The Mission
of the Festival
The Wine and Opera Festival is the first Festival of its kind.
It was created to bring together professionals and aficionados from both fields and to communicate the fascinating correlation between wine culture and the artistry of operatic performance.
The Festival specializes in promoting wineries, supporting artists and educating about wine and opera. It highlights world-class producers from all over the world, gives a platform to opera professionals to showcase their work and educates through culture. The Festival is a destination for those interested in niche experiences that are exciting, informative and fun.
Various activities include private events, concerts, lectures, tours, seminars, wine fairs, performances and much more.
Elements from the ancient ruins at Knossos and an almost extinct flower symbolizing beauty and perseverance, the sand lily, are depicted on the Festival logo as an homage to Crete – the founder’s birthplace.
Come share with us the visceral experience of a fine wine, an operatic voice and the music of the drama itself.
It’s nothing we haven’t seen before:
eventful scenes in opera where imbibing takes center stage – from the celebratory “Champagne” chorus of Die Fledermaus and Don Giovanni’s scheming to conquer the ladies, to Mr.Falstaff dripping wet dragging himself out of the river and into his favorite pub for a hot glass of wine. And let’s not forget those young guys over in Paris in La Bohème – when the landlord comes knocking at your door asking for the rent, just sit him down, give him wine and you’re good!
But there’s also the other end of the spectrum: those unforgettable moments of dramatic intensity that leave an imprint through the music and the director’s vision – the 1964 Zeffirelli production of Tosca as you watch Callas sip some wine before plunging a knife through Scarpia’s heart.
Wine flows freely throughout the operatic repertoire, but the correlation is not limited to only the drama.
Wine is about terroir, the birthplace of the grapes that carries all the unique characteristics of its earth – in the same way opera singers sound different depending on their lineage: some have “Italianate” sounds, some more Germanic or Nordic, some are a mix.
Many wines need time to mature and they taste unbalanced until they do – very similar to specific voices, the more they mature the more complex they sound, age helps them come together on a deeper level.
Some wines have identity and their personality is unforgettable – just like the impact of some opera singers, be it on a vocal or interpretative level, in certain cases both.
Lastly, the years of hard work behind the scenes, the dedication, patience and people it takes to cultivate and maintain the vineyard – quite like tending to the operatic voice as it grows and changes over time.
At the Wine and Opera Festival we celebrate the human voice, the earth and the art that man has created through them.
Hanging from the fringes of a dawn which purified nocturnal pasts,
I taste the new sounds, achievements of the dew that believed in trees
A fresh presence proceeds to its roots and acquires the day
Like a heart that finally finds its place
Odysseus Elytis
Partner Wineries
sponsors
