Greek National Conservatoire

The Greek National Conservatoire (Greek: Εθνικό Ωδείο) was founded in Athens in 1926 by the composer Manolis Kalomiris and a number of other notable artists like Charikleia Kalomoiri, Marika Kotopouli, Dionysios Lavrangas, and Sophia Spanoudi. For a number of years the conservatoire was the only Greek educational and cultural organization to approach international Greek community by opening branches in Egypt and Cyprus (1948). Over the years many well-known artists cooperated with the conservatoire, like Maria Callas, Gabriel Pierné, Dimitris Mitropoulos, and Avra Theodoropoulou. Among the conservatoire's students were Maria Callas, Leonidas Kavakos, Agnes Baltsa, and Manto. When the Greek National Opera was founded in 1940 two thirds...