Xhoni Athanas
Xhoni Athanas (November 4, 1925 - October 1, 2019), also known as Gjoni Athanas or John Athanas, was an Albanian operatic tenor. He received numerous awards during his career as an opera singer, including Artist i Merituar (Merited Artist), Medalja e Mirnjohjes (Medal of Gratitude), Mjeshter i Madh (Great Master), all awarded by the Albanian Presidents, and Lifetime achievement award awarded by the Albanian-American organization AANO in Boston. He is remembered for his portrayal of Scanderbeg in the opera ''Skenderbeu'' by Albanian composer Prenk Jakova. Early life Xhoni was born on November 4, 1925, in Brockton, Massachusetts. His parents, Olympia and Thanas, both of Albanian origin, had lived in America as immigrants for almost 20 years. Two years after Xhoni's birth, the family returned to Albania, to the region of Korca. From an early age, Xhoni started to sing Byzantine psalms in the Christian Orthodox Church of Grapsh, a small village in the region of Korca, Albania, wh ...
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