The birth of Greek ottocento opera
Newsletter 99 carried a short article on the birth of Greek opera in the ottocento with a particular focus on the theatre of San Giacomo, the main theatre in Corfu, which later became its Town Hall, only to be destroyed in the Second World War. The full article by Kostas Kardamis can be found here (you will need an Adobe Acrobat reader which can be downloaded from here)
The Greek contribution to 19th century opera is starting to be fully documented and, hopefully, to be performed, as with the recent production of Carrer's Marathon Salamis, see here. Recordings of Carrer's (also spelt Karrer) Despo and Samaras Rhea (reviewed in Newsletter 98) are also now available from http://www.klassikon.com/
Of particular importance in this history is Nikolaos Halikiopoulos Mantzaros (Niccolo Calichiopulo Manzaro) who was born in Corfù on October 26, 1795 and died there on April 12, 1872 and is credited as the founder of the Greek ottocento school. He was a lifelong friend of Zingarelli, Bellini's teacher. Although offered various musical posts in Italy, he preferred to remain in Corfu teaching and helping to found the first Greek conservatory, the Società Filarmonica di Corfù.
HMRL (Hellenic Music Research Lab), part of the Ionian University of Corfù, have issued a CD of early works (1815-1827) by Mantzaros, see here. It can also be ordered over the web, see here.
In 2007, HMRL are planning to produce his one-act opera Don Crepuscolo, at Athens Megaron Concert Hall. This is his only extant operatic work and was staged in the San Giacomo theatre in Corfu in 1815. In fact Grove states that this is the earliest extant Greek opera.