The Greek Passion (opera)

The Greek Passion (Czech Řecké pašije) is an opera in four acts by Bohuslav Martinů. The English-language libretto, by the composer, is based on Jonathan Griffin's translation of the novel The Greek Passion (or Christ Recrucified) by Nikos Kazantzakis.

The opera exists in two versions. Martinů wrote the original version from 1954 to 1957. He offered this original version of the opera in 1957 to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where the music director, Rafael Kubelík, and the general administrator, David Webster, had approved the score for production. However, following intervention by Sir Arthur Bliss, the company then demurred on the production and did not stage the work at the time.

The composer then produced a second version of the opera, which received its first performance at the Zurich Opera, Zürich on 9 June 1961, after Martinů's death in 1959. The second version received its first UK production at Welsh National Opera on 29 April 1981, conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras. The first US production was in 1981, at the Metropolitan Opera, in a production by the Indiana University School of Music. However, the first version was later restored under the supervision of Aleš Březina. The restored version was produced at Covent Garden in April 2000. This version received its Czech Republic premiere in January 2005. The work's first performance in Greece was in Thessaloniki in 2005, using a Greek translation by Ioanna Manoledaki, based closely on the wording of Kazantzakis's novel; the conductor was Christian von Gehren.

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