This week at the Nicosia International Festival

This week, three new productions will bring music, theatre and poetry lovers together as the Nicosia International Festival continues. Young local artists and established creatives from the island will take to the Nicosia Municipal Theatre stage in the coming days to present unique cultural performances.

First up is a musical performance based on the poetry of Charles Baudelaire. Titled Les Fleur du Mal – The Blossoms of Evil, Wednesday night’s performance will include contemporary scholarly music works by composer George Papageorgiou based on Baudelaire’s poetry collection.

Baudelaire’s poetry, with the same name, is considered to be one of the most important works of world literature, whose first edition was banned by the French authorities in 1857. The music bringing this concert to life is written for a small orchestral ensemble of flute, clarinet, violin, cello, double bass, piano and percussion. Alongside the Chronos Contemporary Music Ensemble, choreography by Stefani Pastellas will accompany the performance, narration by actor Fotis Apostolidis and photography by Stefanos Kouratzis.

Before the performance begins at 8.30pm, a discussion open to the public with the composer and Dr Mary Rousou, a professor from the University of Cyprus, will be held at the Theatre at 7pm.

The live music will continue on Thursday evening as two ensembles meet on stage. The Quintus Ensemble and the Chamber Fusion Quintet will present the Cypriot Music Revisited concert which will highlight the global character of Cypriot traditional music. Classical instruments will present a different musical journey of the island’s traditional music, guided by the orchestrations of Neocles Neofytidis and accompanied by poems by Cypriots Dimitris Lipertis, Michalis Pasiardis and Kostas Montis.

The final performance for this week is a Sunday concert which pays tribute to the Greek theatrical song. Titled Six & Five, the performance brings together a group of Cypriot artists who celebrate the power of the combination of what is known as the fifth art (music) and sixth art (theatre). Popular and less-known songs from the Greek theatre scene will be presented in new arrangements.

The pieces chosen highlight the work of many renowned Greek composers of the 20th and 21st centuries such as Hatzidakis, Theodorakis, Xarchakos and Karamouratidis. On stage, singer Katerina Paraschou will perform live accompanied by a seven-piece orchestra, arranged by the composer Kyriakos Costas. Also on stage will be actress Savina Georgiou, with texts by Stavros Stavrou, under the direction of Michalis Kolokotronis.

Les Fleur du Mal – The Blossoms of Evil

Concert-performance with music by composer George Papageorgiou based on the poetry collection by Charles Baudelaire. February 21. Nicosia Municipal Theatre, Nicosia. 8.30pm. In Greek. www.soldoutticketbox.com

Cypriot Music Revisited

Concert by the Quintus Ensemble and the Chamber Fusion Quintet. February 22. Nicosia Municipal Theatre, Nicosia. 8.30pm. In Greek. www.soldoutticketbox.com

Six & Five

Performance of Greek theatrical songs, curated by Kyriakos Kosta and Katerina Paraschou. February 25. Nicosia Municipal Theatre, Nicosia. 8.30pm. www.soldoutticketbox.com