Cheap Smokes | Athens | To March 13

An operetta on life and romance in 1990s Athens, the Greek National Opera’s latest production is an adaptation of a film by Renos Haralambidis, “Cheap Smokes,” which helped shape the independent Greek film scene that emerged at the time.

Featuring the popular film director and actor himself in the role of narrator, the production is based on a libretto by Petros Vouniseas and directed by Konstantinos Rigos. It features 19 songs with lyrics by Panagiotis Kalantzopoulos, Petros Vouniseas, Michalis Ganas and Eleni Zioga celebrating a film that captured the zeitgeist like few others, in a dense, 23-day shoot in Athens during the August lull in 1999.

Shows take place on several dates through March 13 and will feature English surtitles. For more information and tickets, visit nationalopera.gr.

Greek National Opera, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, 364 Syngrou, Kallithea, tel 213.088.5700