Skip to content
Surf Wiki
Save to docs
arts

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Iakovos Kambanellis

Greek poet and playwright


Greek poet and playwright

FieldValue
imageIakovos Kampanellis.jpg
nameIakovos Kampanellis
birth_date
birth_placeNaxos, Greece
death_date
death_placeAthens, Greece
occupationWriter
known_for"Mauthausen Trilogy"
websiteOfficial website

Iakovos Kambanellis (Greek: Ιάκωβος Καμπανέλλης; 2 December 1921 – 29 March 2011) was a Greek poet, playwright, screenwriter, lyricist, and novelist.

Biography

Born 2 December 1921 in Hora on the island of Naxos, the sixth of nine children of Stefanos Kampanellis, an experienced pharmacist, and Aikaterini Laskari. His father came from Chios, while his mother came from an old noble family in Istanbul. Iakovos Kambanellis appeared as one of the most prominent Greek playwrights of the 20th century and he is considered to be the father of modern Greek theater. As a survivor of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, he wrote the lyrics of the "Mauthausen Trilogy" with music by Mikis Theodorakis. He has also written a memoir known as Mauthausen describing his experiences from the concentration camp. He wrote the scripts of at least 12 films and he directed three of them. In addition, he is well known as a lyricist, having written the lyrics for more than 100 songs. He was a member of the board of the Cultural Foundation of the National Bank of Greece (MIET – Morfotiko Idryma Ethnikis Trapezis), along with some of the most prominent Greek artists. From 1981 to 1987, he was Director of the Radio section of the Greek National Broadcasting Company (E.R.T.). In 2000 he was elected member of the Academy of Athens. The same year he was awarded the medal of the Order of Phoenix by the President of the Greek Republic.

Death

Kambanellis was rushed to the hospital on 4 February 2011 due to complications of his long-term kidney failure. At the age of 89, he died on 29 March 2011 from kidney failure, nine days after his wife's death.

Theatre

YearTransliterationTitlePerformed at
1950Choros pano sta stachyaΧορός πάνω στα στάχυα
Dance upon the CobsAdamandios Lemos Company
1955–56Evdomi mera tis dimourgiasΈβδομη μέρα της δημιουργίας
Seventh Day of CreationNational Theatre, 2nd stage
1957Aftos kai to panteloni touΑυτός και το παντελόνι του
He and his pantsVassilis Diamantopoulos
1957I kryfi zoi tou Warren MittyΗ κρυφή ζωή του Γουώρεν Μήττυ
The secret life of Warren Mitty Vassilis Diamantopoulos
1957–58I Avli ton ThavmatonΑυλή των Θαυμάτων
The Courtyard of MiraclesArt Theatre
1958–59I ilikia tis nihtasΗ ηλικία της νύχτας
The Age of NightArt Theatre
1959O Gorillas ke i OrtansiaΟ Γορίλας και η Ορτανσία
The Gorilla and the HydrangeaElsa Verghi Theater Company
1959–60Paramythi choris onomaΠαραμύθι χωρίς Όνομα
Fairy tale without a NameVasslis Diamantopoulos New Theatre
1963–64Geitonia ton angelonΓειτονιά των αγγέλων
Neighborhood of AngelsKarezis' Company
1966–67Viva AspasiaΒίβα Ασπασία
" Long live Aspasia"Karezis' Company
1966–67Odyssea gyrise spitiΟδυσσέα γύρισε σπίτι
Ulysses, come homeArt Theatre
1970–71Apikia ton timorimenonΑποικία των τιμωρημένων
Colony of the PunishedMarietta Rialdi Experimental Theatre
1971–72AspasiaΑσπασία
AspasiaKarezi-Kazakos Company
1972–73To megalo mas tsirkoΤο μεγάλο μας τσίρκο
Our Great CircusKarezi-Kazakos Company
1974To kouki kai to revythiΤο κουκί και το ρεβύθι
The Chickpea and the Broad BeanKarezi-Kazakos Company
1975O ehthros LaosΟ εχθρός λαός
The Rival PeopleKarezi-Kazakos Company
1976–77Prossopa yia violi ke orhistraΠρόσωπα για βιολί και ορχήστρα
Characters For Violin And OrchestraArt Theatre
1978–79Ta tessera podia tou trapeziouΤα τέσσερα πόδια του τραπεζιού
The Four Legs of the TableArt Theatre
1981O babas o polemosΟ μπαμπάς ο πόλεμος
Daddy WarArt Theatre
1988O aoratos ThiasosΟ αόρατος Θίασος
The Invisible TroupeNational Theatre

Cinema

He wrote several scripts for films including:

  • Stella directed by Michael Cacoyiannis
  • O Drakos (The Ogre of Athens) directed by Nikos Koundouros
  • Arpagi tis Persefonis (The Siege of Persephone) directed by Grigoris Grigoriou
  • To kanoni kai t'aïdoni (The Cannon and the Nightingale) directed by himself and Giorgos Kampanellis

Many of his plays are translated in several languages and produced in countries all over the world: in Austria, Bulgaria, Iran, England, Germany, Hungary, Romania, U.S.A., Russia, China, Norway and Sweden. His plays translated in Iran by Reza Shirmarz, famous playwright, translator, author and researcher, have been republished several times in a short time. He worked as a journalist in newspapers Eleftheria (1963–65), Anendotos (1965–66) and Nea (1975-1980). He has been a member of the Greek Theatre Writers' Company.

References

References

  1. link. (5 June 2011)
  2. [http://www.fundersonline.org/orpheusprofile.asp?AN=BAGR001], Cultural Foundation of the National Bank of Greece website. Accessed 4 May 2022.
  3. [http://www.tanea.gr/default.asp?pid=2&ct=4&artid=4616637 Στην εντατική ο Ιάκωβος Καμπανέλλης]
  4. Harris M. Lentz III. (2014). "Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2011". McFarland.
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Iakovos Kambanellis — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report