"Aesop's fables" by Dimitris Papadimitriou

The Onassis Stegi commissioned Dimitris Papadimitriou to compose a multi-part musical work taking Aesop’s fables as his starting point. The work is primarily orchestral, with singers and a narrator bringing the fables’ animal heroes to life using shadow puppets rooted in the Karaghiozis tradition but not limited to it.

The composer Dimitris Papadimitriou interprets Aesop’s fables as providing archetypal lessons in citizenship. They mold our social and political thought, and differ from the classical fairytales of the European tradition in not seeking recourse to fear or the supernatural. Τhe Fables are enacted in the singular world of the shadow puppet theater, which also provides the setting in which Aesop/Karaghiozis relates scenes from his life between tales.

Aesop traveled widely, which is why so many countries and cities claim him as their own. Although some say he never lived, we accept him as a real person, since his presence is still so palpable and his bequest to Mankind so important.

His heroes are mainly animals that live, speak and act like men. His dialogues are brief, his stories short, and they all end with a lesson to be learned. Aesop’s fables have traveled the length and breadth of the world. Very different cultures are familiar with his fables, or have tales, stories and humorous narratives based on them. His fables are numerous, and while some are very well-known, others are less so.