Newspaper Anadolu Ajansi 12.03.2011
Anadolu Ajansi 12.03.2011 - The conductor Lisa Xanthopoulou has enchanted music lovers. As a woman in a male-dominated profession, she has encountered many difficulties and has been able to succeed only with a great deal of work......Music lovers gave them a standing ovation..read more
Eleftherotypia press- 05.11.2007
..."It is the people who will bring pressure to bear on our political leadership, so that the city can acquire a bona fide opera. And the people seem to want an Opera House in Thessaloniki." Something which, however, may take some time. "I'm used to delays. A beginning has been made, and there is no turning back."...Interview Sakis Apostolakis...read more
www.classicalmusic.gr, 28.08.2007
...The public of Thessaloniki is in my opinion the most demanding and discerning in the country. The cultural life of the city has grown in leaps and bounds in the last 15 years. Of course, the problem of a lack of a venue still remains, as well as the absolute necessity of adequate funding for cultural organizations, so that the cultural life of the city can continue to flourish, creating a tradition, a significant statement which is missing in regard to classical music. Thessaloniki and northern Greece need a permanent Opera House, and it is in this direction that current political will seems to be steadily bending. An Opera House should not be considered a dream, but rather as something quite self-evident... Interview Sofia Xygala...read more
...On the one hand, I believe that a viable independent musical theatre in the Balkans must educate its future audiences, on the other hand, such education about opera simply does not exist. Our goal was to draw in children and young people so that they could discover the magical world of opera for themselves, and we succeeded. Our ambition is to offer our still-young audiences intellectual yet unforgettable experiences... - Interview Anastasia Grigoriadou...read more
www.classicalmusic.gr, February 2007
...Gender is a biological issue; the music that flows through our veins knows no gender. My musical interpretation of Rosalinde, or any other character, for that matter, could never be influenced by the fact that I am a woman. When I am at the podium conducting the Csárdás, I am possessed by Greek perseverance and Hungarian passion... - Interview Paris Konstantinidis...read more
... "I have dedicated myself to Thessaloniki Opera and would like at some point to devote some time to my own personal artistic development. The dream of every maestro is to conduct at the most famous opera houses in the world and to work with the greatest orchestras. If I can hazard a metaphor: driving can be pleasant, but not so nice if the car has problems; some times it's expensive when - as a result of carelessness - you have to pay a fine or cover a sudden repair, or it can even be lethal - due to inexperience, or fate - when an accident occurs; often it can be annoying when there is a lot of traffic, even a nightmare when no parking spaces are available - but it is a joy in the car of our dreams, cruising along in the fast lane!" ...- Interview Vasilis Papavasiliou..read more
...The Artistic Director of Thessaloniki Opera, conductor Lisa Xanthopoulou, caused a stir when, during a press conference, she addressed these questions to the General Secretary of the Ministry of Culture Mr. Christos Zachopoulos, asking for a clearer view...read more
Learning Tricks from Expert Maestros - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 22 November 2002
ELLEN KOHLHAAS ...This is a man's domain and a woman conductor is still an unusual sight for orchestra and public. "Although I do not feel exotic myself as a person, the orchestra puts a sharper focus on a woman on the rostrum that on a man...read more
Interview with Lisa Xanthopoulou, Coblenz, 25 May 2006
...Actually, conducting is a matter of co-ordination and of service – the conductor serves the orchestra. He is not the powerful tyrant so often portrayed. But the myth persists. And it transforms itself: if someone today were to trample on an orchestra like Furtwängler, I believe few would choose him as a principal conductor. The attitude of the orchestra has changed...read more