at the Olympia Theater
Friday, February 27, 2026
a musical narrative based on the novella of the same name by Dimitrios Vikelas
The gripping story of Loukis Lara and the Chios Massacre of 1822 will be presented on Friday, February 27, at the Olympia Theater “Maria Callas,” through Lefteris Veniadis’s new original musical work written for a male voice, cello, and actor.
Dimitrios Vikelas’s iconic short story, written in 1879 and inspired by the true account of Loukas Zifos, a survivor of the Massacre from Chios, as recorded in the manuscript “Autobiography of an Elder from Chios,” takes us back nearly 200 years, to the year of the Great Catastrophe.
Chios, 1822. Young Loukis returns with his father from Smyrna to their hometown, Chios, to seek refuge from the increasingly frequent Turkish looting and attacks in Asia Minor. The Greek Revolution is at its height, and it isn’t long before Chios joins the ranks of the rebellious islands. The Turkish response, however, will be relentless.
Before the horrified eyes of 20-year-old Loukis, the complete destruction of Chios is unfolding. Entire villages are burning, tens of thousands are being slaughtered, women are being raped, young children are being abducted, blood is flowing everywhere… Amid this carnage, Loukis and his family struggle to save themselves, searching for a way to flee the island. And this is only the beginning of their great adventure…
This gripping story is transformed into a musical narrative thanks to Lefteris Veniadis’s original score, which embraces, permeates, and breathes new life into Vikelas’s words. Actor Kostas Berikopoulos, lyrical singer Nikos Ziatzaris, and the virtuoso cellist Alexandros Botinis become the voice of Loukis Lara. A Loukis with three incarnations. All indivisible into a single being. They are all Loukis, and they narrate this deeply moving story, transporting us to times and places that only music can reach.
Note by composer Lefteris Veniadis:
This is an original musical work in which the text, melodies, sounds, and timbres of the cello serve the purpose of a new form of storytelling through musical composition. As for the creative process behind this new work, I personally drew upon and drew inspiration from my heritage. Having grown up on Chios, I feel the depth and substance of this written text and realize that the historical context of that era intersects in some way with today’s reality. At the same time, drawing on the stories of my ancestors, my teachers, and the “elders” of the island—and influenced by a relatively familiar family history—I seek, guided by my personal perspective, to explore new avenues in musical dramaturgy and the concept of storytelling. Purely in terms of composition and music, my goal is to create a unified musical language of sounds, timbres, and speech that leads to a cohesive narrative and a fully comprehensible understanding of the story by the audience. The unique path of contemporary musical theater—as I personally perceive it—opens up a new aesthetic of complexity that, driven by emotion, leads to reflection.
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