Lysistrata: A Hilarious Opera
Stamatis Kraounakis's operetta on Aristophanes' Lysistrata played two nights at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus on 12 and 13 June 2026, with Lena Ouzounidou in the title role and Dimitra Galani as Athena.
Lysistrata: A Hilarious Opera was Stamatis Kraounakis’s operetta on the comedy by Aristophanes, staged at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus on 12 and 13 June 2026. Kraounakis wrote the music and the text and directed the production. The Athens Epidaurus Festival produced it with GR Entertainment as part of the Farewell Celebrations, the Odeon’s last month of performances before it closed for restoration.
Thirty performers and musicians took the stage. Lena Ouzounidou sang Lysistrata, and Dimitra Galani appeared as the goddess Athena, singing a hymn to Athens that closed the first part. Lina Nikolakopoulou, George Hadjidakis and Lakis Lazopoulos contributed to the libretto, and Dimitrios Andreadis led the on-stage band from the piano.
The scenographer Takis designed the sets and costumes, and Thodoris Panas the choreography. Aristophanes wrote Lysistrata in 411 BC, during the Peloponnesian War. In the play the women of Athens seize the Acropolis, where the public treasury is kept, to stop the war.