Elli Papakonstantinou

Papakonstantinou creates live performances with an emphasis on opera, new plays and new media. While revisiting the classics in immersive experiences that involve multiple actors of the community, her art connects notions of myth, politics and major narratives of our days.
Papakonstantinou has been commissioned by European Capitals of Culture “Valletta18” (Malta), “Eleusis21” (Greece) and “Pafos17” (Cyprus) and has presented her work for the European Parliament for Culture in 2017. Her creations tour internationally including representing Greece at PQ (official Hellenic participation Prague Quadrennial 2015). Amongst other artistic achievements, her work The Cave was awarded a “Music Theatre Now 2018-19 international award”, while for other works she has received a “First Prize Award” at the Edinburgh Festival (UK) and a “First Prize Award 2017” for the REP, Birmingham (UK).
Papakonstantinou shaped her ideas from the civic movements that emerged in Greece during the crisis. She pledges her talent to increase the peace. During the crisis in Greece, Papakonstantinou engaged herself beyond the “usual” role of a theatre director to become politically engaged entrepreneur, founded and directed "Vyrsodepseio", a 3.000 sq.m. art space in Athens (2011-2017). “Vyrsodepseio” served as a base for the international performance company ODC Ensemble (directed by Papakonstantinou since 2002) but also as a vibrant hub, an evolving project for horizontal politics and synergies with a focus on international networking (a proud partner of three Creative Europe projects and member of the independent networks Trans Europe Halles and IETM).
Named a Visiting CCRMA Scholar by Stanford University and a visiting scholar by Princeton University and nominated twice with a Fulbright Artist’s Award, Papakonstantinou tends to defy traditional categories. She conducted a free fall on the same day as directing Shakespeare’s Richard II for the first time. She is a mountaineer and her passion for the high peaks often takes her as far as the top of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania or the Himalayas; she could spend her life under water and is always looking for more opportunities to create cross sectorial and multimedia hybrid work. Papakonstantinou founded the company ODC Ensemble to challenge what opera and music theatre is all about. She writes and directs all of the company’s works.
Papakonstantinou has lived in the UK for over a decade and has created and presented her work in international festivals and venues like: Edinburgh Festival (UK), LaMaMa E.T.C. (USA), the West End (UK), Prague Quadrennial 15 (CH), National Theatre of Greece (GR), Inauguration Ceremony of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (EG), Operadagen Festival (HL), Neukoellner Oper Berlin (GE), Megaron (The Athens Concert Hall) (GR), Musiktheater Festival (AU) and more.
Papakonstantinou holds a BA at the School of Arts, University of Thessaloniki (GR) and an MA and M.Phil at the Royal Holloway, University of London (UK).
Her creation Oedipus: Sex with Mum was blinding premiered at Stanford University, USA, and a new opera piece (The kindly ones) has been presented at the Mauthausen Concentration Camp Memorial in Austria.