But when will this Magician arrive?
A Christmas musical fairy tale for children of all ages.
The edition also includes a CD featuring a recording of the musical fairy tale.
The edition also includes a CD featuring a recording of the musical fairy tale.
The adventures of the Fourth Christmas Magus, Magus Avasal, are entertaining, full of sudden twists and humour; he was always getting into some sort of trouble, always meeting someone and always delaying his arrival at the manger near the newborn Christ, until...
A unique Christmas musical fairy tale by three acclaimed creators who have joined forces to present us with a subversive take on the story of the Magi, told with immediacy and plenty of humour. A book that could well become the new classic Christmas story for young and old alike!
- Pages: 56
- ISBN: 978-960-572-209-8
- Publication: 2017
- Dimensions: 22 X 22 εκ.
- Categories: Childrens' Books, Χριστουγεννιάτικα
"...A beautiful fairy tale, melodious, poetic and adventurous!"
– Mariza Decastro, The Reader"...And just like the old folk tales, it has a few scary elements, the sort that fearless children love! The well-known story of the magicians is skilfully woven into the story of King Basil in a fresh, subversive take. It is essentially an imaginative, musical fairy tale, completely unpredictable. His determination to achieve his goal leads the magician Avasal on a series of adventures. His misfortune in failing to worship the newborn Christ turns into good fortune for himself and his fellow humans as he becomes Father Christmas and generously offers joy and love."
– Mary Birbili, Elniplex.com“Love is a mechanism for producing small miracles” – Interview with Ioulita Iliopoulou by Alexandra Papadaki.
– Allyou.gr"...A very special, different, lyrical yet humorous Christmas fairy tale..."
– Red Fox"...This story is a humorous retelling of the story of the Magi, with the fourth Magi, Avasal, as the central character – a figure unknown to us, as we are only familiar with three Magi – who kept delaying his arrival to meet the infant Christ!"
– Mama's 'n' Papa's Blog"...Ioulita Iliopoulou took this version, transformed it into a fairy tale and brought it closer to today’s reality. Thus, within the framework of a fairy tale, they found their place, allied themselves, reconciled and coexist harmoniously with the contribution of music, lyrics and theatrical dialogue, blending old and modern elements to create a delightful artistic whole."
– Eleni Choreanthi, Diastixo.gr“The greatest poetry is that which captivates our thoughts with the power of meaning and the magic of language” – Interview with Ioulita Iliopoulou by Rania Papadopoulou.
– alfavita.gr"...An entertaining tale, full of humour and twists, about the fourth Christmas Magi and his attempt to reach Bethlehem. With poetic prose, she tells us the story of the Magi and has a different yet wonderful ending in store for us."
– Angeliki Boziki, Dimart Blog"...The twists and turns keep the interest alive, as if we were watching a film, where, alongside the hero, we also follow the other characters – his companions – who help, enrich and add humorous touches to the unfolding story. The interspersed poems and the dialogues between the characters – that is, between the camels, the parrot and the magician – lend a different tone and a great deal of liveliness to the unfolding events."
– Marianna Koumarianou, The Magical World of Children’s BooksIoulita Heliopoulou
Ioulita Iliopoulou was born in Athens. She studied Byzantine and Modern Greek Literature at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Athens and drama at the Drama School of the Athens Conservatory. She writes poetry, essays and fairy tales. Five of her poetry collections have been published: "Happy New Year, Marko" (1987), "Digamma" (1992), "A Wish for Odysseus" (1997), "From One to Two" (2000), "11 Places for 1 Summer" (2006), two children’s fairy tales: "What Does Zeno Want?" (2004, State Children’s Book Award) and "The Green Cap" (2008), as well as a translation of P. E. Shelley’s “A Defence of Poetry”, all published by “Ypsilon/Books”, and the essay “The Doll” (Ikaros, 2008). In 2000, he wrote the libretto for Giorgos Kouroupou’s opera “The Fir Tree’s Boat”, and in 2002 the poetic text for the lyrical tragedy “Iokaste” by the same composer, which was performed at the theatre of the European Centre of Delphi. Her fairy tales “What Does Zeno Want?” and “The Green Hood”, set to music by Alkis Baltas and Giorgos Kouroupos respectively, were performed in Athens and elsewhere. Alongside his poetry, he writes essays, studies the work of Odysseas Elytis and has given numerous talks on the subject. He also edits book publications.
For thirteen years, he collaborated with the Orchestra of Colours and the Melina Mercouri Foundation on the creation of programmes combining spoken word and music. Together with Spyros Sakkas and Giorgos Kouroupos, they present musical programmes based on poetry. One of these, dedicated to the poetry of Elytis, was released as a CD-book entitled "By the Light of the Star" (published by "Ypsilon/Books").
George Kouroupos
He studied piano at the Athens Conservatoire, mathematics at the University of Athens and composition at the Paris Conservatoire, in Olivier Messiaen’s class.
He composes symphonic music, musical theatre and operas, chamber music, music for theatrical performances, as well as song cycles for voice and piano.
Yiannis Kottis
He studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts under Yannis Moralis and Nikos Nikolaou, as well as at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
He divides his time between Paris, Athens and Hydra. He paints and exhibits his work
in France and Greece.
