The Swan of Pesaro

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Gioachino Rossini, The Swan of Pesaro, 2012

Author: Kostis Papaioannou
Illustrator: Eleni Tsampra

Client: GREEK NATIONAL OPERA / EΘΝΙΚΗ ΛΥΡΙΚΗ ΣΚΗΝΗ

Publisher: Greek National Opera / Eθνική Λυρική Σκηνή

The comic book “Gioachino Rossini, The Swan of Pesaro”, portrays the famous musician’s personality as well as several key events of his life and work. It was created as a side project of the Greek National Opera's education programme “Interactive Opera for Primary Schools” which began in May 2012 and completed in June 2013. Among the initiative’s educational purposes was the cultivation of children combing theory and praxis and the essential collaboration between students, parents, and local community.

The pupils from 70 primary schools in different parts of Greece, that participated in the programme, were given the opportunity to learn about the world of opera from an insider's perspective by taking part in all the different steps of production, in this case Gioachino Rossini's The Barber of Seville. Assisted by their teachers, as well as the Greek National Opera's education team, they would construct some of the props that were needed for the production, play theatrical games, and learn about the work done behind the scenes.

The comic, was distributed to the students, as supplementary material, attempting to introduce them in the environment and the specific historical context that influenced the thought and work of the famous musician. Specifically, it is placed in several towns in Italy, where Gioachino Rossini lived and produced his famous woks, describing at the same time Southern Europe’s 19th century's political and ideological evolutions.

The programme would end in every school with a performance, in which the children sang along with the choir, to an audience made up of their parents, teachers and peers.