Free Besieged

Item

Title

Free Besieged

Date

25 June 2021-26 June 2021

Date Issued

2021

Abstract

“On the occasion of the two hundred years since the Greek Revolution of 1821, Elefsina 2023 European Capital of Culture presents the work "Free Besieged", one of the leading works of Dionysios Solomos, directed by Eleni Efthymiou, original music by Sofia Kamayianni with the participation of the inhabitants of the city. The poetic composition is inspired by the siege of Messolonghi and the Exodus, one of the events of the Greek Revolution that decisively influenced its course. The conversation between the past and the present, the reinterpretation of the historical events that marked the course of the modern Greek state, the relationship between those besieged and the present, a modern city with a long history, are the searches of the site specific show directed by Eleni Efthymiou, in collaboration with the residents of Elefsina themselves. The demands of 1821 for freedom and the incessant struggle of man for resistance to any tyrannical imposition, as recorded by Solomos in the incomplete designs of his work, remain imperatives - with not very big differences - 200 years later, in the conversation of the show with Solomos text. " (From 2023 Elefsina Cultural Capital of Europe: https://2023eleusis.eu/sygkinisan-to-koino-oi-eleytheroi-pol/)