Nana Mouskouri Celebrates 91 Years Young

Nana Mouskouri celebrates 91 years young connected October 13. Credit: SpreeTom Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

With much than 200 euphony albums successful 12 antithetic languages — including Mandarin Chinese and Corsican — Nana Mouskouri surely has crushed to observe 91 years of an bonzer life.

Born successful Chania, Crete connected October 13, 1934, the vocalist is nary uncertainty 1 of the best-selling signaling artists of each time. Baptized Ioanna but called Nana from childhood, she demonstrated philharmonic endowment from the property of six. She began ceremonial singing lessons astatine the property of 12.

Across a vocation of 7 decades, Mouskouri has performed much than 10,000 shows astatine venues astir the world, including the Royal Albert Hall, the Berlin Philharmonic and New York’s Lincoln Center.

In 2024, she announced her retirement. In an interrogation with the German magazine Der Spiegel, Mouskouri revealed her plans to measurement distant from the signifier aft a fewer much performances. “I deliberation I’ve done enough,” she said, adding that she nary longer wants to disappoint her fans by giving subpar performances.

To commemorate her 90th birthday, a caller medium featuring re-recorded versions of her top hits was released. “When I perceive to these recordings, I can’t clasp backmost my tears,” Mouskouri shared with Der Spiegel.

Mouskouri Speaks to Greek Reporter

In 2018, erstwhile she released the medium “Forever Young,” the iconic Greek vocalist spoke with Greek Reporter astir the workplace medium and her career.

“I didn’t bash a grounds for rather a agelong time. Honestly, lone the younger artists tin bring the euphony further. We, the older artists, we brought our euphony up to a point,” Mouskouri told Greek Reporter.

“I searched for songs from artists specified arsenic Bob Dylan, who was 1 of my favorites, and a fewer European singers arsenic well. I tried to find songs that were not sad.

“As a Greek, I americium ever a precise optimistic person, and adjacent if a opus is sad, you find a definite information and you sing it, which is normal. I covered a opus ‘Love Is a Losing Game’ by Amy Winehouse that speaks astir love. We cognize that emotion tin beryllium a losing game, but it tin besides not beryllium a losing game. The information is affectional and precise important.”

Mouskouri commented to Greek Reporter astir however exertion has changed performance. “Also, with the technology, we suffer the basics, which is the identity: wherever a grounds comes from, wherever a vocalist comes from, and wherefore the vocalist sings a definite way. It is tricky since it is diffused precise easily. After each though, you can’t halt progress. As older artists, we cannot drawback up arsenic much.”

Performance successful Athens astatine the Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Her last show successful Greece was successful July 2018 astatine the Odeon of Herodes Atticus successful Athens. A information of the proceeds was donated to ELPIDA, the Association of Friends of Children with Cancer.

Mouskouri told Greek Reporter astatine the time: “Love and happiness is not thing that you tin person erstwhile successful life, and enactment it successful a pocket, and accidental that it’s determination forever. You person to cultivate love. You person to attraction truthful they tin attraction for you. You person to attraction for everything. It’s a philosophy. You respect your life, and you respect your assemblage and your singing arsenic well. All this allowed maine to past for a agelong time.”

One Vocal Cord Attributed to Singer’s Range

Mouskouri and her sister Jenny, attended the Athens Conservatoire, 1 of the oldest schools successful Athens for the performing arts. Her sister initially appeared to beryllium the much talented sibling.

However, the household did not person the fiscal wherewithal for some girls’ studies.  The household asked the tutor to urge who should continue. The tutor conceded that Jenny had the amended voice, but Nana was the 1 with the existent interior request to sing.

Mouskouri has said that a aesculapian introspection revealed she really lone has 1 functioning vocal cord. The azygous vocal chord could relationship for her scope — successful her younger years a husky, acheronian alto which morphed to a coloratura mezzo. Her speaking dependable is breathy and raspy.

Nana Mouskouri shows disconnected her golden records successful 1971. Credit: Anefo Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication

In 1950, the now-renowned singer was accepted to the Conservatoire. She studied classical euphony with an accent connected opera. After 8 years astatine the Conservatoire, Mouskouri experimented with jazz arsenic well. She began singing with her friends’ jazz radical astatine night.

She had been scheduled to sing astatine the amphitheater astatine Epidauros with different students of the Conservatoire, but incredibly was barred from participating successful the show due to the fact that of her involvement successful jazz. Mouskouri subsequently near the Conservatoire and began performing astatine the Zaki nine successful Athens.

Mouskouri past performed successful jazz clubs with a penchant toward the repertoire of Ella Fitzgerald. In 1957, she recorded her archetypal song, “Fascination,” successful some Greek and English for Odeon/EMI Greece. In 1958, portion inactive performing astatine the Zaki, she met Greek composer Manos Hatzidakis.

Impressed by Mouskouri’s voice, helium offered to constitute songs for her. In 1959 Mouskouri performed Hatzidakis’ “Kapou Eiparxei Agapi,”  or “Somewhere my emotion exists.” The song, co written by writer Nikos Gatsos, was performed astatine the archetypal Greek Song Festival and won archetypal prize.

At the 1960 Greek Song Festival, Mouskouri performed 2 much Hadjidakis compositions, “Timoria” (Punishment) and “Kyparisaki” (Little Cypress) with some songs tying for archetypal prize. Later that year, Mouskouri performed astatine the Mediterranean Song Festival successful Barcelona with different archetypal spot win. The opus was Kostas Yiannidis’ composition, “Xypna Agapi Mou” (Wake Up, My Love). She went connected to motion a signaling declaration with the French workplace Phillips-Fontana.

In 1961, Mouskouri performed the soundtrack for a German documentary astir Greece. This resulted successful the German-language azygous “White Roses from Athens.” The opus was primitively adapted by Hatzidakis from a people melody. It became a success, selling much than a cardinal copies successful Germany. The opus was aboriginal translated into respective languages and it went connected to go 1 of Mouskouri’s signature tunes.

Americans were introduced to Nana Mouskouri successful the aboriginal 60s

In the aboriginal sixties, Mouskouri became well-known to American audiences. In 1962, she met Quincy Jones, who persuaded her to grounds an medium of American jazz titled “The Girl from Greece Sings.” American vocalist Harry Belafonte heard and liked the album. Belafonte brought Mouskouri connected circuit with him done 1966. They teamed up for a duo medium entitled “An Evening With Belafonte/Mouskouri.”

During this tour, Belafonte suggested that Mouskouri region her signature black-rimmed glasses erstwhile connected stage. She was truthful unhappy with the petition that she wanted to discontinue the amusement aft lone 2 days. Finally, Belafonte relented and respected her privation to execute portion wearing glasses.

On September 15, 1965, Mouskouri appeared for the archetypal clip connected American tv with Harry Belafonte connected the “Danny Kaye Show.” She sang with Belafonte and Kaye.

Singer Appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador

Mouskouri was appointed arsenic UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador successful October 1993. Her tenure followed the ambassadorship of Audrey Hepburn. Mouskouri’s archetypal U.N. ngo took her to Bosnia to gully attraction to the plight of children affected by the Bosnian war. She went connected to springiness a bid of fund-raising concerts successful Sweden and Belgium.

Mouskouri performed hundreds of concerts each twelvemonth passim her career, until 2008 erstwhile she attempted to discontinue from unrecorded performance. In 2006 she made a impermanent quality astatine that year’s Eurovision Song Contest, which was held for the archetypal clip ever successful her autochthonal Greece. She conducted a farewell circuit from 2005 until 2008, crossed Europe, Australia and the United States.

On July 23 and 24, 2008, Mouskouri gave her 2 last ‘Farewell Concert’ performances astatine the past Odeon of Herodes Atticus Theater, successful Athens earlier a packed amphitheater. Attendees included Greece’s Prime Minister and Athens mayor, positive the mayors of Berlin, Paris and Luxembourg, on with fans from astir the satellite and thousands of her Athenian admirers.

However, her status from performing did not past long.  In precocious November of 2011 Mouskouri sang again astatine a azygous concert, with guests, successful Berlin, commemorating the 50th day of her deed azygous “The White Rose of Athens.” She followed with a performance circuit successful Germany successful 2012. At 80, she embarked connected a three-year Happy Birthday Tour and successful 2018 had booked a five-month Forever Young Tour done parts of Europe and North America.

Her fans tin travel her contiguous connected her Facebook page arsenic good arsenic bask her euphony done Youtube and Spotify.

Mouskouri has been joined twice. At 25, she joined Yorgos Petsilas, a guitarist successful her band, “The Athenians.” They had 2 children, Nicolas Petsilas successful 1968 and Hélène Petsilas successful 1970. The mates divorced successful 1973. Mouskouri began a narration with her grounds shaper André Chapelle successful the mid-70s and they yet joined successful 2003. Today Mouskouri lives successful Switzerland with her husband.