The poet Nikos Kavadias will be met by Christos Konstantopoulos on the evening of Thursday, August 8 at 9 pm in the garden of “Polyedros”. His companion on this journey, in the unpredictable waters of the poet of the sea, is Giorgos Rigas on the guitar.
This appearance was the occasion to talk with Christos Konstantopoulos about summer and the sea, the poetry of Nikos Kavadias and his favorite poem, about how he feels interpreting his words and much more.
Nikos Kavadias, the poet of the sea. What comes to mind when you hear the word “sea”:
Looking away. To sit and watch from the harbor the ships that come and go. Especially the ones that leave. I’ve always loved the feeling of running away. It’s like letting the sea – always dominant in motion – take you to an unknown place. Without a destination. Arriving in a strange land where your freedom awaits you. I love the sea because it is full of contrasts. Its calm can become a wild storm and if you are brave you want to experience both.
The performance was presented at the “Apanemia” boutique. How will it “change” in Patras, what is the role of different audiences in a show and how does it transform it?
That’s for the public to decide. Every time it’s different and that’s interesting to me. The breaths each time are different. Their looks are different. The audience shapes the energy of the space and I follow. The audience is the guide every time, even if they don’t understand it. What I do is to embellish and suggest the evolution of the mood created by the audience. Although I am confident that not much will change this time.
“Apanemia” in Plaka and “Polyedros” in Patras have a lot in common. First of all, they are two historical venues ideally made to embrace performances on the theme of poetry set to music, and people are well versed in these kinds of performances. It’s like the atmosphere was created just for that. In “Apanemia” we had the most beautiful trips and I can’t wait for the same to happen in “Polyedros”. I’m anxious but deep down I think it will be – if not more – just as magical as the boite.
How do you feel when you sing the lyrics of Kavadias on stage?
I feel a great responsibility. The poetry of Kavadias is emblematic. He is the most experienced poet we have. He lived everything he wrote to the fullest. I too am called to experience them and convince the listener that I have every reason to interpret them. That’s why before I tackled his songs, I studied in depth all his artistic work and even his life itself. Or at least what he himself showed from his life. I studied all his poems – even his hoards – I read “Vardia” for the 5th time and every time I read it I discover something new. I read for the umpteenth time his 3 poetry collections, many books written about him, records, testimonies, interviews. For two months I slept and woke up in the world of “Kolia” as his people called him.
With my partner, the excellent guitarist Giorgos Rigas, we rehearsed endlessly. After so much study – and after years of listening to the interpretations of the great performers who sang it – I feel that I have found my own way of approaching the songs which sometimes captivate me and make me passionate on stage, sometimes move me to the point of breaking my voice from the tension, they sometimes put me in an extroverted mood to describe his strange stories doric. For me, the musical-poetic world of Kavadias is the most complex and at the same time the most complete thing I have ever interpreted in my career.
Is there a particular poem by Kavadias that particularly touches you and why?
There are so many that touch me every season and each for different reasons. At the moment my favorite is “Letter to a Poet”. [..] Far, far away to travel and may the sun always find us alone. You camel cigarette smoking, yes, me too in a corner drinking whiskey[..]. Maybe because these lyrics have that sense of escape and freedom I was describing before.
On stage you are the “voice” of Kavadias. How do you think Nikos Kavadias himself would react if he heard his poems set to music?
Kavadias – mainly through his interviews – has given me the impression of a very sweet person, extremely supportive towards young people, always open to embrace poets, performers and all artists. The simplicity that possessed him was rare. I think he had the heart of an innocent child. This is also its greatness. A huge legend presented himself as the humblest man. So according to what I’m describing, I hope he would sit in a corner and look at me with that wet and deep look of his, as if to say “You’re doing well”!
What is your favorite song from the ones you will perform and what is the story behind it?
My favorite is “Esmeralda”. And the people who have heard me in the tribute mainly to this song are standing and probably not by chance. The story of this song is very interesting and funny at the same time. It is about the relationship between Kavadias and the poet Giorgos Seferis. The two met in 1937 in Marseille – the poet’s favorite city – when Seferis was on his way to London on business.
Kavadias, being spontaneous, thought of taking Seferis to the Rue de Phociens, the famous neighborhood with brothels. Seferis, as a more “decent” person, got angry and left. All Kavadias wanted was to introduce him to Esmeralda, a gypsy – as he mentions her in his writings – with whom he was in love at the time. Their reconciliation came after Kavadias dedicated his poem “Esmeralda” to Seferis in his last collection. That’s why I love Kavadias. Because he was spontaneous, simple, and extremely undreground. A true artist.
As a musician, is there a song from Kavadias’ poems set to music that you think stands out for its musical composition?
The credit goes to Thanos Mikroutsikos clearly. Almost everything stands out I think. Perhaps “Woman” stands out a bit more for the ingenuity of the composition. However, it is worth mentioning the special composition of Yiannis Spanos in “Mal du Départ” known to the general public as “Ideal and unworthy lover” as well as the special composition of Marisa Koch in “Fata Morgana”.
What is the “perfect” summer for you? What role does the sea play?
The perfect summer for me is enjoying a closed sea as a song I wrote says. Deserted, quiet, peaceful, swimming, “photosynthesis” in the sun, a lot of swimming, and in the late afternoon enjoying the sunset. I usually record the sun when it is hidden behind the mountain. Especially Patras has the most beautiful colors. The colors of the West are amazing. Then drinks until dark. I like the carelessness and sweetness of summer. And to do concerts and a lot of travel. If not really, at least journeys of the soul. On such a trip I am waiting for you on Thursday, let’s go far away together and get lost in the wild sea of ”Kolia”!
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