It is an elegant, bilingual (Greek-English) publication, with rich photographic material from the performances and visits of the great Rudolf Nureyev in Greece. A publication made possible with the support of VERGOS AUCTIONS, the Ioannis S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, Danae Rallis and the major sponsor SAMOURKAS FOUNDATION.

The soul of this book, the man who motivated its writing, so that images of “Rudy” enchanting the audience of the Herodeion and charming his friends come to life before our eyes, is Dimitris Tsitouras. Dimitris Tsitouras – who was a personal friend of Nureyev – has undertaken the general editing of the book, which he dedicates to the memory of another Greek friend of Nureyev’s, Rozita Sokou.

According to what Dimitris Tsitouras says in his preface: “I had promised this book to Rudy, more than thirty years ago. Nureyev made his final performance at the Herodeion in 1991, to conduct a small Austrian orchestra in a nearly empty theatre, which personally filled me with sadness. We usually say a conductor resembles a dancer as he conducts; this time we had a dancer conducting the orchestra […] This year, 2023, marks sixty years since his first appearance in Greece (1963), and thirty years from his death (1993). It is, therefore, a great opportunity for the older generations to remember and for the younger ones to learn more about this legendary star[…]

This book falls within the purposes of our archive, since Rudolf Nureyev adorned and frequently visited Santorini, and we also have countless records from his appearances in Athens and his close links to Greek and his Greek friends. The structure of the book is the following: friend, professor and academic Manolis Korres describes Herodeion for us, showcasing the venue and its current use. He deserves my heartfelt gratitude. A brief biography of Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993) to assist readers with information on his life and career. Next, we present a rare document. In going through the material for the book, I came across a fantastic programme, which I present before Rudy’s 1963 Rudy’s appearances in Athens. The reader should notice that it pertains to a collaboration of the Greek National Tourism Organisation (EOT) and Athens is featured at the very top.

This is followed by Rudy’s appearances arranged in chronological order, with all the information we have on file, i.e. programmes, photographs, articles and sketches. Where the appropriate photos are not available, we borrow corresponding ones from books in our archive. The timeline of his appearances is followed texts and appendices by topic, allowing the reader to more easily follow everything connecting Rudy with Greece and the Greeks. Naturally. especially featured is his visit to Santorini and the house dedicated to him, something which he was aware of. Unfortunately, it was by that time too late for him to come to Santorini to see it and enjoy it in person. The photographs from Santorini are a gift of my friend Dimitris Methenitis, as are many other from Rudy’s Greek summers, on Peris Empirikos’ sail boat “Aspasia”. A heartfelt thank you, for these incredible documents! Rudy’s portrait is a gift from my dear friend Kostis Spyriounis, while the contribution to the book by my other great friend, Dionysis Fotopoulos, was decisive.”

(pages 17-19)