A unique theatrical journey into the life and music
of the global and eternal Manolis Chiotis
“That’s where I lived my life. On the stage.
With these materials, the materials of the stage, I will tell you my story.
Now, open your heart – and listen”
The theatrical play “MANOLIS | heart on four strings” in a new direction by Ioli Andreade comes this summer to the Atrium of the "Hellenic Cosmos" Cultural Centre, produced by the "Hellenic Cosmos" Cultural Centre of the Foundation of the Hellenic World and the company Methexis of Christos Tripodis.
A special journey into the life and music of the global and eternal Manolis Chiotis unfolds on a magical stage, with Ioli Andreade and Aris Asproulis signing the first theatrical work about the ingenious and pioneering Greek musician. A captivating musical-theatrical performance, together with a unique leading cast and live orchestra, will premiere on Thursday, June 11, 2026 at 21:00.
Starring the actors and singers: Gerasimos Gennatas, Penny Baltatzi, Vanessa Adamopoulou, Argyris Angelou, Vasilis Margetis, Eleni Mischopoulou, Konstantinos Moutaftsis, Thanos Koniaris and the musicians: Pavlos Pafranidis, Vangelis Kalamaras, Katerina Segouna-Pliogkou, Konstantinos Sapounis and Kostas Bountouris.
In the role of Manolis Chiotis’ mother, the great lady of Greek song Pitsa Papadopoulou for a limited number of performances. 
A few words about the play
On a magical stage, in a world between reality and dream, Manolis Chiotis and the people close to him speak in the first person. They confess. Not rumors. Not false stories. They confess the core of the ethos and universe that this great creator embodied. A core marked by loss, pain, envy, hard work, but also success, recognition, inspiration, love, boldness, innovation, honesty, and humanity.
The play follows the life of Manolis Chiotis from birth to death, through key milestones and great moments in his artistic journey, as well as in his personal life, where privately the contact of man with the divine is judged, and whether each person received and gave the share of love they were destined for.
With the presence of important songs such as “Perasmenes mou agapes”, “Iliovasilemata”, “O Pasatembos”, “To garsoni”, “Svise ti Floga”, “Apopse fila me”, “Moiazeis ki esi san Thalassa” and other great successes, in the new direction by Ioli Andreade, an ensemble of actors and musicians dives into the soul of the global and eternal Manolis Chiotis.
In a directorial approach where real and theatrical time intertwine, ages and dates magically disappear, the voices of the living and the dead sound equally, and human dreams know no end.
Director’s note by Ioli Andreade
For Fellini, dreams are the royal road to the unconscious. The directorial line of the performance lies in the desire for the free negotiation of certain key moments in the life of the pioneering Greek musician Manolis Chiotis as dream material. A dream within which everything can happen. Or rather almost everything, because even within the dream, the inner association follows the psychological content of a specific character each time. Not necessarily as that character truly was, but as he may have been recorded in the soul of Manolis Chiotis.
Equally important on this journey was the search for those points within ourselves—creators, contributors, and actors—that articulate a kinship with the subject of our research. Manolis Chiotis. How does each of us internalize this hero, this myth? With which aspect of him do we connect? His love for the bouzouki? His industriousness? His passion for perfection? His clear and luminous side? His revolutionary stance in every major and minor aspect of life?
For these and many more things, I thank Diamantis Chiotis. I thank him for the conversations, for his tender and penetrating perspective throughout this effort, and for the trust of this unique legacy.
The son of Manolis Chiotis, Diamantis Chiotis, writes about the theatrical play: “Just as a song confesses a story, so Ioli Andreade and Aris Asproulis embraced milestones of Manolis’ life and clothed them with his songs. References are made through a dream to certain situations that had remained ‘untouched’, with kindness, without offending. They also correct certain maestros of nonsense who have appeared from time to time claiming to ‘know’. Ioli and Aris worked with assimilation, understanding, and tender handling of Manolis’ affairs, dressing him with the coat of respect, sewn with their art. These pieces of Manolis’ life have been wrapped in love and truth, and as a theatrical work they are carried into a higher vibration through the guidance of director Ioli and the sensitivities of the actors.”
Excerpt from the preface of the book “MANOLIS / heart on four strings”
* The original theatrical play by Ioli Andreade and Aris Asproulis “MANOLIS / heart on four strings” was first staged at the State Theatre of Northern Greece in 2024, achieving great success and receiving excellent reviews. The play is presented for the first time in Athens in the summer of 2026 and engages with the magical condition of the open-air venue at the Atrium of the "Hellenic Cosmos" Cultural Centre, with a new cast and a new directorial perspective.
