Hope of a Homeland

The opera Elpis Patridos (Hope of a Homeland) looks to the outbreak of the Greek Revolution of 1821 and the events that preceded it. A Greek family from Smyrna finds itself drawn into the historic events, the people and ideas that played a leading role in the Struggle, and the first steps towards the creation of a modern Greek state. Courageous figures who shaped the Revolution, whether intellectually, spiritually or through their bold decisions and actions—Rigas, Cappodistrias, the Friendly Society, Papaflessas, Mavrokordatos, the heroic fighters—bring to life the desperate need for independence, while iconic episodes, from the proclamation of the Revolution to the first National Assembly at Epidaurus, convey the dreams they nurtured of a free homeland and a fairer life. The imprint these events left on the souls of the ordinary folk who turned the dreams into reality, their innermost feelings, the people they met and the lives of sacrifice and passion they led, help paint the picture of a unique era which gave birth to hope and breathed new life into long-standing demands for freedom and democracy.