Constantine Koukias

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Constantine Koukias (born 14 October 1965) is a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, where he is known by his Greek name of Konstantin Koukias. He is the co-founder and artistic director of IHOS Music Theatre and Opera, which was established in 1990 in Tasmania's capital city, Hobart.

Contents

Koukias's works range from large-scale music theatre and opera to mobile installation art events. His atmospheric compositions are characterised by mesmerising temporal, spatial and production designs, while his recent works exhibit eastern influences. [1] His avant-garde approach to the presentation of opera has resulted in hybrid productions such as Days and Nights with Christ , [2] [3] To Traverse Water , Mikrovion , The Divine Kiss , Tesla – Lightning in His Hand and The Barbarians. [4] [5] His music theatre works include ICON, Kimisis – Falling Asleep, Borders, Orfeo, Rapture – Sonic Taxi Performance, Schwa – The Neutral Vowel, Antigone and The Da Ponte Project.

Koukias was commissioned in 1993 by the Sydney Opera House Trust to compose the large-scale music theatre piece ICON to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Sydney Opera House. His Incantation II for soprano and digital delay won the International Valentino Bucchi Vocal Prize in Rome in 1997, [6] and in 2004 he was awarded a Sir Winston Churchill Fellowship. [1]

Prayer Bells , in which the composer draws on traditions of Latin, Hebrew and Byzantine chant, [7] had its US premiere in 2010 at the Chicago Cultural Center. [8]

The Barbarians, which was commissioned by the Museum of Old and New Art and inspired by Constantine Cavafy's poem Waiting for the Barbarians , premiered in Hobart in 2012 as part of the MONA FOMA festival. [9] It was nominated for a Helpmann Award for Best New Opera [10] the same year, and Tasmanian company Liminal Spaces won the Event category of Australia's Interior Design Excellence Awards for its conceptualisation of the production's design. [11]

In 2014, Kimisis – Falling Asleep had its Netherlands premiere at Splendor Amsterdam and toured to the Karavaan Festival. [12]

His work Three Episodes from the Diary of Signaller Peter Ellis was a winner of ABC radio's Gallipoli Centenary Composer Competition, receiving its national broadcast premiere in 2015. [13]

Koukias has been the recipient of numerous other international commissions and awards, and his design credits include the internationally acclaimed Odyssey and Medea. [6]

EPIRUS – An Ancient Voice, was premiered in 2016 and was composed for ondist Nadia Ratsimandresy. A version for Piano was composed for Gabriella Smart [14] and in 2021 this work had its Russian premier at the Sheremetev Place, St. Petersburg by Alexey Pudiov [15]

His Before The Flame Goes Out:Memorial to the Jewish Martyrs of Ioannina, Greece, [16] premiered at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, then toured to the Mona Foma Festival in 2017 [17]

In 2018, he directed the award winning chamber opera Backwards from Winter, by US composer Douglas Knehans [18] for the Dark Mofo festival. [19]

Education

Koukias studied at the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

List of works

Operas

Music theatre

Orchestral

Choral works

Chamber music

Notable students

In addition to his own career as a composer, Koukias has mentored numerous other composers including Matthew Dewey, Michael Lampard and Thanapoom Sirichang.[ citation needed ]

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Days and Nights with Christ is the first of five full-scale operas by the Constantine Koukias a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, where he is known by his Greek name of Konstantin Koukias. This was the first opera / music theatre production by IHOS Experimental Theatre Troupe. It premiered at Hobart's Salamanca Arts Festival in 1990 and two years later was a highlight of the Festival of Sydney. The work, which explores images associated with schizophrenia, was inspired by the experiences of the composer's brother and by their shared Greek heritage.

To Traverse Water is an opera by Constantine Koukias a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, where he is known by his Greek name of Konstantin Koukias. The opera depicts a young Greek woman's departure for Australia and her settlement there. Her tale is loosely based on that of Koukias’ mother, and the opera makes direct reference to her at the end of the show when a slide picture of her appears, along with a tape of her voice intoning an old village song.

Tesla – Lightning in His Hand is a large-scale opera about Serbian American engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla (1856–1943), composed by Constantine Koukias, a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, where he is known by his Greek name of Konstantin Koukias, with libretto by Marianne Fisher.

The Lunch Box is a chamber opera by Thai composer Thanapoom Sirichang and Thai librettist Bringkop Vora-Urai. Composed entirely in Tasmania under the guidance of IHOS Artistic Director Constantine Koukias, The Lunch Box may be the first opera sung in Thai to blend traditional Thai music and contemporary Western opera.

Prayer Bells is a choral concert piece by Tasmanian (Australian) composer Constantine Koukias featuring dozens of handbells cast for the celebration of Australia's 2001 Centenary of Federation. Also comprising three solo cantors and a small male choir, the one-hour work premiered at the Federation Festival of Melbourne in 2001. Since then it has been performed in Australia in Launceston, Canberra, Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart, Wollongong and Sydney. It had its USA premiere at the Chicago Cultural Center.

MIKROVION, by Constantine Koukias a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, where he is known by his Greek name of Konstantin Koukias. This opera is described by Maria Shevtsova as "an epic opera about AIDS".

Olegas is an opera based on the life of Lithuanian-born Tasmanian wilderness photographer Olegas Truchanas. Music for the opera was composed by Constantine Koukias, Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, where he is known by his Greek name of Konstantin Koukias. The libretto was written by Natasha Cica.

IHOS Music Theatre and Opera is a Tasmanian opera company was established in Hobart in 1990, by composer and artistic director Constantine Koukias, and production director Werner Ihlenfeld to create original music-theatre and opera works.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Constantine Koukias: Represented Artist Profile". Australian Music Centre. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  2. ↑ Kerry, Gordon 2009, New Classical Music: Composing Australia, UNSW Press, Sydney
  3. ↑ RealTime 2000, In Repertoire: A Selected Guide to Australian Music Theatre, Australia Council
  4. 1 2 "Barbarians : opera by Constantine Koukias: Work". Australian Music Centre. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  5. 1 2 "The Barbarians | ArtsHub Australia". Performing.artshub.com.au. 23 January 2012. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Greek Festival of Sydney 2004". Greekfestivalofsydney.com.au. 29 September 2002. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  7. 1 2 "New Light on Liturgy - The Spirit of Things - ABC Radio National (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Prayer Bells IHOS Opera". YouTube. 2 March 2014. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "Greek poet becomes a Greek opera". Neos Kosmos. 13 January 2012. Archived from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Past nominees and winners". Helpmann Awards. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "IDEA 2012 winners revealed". Australian Design Review. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Speciale aanbieding festival Karavaan | Actueel | Het Park - Schouwburg Hoorn". Hetpark.nl. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "Gallipoli Centenary Composer Competition winners announced | radioinfo.com.au". www.radioinfo.com.au. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  14. ↑ "Gabriel Smart". Gabriel Smart. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  15. ↑ "Memento Mori". Theatre Museum. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  16. ↑ "Before The Flame Goes Out". australianmusiccentre.
  17. ↑ "Nadia Ratsimandresy". Ondist Nadia Ratsimandresy.
  18. ↑ Knehans, Douglas. "American Prize winner". The American Prize. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  19. ↑ "Dark Mofo Festival". Dark Mofo Festival. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
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