Born in Athens, Yannis Kokkos has lived in France since 1963, where he
completed his scenography studies at the École Supérieure d’Art Dramatique
in Strasbourg. His long and intensive collaboration as a set designer with
director Antoine Vitez began in 1969 and marked a fundamental stage in his
career. This partnership led to several productions at the Comédie
Française, the Festival d’Avignon, the Piccolo Teatro di Milano, and
between 1981 and 1988 at the Théâtre National de Chaillot, with works such
as Le Soulier de Satin, Elektra, and Hamlet.
His work as a set designer for opera theatres has included notable
productions such as Macbeth at the Opéra de Paris, Pelléas et
Mélisande at Teatro alla Scala, Die Zauberflöte at the
Wiener Staatsoper, Don Carlo at Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and Elektra
by Richard Strauss at the Grand Théâtre de Genève and in San Francisco.
Kokkos also designed sets and costumes for the ballets Undine and
L’Odyssée at the Hamburg Opera, and Sylvia at the Palais
Garnier, choreographed by John Neumeier.
Since 1987, Yannis Kokkos has also worked as a director, beginning with
the world premiere of La Princesse Blanche by R.M. Rilke, and
alternating between theatre and opera productions. Notable productions
include Boris Godunov at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Oresteïa
by Xenakis at the Festival of Gibellina in Sicily, La Damnation de
Faust at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Death in Venice
(French premiere), Dido and Aeneas, Iphigénie en Tauride,
and Giulio Cesare in Nancy; Iphigénie and La Thébaïde
by Racine at the Comédie Française; as well as Carmen, Tosca,
and Don Giovanni at the Chorégies d’Orange. He also staged Tristan
und Isolde at Welsh National Opera and Covent Garden; Salomé,
Pelléas et Mélisande, and Les Rois, the new opera by
Philippe Fénelon, in Bordeaux; Zelmira at the Rossini Opera
Festival in Pesaro and at the Opéra de Lyon; Alceste and The
Queen of Spades at Scottish Opera; Norma at the Opéra
Bastille; the world premiere of Tristes Tropiques by Georges
Aperghis in Strasbourg; Elektra at the Opéra de Lyon; Hänsel
und Gretel; Outis by Berio and The Bassarids by
Henze (both French premieres); and Les Troyens at the Théâtre du
Châtelet in Paris; Der Fliegende Holländer in Bologna, at Teatro
alla Scala in Milan, Naples, Athens, and Seville; Pelléas et Mélisande,
Médée, and Cavalleria Rusticana in Bordeaux; Die Vögel
by Braunfels in Geneva; Dido and Aeneas, Iphigénie en Aulide,
Turandot, and Giulio Cesare in Nancy; Re Ruggero
and Médée at Teatro Massimo in Palermo.
At Teatro alla Scala, he directed a new production of Götterdämmerung
for the opening of the 1998/1999 season, and was later invited to stage Iphigénie
en Aulide for the opening of the 2002/2003 season and Lucia di
Lammermoor in the 2022/2023 season.
Other notable engagements include Hänsel und Gretel at the Grand
Théâtre de Genève; a new production of Tristan at La Monnaie in
Brussels (2006); Cherubini’s Medea at Théâtre du Capitole in
Toulouse and in a new production at the Epidaurus Festival; Tancredi
at Teatro Real in Madrid; Nabucco at Bayerische Staatsoper in
Munich; Turandot in Montpellier; Idomeneo in Bordeaux and
Nancy; The Excursions of Mr. Brouček by Janáček at Grand Théâtre
de Genève; Assassinio nella cattedrale by Pizzetti at Teatro alla
Scala; Die Frau ohne Schatten by Strauss at the Maggio Musicale
Fiorentino; Boris Godunov (original version) at Wiener Staatsoper;
Don Quichotte and Samson et Dalila at the Mariinsky Theatre
in St. Petersburg.
Yannis Kokkos also directed a new production of Elektra at the
Greek National Opera for the official opening of the 2017/2018 season and
the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens; Der
Fliegende Holländer in Bari; Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus
in Siracusa and Epidaurus; Elektra again in Athens for the
inauguration of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre; Tristan
und Isolde and The Rape of Lucretia at Teatro Petruzzelli in
Bari; Le Rossignol and Jolanta at the New National Theatre
in Tokyo (streaming version); Pirandello’s Enrico IV on tour in
Italy; La Forza del Destino at Teatro Regio in Parma, and in
Bologna, Montpellier, and Toulon; and Guillaume Tell at the New
National Theatre in Tokyo.
In 1986, Yannis Kokkos was awarded the “Prix du Syndicat de la Critique”
for his designs for Elektra, as well as two Molière Awards for the
set design of L’Échange and the costumes for Madame de Sade.
He also received the Gold Medal at the Prague Quadrennial for Lifetime
Achievement in Scenic Design, and the title of “Commandeur des Arts et
Lettres” in France. Kokkos has collaborated with renowned conductors such
as Riccardo Muti, Claudio Abbado, Daniele Gatti, Zubin Mehta, John Eliot
Gardiner, Charles Mackerras, Valery Gergiev, and Christoph von Dohnányi.
He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of the Peloponnese
(Greece). His production of La Clemenza di Tito at the Welsh
National Opera won the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Opera
Production, and his staging of Berlioz’s complete Les Troyens at
Théâtre du Châtelet received the 2004 Critics’ Prize.
August 2025