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An original play that brings the classical past to life for today's audiences, The Swallow Song will debut at the Getty Center with four performances.
Composed of scenes enacting some of the most important and painful dilemmas faced during adolescence, The Swallow Song will evoke the theatrical performances of ancient Greece. Spoken sequences of ancient text will be woven together with songs and dances, which draw on the music of youth and growing up.
The Shield of Achilles from Homer's Iliad serves as a linking device. Other highlights include verses from Ion, Agamemnon, Trojan Women, and Iphigenia in Aulis by Euripides; poetry by Sappho; and verses from Libation on Bearers by Aeschylus.
Directed by and starring Lydia Koniordou, one of the world's finest classical Greek actresses, The Swallow Song is adapted by Koniordou and Theophanis Kakridis, a noted dramatic philologist, and translated from the ancient Greek by Oliver Taplin, professor of classics and co-director of the Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama at Oxford University.
Costume and set design are by the internationally renowned Dionysis Fotopoulos, who has worked on more than 40 films and 300 theatrical productions. Composer Takis Farazis provides an original score, which will be performed by Farazis and two additional musicians. They will be joined by a chorus comprised of ten students from the Department of Theater at UCLA.
The Swallow Song was commissioned by the Getty and funded by the Villa Council. This dramatic presentation complements the Getty's Premiere Presentation exhibition Coming of Age in Ancient Greece: Images of Childhood from the Classical Past, on view through December 5, 2004.
Performances and Tickets
The Swallow Song will be presented at the Harold M. Williams Auditorium at the Getty Center.
Performances will be held at 8:00 p.m. on October 21, 22, and 23, and at 3:00 p.m. on October 24. Due to mature content in some scenes, this production is not recommended for children under 10 years of age.
A special Q & A with Koniordou and Taplin, along with Mary Hart, Assistant Curator of Antiquities, will be held on Thursday, October 21, and Saturday, October 23, following the performance.
Tickets ($28; $22 students/seniors) are available at the Museum Information Desk or by calling (310) 440-7300.
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