Ioanna Forti & Athens Quintet «Dimitris Dounis»

The festival’s musical journey begins on 4/8 with a musical coexistence of the major mezzo-soprano singer Ioanna Forti and the Athens Quintet «Dimitris Dounis», a special quintet of plucked string instruments, which was established in 2009 to honor one of the greatest mandolin virtuoso, member of the famous «Athenian Mandolinata» by Nikolaos Lavdas. The program of the Athens Quintet includes a wide range of works starting from Baroque and Vivaldi, the Napolitan Tarantella of Raffaele Calace, the Chitarrata of Spyros Samaras, up to the contemporary soundtrack music (of Nicola Piovani from the film La Vita e bella) but also the Concert of Manos Hadjidakis. Ioanna Forti, one from the most experienced and flexible Greek singers, has excelled in an unusually broad and diverse repertoire, that includes opera, operetta, baroque music, Greek music, musical and rock music.

The Italian rising star in mandolin Raffaele La Ragione will perform, as guest star, with Athens Quintet at their Megaro Gyzi concert.

Ioanna Forti, mezzo-soprano&

Giorgos Goumenakis, mandolin

Michalis Sidiropoulos, mandolin

Yannis Goumenakis, mandola

Giorgos Theodoropoulos, mandocello

Vassiliki Leondaris, classical guitar

Guest star:
Raffaele La Ragione, mandolin