Zorba

Thousands of Greeks on Sept. 8 bid farewell to Mikis Theodorakis, a world-renowned activist and musician whose work brought Greek culture to a global audience in the latter 20th century.

Theodorakis, whose musical score for the 1964 movie "Zorba the Greek" helped foster a carefree image of Greece abroad for millions, died on Sept. 2 aged 96.

Greece has declared three days of mourning in memory of composer Mikis Theodorakis, who died at the age of 96.

"The voice of the people fell silent," Greek newspapers wrote on the front page on the occasion of the death of the legendary composer of the film "Zorba the Greek".

The former artistic director of the Thessaloniki Concert Hall, George-Emmanuel Lazaridis, says he was forced to step down from his post in November last year by Culture Minister Myrsini Zorba.

In an open letter, the prominent pianist, who served in the post for eight years, said Zorba asked him to resign in a phone call.

The world popular ballet "Zorba the Greek" will take the stage for the last time April 29 and 30 after a six-year run in Ankara, said Volkan Ersoy, director of Ankara State Opera and Ballet in an interview with state-run Anadolu Agency.

A public row has broken out between Greek Culture Minister Myrsini Zorba and the artist who created the glass sculpture of the "Runner" over an alleged proposal to donate the 12-meter tall piece to North Macedonia as part of friendship building measures between the two countries in the wake of the Prespes name accord.

"Zorba the Greek" composer Mikis Theodorakis has undergone surgery in Athens to have a pacemaker installed.
A hospital statement says Theodorakis, who is 94, had the operation Friday and is recuperating in his room.
Theodorakis won international acclaim and inspired millions at home with his prolific work and political defiance during Greece's 1967-74 military dictatorship.

The historic Panathenaic Stadium (Kallimarmaro) is hosting the Sofia Opera Ballet and the Greek National Opera Orchestra in a production of Lorca Massine's ballet of Mikis Theodorakis's classic score "Zorba," based on the legendary hero created by Nikos Kazantzakis and immortalized on the silver screen by Anthony Quinn in the 1964 Michael Cacoyannis film.

As part of the 9th International Istanbul Opera Festival, Nikos Kazancakis' world famous opera, 'Zorba the Greek' was on the stage on July 7 at Zorlu PSM with the music of Mikis Theodorakis and choreography of Lorca Massine. The work was staged by the Ankara State Opera and Ballet. The festival will end on July 10.

Popular writing duo Thanasis Papathanasiou and Michalis Reppas have adapted Nikos Kazantzakis's emblematic novel "Zorba the Greek" for the stage in a Greek production directed by veteran Stamatis Fassoulis and starring Grigoris Valtinos in the title role.

Hospital officials on Greece's island of Crete say German-born cinematographer Walter Lassally, who won an Academy Award for the 1964 movie Zorba the Greek, has died following complications from surgery. He was 90.