cultural institutions such as the Athens Concert Hall, the Athens Festival, the Onassis Cultural Centre, and in collaboration with leading directors and creators from Greece and abroad:
- F. Handel: Theodora (MMA, 2010).
- Haydn: The Desert Island (Athens Festival, 2010)
- W. Gluck: Iphigenia en Avlidi (Onassis Cultural Centre, 2011)
- W. Gluck: The Triumph of Celia (MMA-Tutti all’Opera, 2012)
- v. Beethoven: Prometheus (Onassis Cultural Centre, 2012)
- Θ. Th: The Baptist (MMA-Athens Festival, 2012)
- F. Händel: Alexander (MMA-Athens Festival, 2013)
- Θ. G.Händel: The Picnic (MMA, 2014)
- A. Hasse: Sirois (Athens Festival-Opéra Royal de Versailles, 2014)
- Blow: Aphrodite and Adonis (MMA, 2015)
- Porter: Kiss me Kate (MMA-Athens Festival, 2015)
- Γ. C. Kouroupos: Pylades / Iokastis (Athens Festival, 2015)
- Glass: In the penal colony (Onassis Cultural Centre, 2016)
- Bernstein: West Side Story (MMA, Athens Festival 2016)
- Kypourgos: Aristophanes’ Peace (National Theatre – Athens Festival, 2017)
- Sondheim: Sweeney Todd (MMA, Athens Festival, 2017)
- Sondheim: Company (Athens Festival, 2017)
- C. Menotti: Amal and the Night Visitors (MMA, 2018)
- F. Handel: Alchina (Athens Festival, 2018)
- Sakellaridis: The Godson (New production) (MMA, 2019)
- Monteverdi: Odysseus’ return home (Athens Festival, 2020)
- Maria Callas: Letters and Memories with Monica Bellucci (Herodeion, 2021)
RECORDINGS WITH GEORGE PETROU
The Orchestra’s long list of recordings includes many that have received the most important special prizes and the warmest reviews from the international press.
2011 | G.F. Händel: Alessandro Severo [Alexandros Severo] (MDG)
First world recording. Included as a bonus is the one-act opera Don Crepuscolo by N. Mantzaros, the first lyric work in Greek music.
2012 | C.W. Gluck: Il trionfo di Clelia [The Triumph of Clelia] (MDG)
First world recording.
2012 | G.F. Handel: Alessandro [ Alexander] (DECCA)
The album won many awards, including:
Diapason d’Or, Choc de Classica (2012)
Stanley Sadie Handel Recording Prize (2013)
BBC Music Magazine, Recording of the Month (2013)
Best Recording of the Year at the International Opera Awards (2013)
With this award, the production of the opera Alessandro was recognized as the best of its kind.
2014 | J.A. Hasse: Siroe , re di Persia (DECCA)
First world recording.
Diapason d’Or, Gramophone-Editor’s Choice
2014 | L.v. Beethoven:Prometheus(DECCA)
First world recording on period instruments.
BBC Music Magazine, Recording of the month
The Times, Recording of the Week
Diapason 5
2015 | Baroque Divas (DECCA)
2015 | The 5 Countertenors (DECCA)
2016 | G. F. Handel:Arminio (DECCA)
Diapason 5
Classica 5
Preis der Deutsche Schalplaten Kritik [German Record Critics’ Prize]
2023 | N. Porpora: Polifemo [Πολύφημος] (Parnassus)
Diapason Découverte
2023 | N. Porpora: Carlo il Calvo [Charles the Bald] (Parnassus)
RECITALS
2018 | Porpora Arias, Max Emanuel Cencic (DECCA)
Diapason d’Or
2018 | Archetypon, Mary Ellen Nesi (MDG)
2017 | Catharsis, Xavier Sabata (APARTE)
2016 | G. Rossini, Franco Fagioli (Deutsche Grammophon)
2016 | Rococo: Hasse Opera Arias, Max Emanuel Cencic (DECCA)
Diapason d’Or, Diamante d’Opera
2016 | D. Papadimitriou: The Myths of Aesop (Onassis Cultural Centre)
2014 | Gluck Opera Arias, Daniel Behle (DECCA)
GEORGE PETROU
ORCHESTRA DIRECTOR
With a Grammy nomination and an ECHO CLASSIC award to his credit, George Petrou has enjoyed a brilliant international career and is considered one of the greatest contemporary performers of 18th century music and bel canto opera. He moves with great ease between symphonic music and opera, creating performances which, according to international critics, are distinguished for their imagination, dynamism and musicality.
Born in Athens, he studied piano at the Athens Conservatoire and continued his education at the Royal College and the Royal Academy of Music in London on scholarships from the Royal Academy and the Onassis Foundation. Initially a piano soloist, he switched to conducting and quickly gained international recognition.
He has been awarded the titles Chevalier de l’ Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government and Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) by the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Since 2022, he has been Artistic Director of the historic Internationale Händel-Festspiele Göttingen. This appointment is a milestone in the career of the Greek conductor, as George Petrou now leads the longest-running early music festival in the world (founded in 1920).
From 2020 to 2022, he served as Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra of ERT, further expanding his influence on the Greek music scene.
Since 2012, he has been collaborating with the Camerata Friends of Music Orchestra, with which he performs in Greece and abroad, while recording with the major international record labels.
George Petrou performs regularly in the most important lyric theatres and in major concert halls around the world: Arena of Verona, La Scala of Milan, La Fenice of Venice, Petruzzelli [Petruzelli] of Bari, Zurich Opera, Opera of Lausanne, Komische Oper of Berlin, Operas of Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Cologne, Cologne, Leipzig, Capitoline Theatre of Toulouse, Royal Opera House of Versailles, National Opera of the Rhine in Strasbourg, Opera of Normandy in Rouen, Opera of Nice (France), Royal Opera of Sweden, Nederlandse Reisopera, Royal Opera of the Netherlands, Korean National Opera, Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Teatro Real in Madrid, the Elbe Philharmonic Hall in Hamburg, the Champs-Elysées Theatre in Paris, the Palau de la Música in Barcelona.
George Petrou also regularly appears at major festivals worldwide: Verona Arena, La Scala in Milan, La Fenice in Venice, Petruzzelli in Bari, Zurich Opera House, Lausanne Opera House, Komische Oper in Berlin, Operas of Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Cologne, Cologne, Leipzig, Capitoline Theatre of Toulouse, Royal Opera House of Versailles, National Opera of the Rhine in Strasbourg, Opera of Normandy in Rouen, Opera of Nice (France), Royal Opera of Sweden, Nederlandse Reisopera, Royal Opera of the Netherlands, Korean National Opera, Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Teatro Real in Madrid, the Elbe Philharmonic Hall in Hamburg, the Champs-Elysées Theatre in Paris, the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Pentecost in Salzburg, BBC Proms, Halle and Karlsruhe’s Handel, Valle d’Istria in Martina Franca.
He regularly collaborates with all Greek orchestras and with famous ensembles abroad.
Alongside his activity as an orchestra conductor, George Petrou has developed a keen interest in directing musical theatre. Always fascinated by the combination of music and theatre, he emphasizes the coexistence of musical dramaturgy and stage action through the perspective of a musician. He has directed and conducted many productions of opera, operetta and musicals: Vivaldi’s Justinian (Lyric Theatre of the Drotnigholm Palace in Stockholm), Handel’s Julius Caesar (Neerlandse Reisopera-International Festival of Gaitingen), Mozart’s Idomeneus, Sakellaridis’ The Baptist (Olympia Theatre), Handel’s Semele (Göttingen International Festival-Olympia Theatre), Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, Bernstein’s West Side Story, Porter and Company’s Kiss me Kate by Sondheim (MMA-Athens Festival).
George Petrou’s opera Julius Caesar by Handel, which he directed for the Royal Opera House of the Netherlands, was nominated by two special publications as the best production of the year in that country, while his direction of Vivaldi’s Justin was nominated by two special publications as the best production of the year in that country, which was made for the historic Royal Theatre of Drottningholm Palace in Sweden, received triumphant reviews from the international press, cementing his position as a leading artist in the field of 18th-century opera.
George Petrou’s recordings have received numerous accolades, including Diapason d’Or, Gramophone-Editor’s Choice, ECHO Classic, BBC Music Magazine-Recording of the Month and the Opéra Magazine International Prize. Many of his recordings are considered reference recordings by experts.
Sir Neville Mariner
Christmas concert, Dimitris Myrat conducting, December 2007
Dress rehearsal for Axion Estin, George Petrou - Mikis Theodorakis, October 2018
Camerata Friends of Music Orchestra, Christopher Hogwood conducting and Nicholas Kynaston on the organ, October 2007
Beethoven's 9th, the first concert in Greece to be filmed and streamed in 360 and streamed, March 2021
Marlis Petersen soprano, Markellos Chryssikopoulos conducting, Gala celebrating 30 years of Megaron the Athens Concert Hall, October 2021
