From Today's Zaman:

Euripides’ ancient tragedy “Phaeton” was staged for the first time ever in the modern world yesterday in the ancient city of Ephesus as part of the ongoing 22nd edition of the İzmir International Festival.

The premiere began with Greek tenor Mario Frangoulis taking to the stage at the historic Celsus Library at 9:30 p.m. Phaeton was featured as part of this year’s “Turkish-Greek Art Get-together” portion of the annual festival.

The manuscripts of the tragedy, believed to be about 2,400 years old, were recovered in the 1890s in Egypt when experts discovered that a number of ancient Egyptian mummies were actually wrapped in old parchments on which Euripides’s tragedy had been written. The parchments were believed to be among those saved during a fire at the Library of Alexandria.

The performance was directed by Nikos Charalambous and featured a musical collage of ancient hymns dedicated to Apollo, one of the 12 principal gods of Greek mythology. Frangoulis sang fragments from Phaeton during the performance.

Filiz Eczacıbaşı Sarper, chairman of the İzmir Foundation for Culture, Art and Education (İKSEV), which organizes the annual İzmir International Festival, said the staging of Euripides’ ancient tragedy after 2,400 is very significant for the theater business. “İzmir has been the scene of important activities since 2001 as part of the festival’s Turkish-Greek Art Get-together section. We attach great importance to this festival. … It has strengthened the fraternal ties between the two peoples (Turks and Greeks), who share the two coasts of the same sea and a common culture,” she said.

Sarper noted that this year’s festival was more important than those held in previous years because of the tragedy’s premiere. “This premiere will be a significant step in theatre history,” she said.

The İzmir International Festival will run until July 22, featuring 10 performances under the slogan “Feeding our appetite for art.” It will end on a high note this year, with world-renowned maestro Zubin Mehta conducting the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino orchestra at the closing concert on July 22 at the Celsus library.

In Greek mythology, Phaeton, the son of Eos, the goddess of dawn, bragged to his friends that his father was the sun god, Helios. One of his friends, however, refused to believe him and said his mother was lying. Phaeton went to his father, Helios, who swore to give Phaeton anything he should ask for to prove his divine paternity. Phaeton wanted to drive his chariot for a day. Though Helios tried to talk him out of it, Phaeton was adamant.

When the day came, Phaeton panicked and lost control of the horses that drew the chariot. First it veered too high, so that the earth grew cold. Then it dipped too close, and the vegetation dried and burned. He accidentally turned most of Africa into desert; burning the skin of the Ethiopians black. Eventually, Zeus was forced to intervene by striking the runaway chariot with a lightening bolt to stop it and Phaeton plunged into a river. His sisters grieved so much that they were turned into trees that weep golden amber.

This story has given rise to two latter-day meanings of “phaeton”: a person who drives a chariot or coach, especially at a reckless or dangerous speed, or a person that will or may “set the world on fire.”

... there are scattered photos of the production here and there ... this is the most interesting:



... I'm kind of hoping something shows up on YouTube ...