SONG RECITAL: PLATANIAS – TAMVAKOPOULOU

PROGRAMME:

RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872–1958): Songs of Travel (1901–04)

I. The Vagabond

II. Let Beauty Awake

III. The Roadside Fire

IV. Youth and Love

V. In Dreams

VI. The Infinite Shining Heavens

VII. Whither Must I Wander?

VIII. Bright is the Ring of Words

IX. I Have Trod the Upward and the Downward Slope

JOHN IRELAND (1879–1962): “Ballade of London Nights” for piano solo (1930)

RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872–1958): The House of Life (1903)

I. Love-Sight

II. Silent Noon

III. Love’s Minstrels

IV. Heart’s Haven

V. Death in Love

VI. Love’s Last Gift

Dimitri Platanias baritone

Sofia Tamvakopoulou piano

ARTIST RÉSUMÉS:

Dimitri Platanias, one of the leading baritones of his generation, was born in Kalamata, Greece. He received his initial musical training at the Municipal Conservatoire of Kalamata, where he earned a Diploma in Guitar under Giannis Mavreas and a Diploma in Singing under Maria Marketou. He continued his operatic studies in Italy with Masako Tanaka Protti, supported by the Alexandra Trianti Scholarship.

He made his debut with the Greek National Opera as Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana (2004). Since then, he has performed a wide range of leading roles, including Marcello (La Bohème), Figaro and Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), the Lord (The Masterbuilder), Telramund (Lohengrin), Renato (Un Ballo in maschera), Rigoletto, Amonasro (Aida), Giorgio Germont (La Traviata), Scarpia (Tosca), Count di Luna (Il trovatore), Nabucco, Simon Boccanegra, Rodrigo (Don Carlo), Macbeth, Barnaba (La Gioconda), Stankar (Stiffelio), Gérard (Andrea Chénier), Iago (Otello), Monforte (I Vespri Siciliani), among many others.

He has appeared at some of the world’s most prestigious opera houses, including La Fenice (Venice), Teatro Nacional de São Carlos (Lisbon), Bayerische Staatsoper (Munich), Oper Frankfurt, Staatsoper Stuttgart, La Monnaie (Brussels), the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (London), Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (Valencia), San Francisco Opera, Teatro Real (Madrid), Hamburg State Opera and Teatro alla Scala (Milan). He has also appeared at major international festivals, including the Bregenz Festival and the Salzburg Easter Festival.

Sofia Tambakopoulou studied at the National Conservatoire of Athens, where she was awarded a Diploma in Piano under M. Kokkalis. At the same time, she completed advanced studies in Harmony, Counterpoint and Fugue. She continued her piano studies in Athens and Paris with E. Mouzala, A. Lefèvre and B. Rigutto. She is also a graduate of the Department of Music Studies at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. As a solo pianist, she has performed extensively in Greece and abroad.

She began her collaboration with the Greek National Opera in 2006. In 2015, she was appointed Head of Music Preparation (Studienleiterin), and since 2017 she has also served as Cast Artistic Advisor.

She has worked with many of the most distinguished Greek and international conductors and singers. She is a frequent collaborator of conductor Constantinos Carydis, with whom she has appeared at the 2018 Salzburg Festival with the Vienna Philharmonic, the 2023 Oslo Philharmonic, and the 2025 Athens Epidaurus Festival with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Alongside her performing and coaching activities, she has worked as Tonmeister and Recording Music Consultant with the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra. Her recording of songs for voice and piano by Spyridon Samaras has been commercially released.