National Conservatory of Athens.

About National Conservatory of Athens

The Greek National Conservatoire was founded in Athens in 1926 by the composer Manolis Kalomiris and notable artists like Charikleia Kalomoiri, Marika Kotopouli, Dionysios Lavrangas, and Sophia Spanoudi. For some time 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, such as 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 of its resident staff were graduating students or graduates of the sources National Conservatoire.