Greek National Opera Receives 11 Million Euro Grant

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation’s new grant is an extension of its existing support of the opera company 

At a recent press conference by the Greek National Opera (GNO), the Stavros Niarchos Foundation’s (SNF) co-president Andreas Dracopoulos has supplied the GNO with an additional two-year €11 million grant to further support the organization’s artistic outreach in Greece and abroad.

This news comes just as GNO’s artistic director Giorgos Koumendakis announced the company’s 2024/25 season program, which will benefit from the additional funding.

Spanning 2024 to 2026, SNF’s latest two-year grant follows a four-year SNF grant to support the GNO’s outreach efforts from 2019 to 2023. SNF’s total support for the GNO through 2026 will amount to over €39 million. 

Of the €11 million offered in the new grant, €10 million will be given outright, and €1 million will be provided upon the GNO securing matching funds from other international sources. 

As reported by the SNF, the grant will support the continuation of GNO’s international co-productions, residencies by renowned artists, and an international touring program. Emphasis will be placed on GNO tours in the Greek provinces to enhance the accessibility to wider national audiences.

The GNO will also involve a development plan to attract international donors and strategic sponsorship partnerships, plus implement a program offering a specific number of free tickets to each of its performances at Stavros Niarchos Hall for groups who have not yet had the opportunity to attend its performances. 

Additionally, over the next two years, the opera company will invest in the education and training of the GNO’s artistic personnel, continue to share content on GNO TV, and partner with international TV channels associated with opera. 

“We are delighted to be extending our creative collaboration with the Greek National Opera (GNO), having already built a longstanding relationship of trust spanning more than a decade,” Dracopoulos said in the press release. 

“With the new SNF grant to the GNO that we are announcing today, we are very happy to have the opportunity to further support its vision of enhancing its artistic outreach, primarily around Greece, but also on the international stage,” he continued. “The GNO has already enjoyed a dynamic debut on the international stage and, with the strengthening of the international partnerships that are also part of the new grant, we look forward to seeing the work and value of our National Opera even better appreciated on a global scale.”

“With the valuable support of SNF’s grant from 2019-2023, the GNO has managed to redefine itself and establish a recognizable artistic identity, addressing a global audience,” Koumendakis added. “We are grateful to the SNF for such a creative collaboration, for its understanding and our harmonious coexistence … On behalf of the Greek National Opera, I would like to thank Andreas Dracopoulos and his associates at SNF from the bottom of my heart for renewing their trust in the GNO.”