Yannis Apostolou (c.1860 – 28 August 1905) was a Greek opera singer who went on to become one of the leading tenors in Italian opera houses, performing under the name Giovanni Apostolu. His voice is preserved on some early G&T recordings made in Milan in 1902.Leotsakos, George (2001)
"Apostolou, Yannis"

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

. Retrieved 14 November 2017 (subscription required for full access).Kutsch, Karl-Josef and Riemens, Leo (2004)
"Apostolu, Giovanni"
'' Großes Sängerlexikon'' (4th edition), Vol. 4, pp.129–130. Walter de Gruyter.

Life and career

Most sources list Athens as Apostolou's birthplace, although some list it as the nearby small town of Menidi. As a boy he sang in the Greek

Royal Chapel A royal chapel is a chapel associated with a monarch, a royal court, or in a royal palace. A royal chapel may also be a Chapel (music), body of clergy or musicians serving at a royal court or employed by a monarch. Commonwealth countries Both ...

and other church choirs in Athens and later studied singing under Alexandros Katakouzenos and Napoleon Lambelet of the

Athens Conservatory The Athens Conservatoire () is the oldest educational institution for the performing arts in modern Greece. It was founded in 1871 by the non-profit organization Music and Drama Association. History Initially, the musical instruments that were ta ...

. He made his debut in 1888 with the newly-formed Elliniko Melodrama company (a forerunner of the

Greek National Opera The Greek National Opera ( el, Εθνική Λυρική Σκηνή, ''Ethniki Lyriki Skini'') is the country's state lyric opera company, located in the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center at the south suburb of Athens, Kallithea. It is a ...

) in a production of Spyridon Xyndas's opera ''The Parliamentary Candidate''. He became a leading tenor with the company both in Athens and on tour to audiences of the Greek diaspora in Egypt, Turkey, Russia, and Hungary. During this time he specialised in

bel canto Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing. The phrase was not associat ...

roles such as Elvino in '' La sonnambula''. Edgardo in '' Lucia di Lammermoor'', and Fernando in '' La favorita''. In 1890 Apostolou went to Milan for further study with the tenor Felice Pozzo and within a few months made his Italian debut in Ascoli as Alvaro in ''

La forza del destino ' (; ''The Power of Fate'', often translated ''The Force of Destiny'') is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, ' (1835), by Ángel de Saavedra, 3rd Duke of Rivas, wi ...

''. Over the next fourteen years, he went on to sing in all the major opera houses in Italy, including

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice beca ...

, and the Teatro San Carlo in a repertoire that encompassed both

lyric Lyric may refer to: * Lyrics, the words, often in verse form, which are sung, usually to a melody, and constitute the semantic content of a song * Lyric poetry is a form of poetry that expresses a subjective, personal point of view * Lyric, from ...

and spinto tenor roles. He sang Rodolfo in '' La bohème'', Giuliano in ''

I Medici ''I Medici'' is an opera in four acts composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo, with a libretto by the composer. Set in Renaissance Florence at the court of Lorenzo de' Medici, it was intended as the first part of a planned but unfinished trilogy called ...

'', and the title role in ''

Andrea Chenier Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that re ...

'' in some of their earliest performances as well as creating the role of Marco Sanseverino in Giordano's ''

Regina Diaz ''Regina Diaz'' is an opera in two acts composed by Umberto Giordano to a libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci. It premiered on 5 March 1894 at the Teatro Mercadante in Naples. The libretto is based on Lockroy's and Edmond Bado ...

'' and singing the role of Karloo in the Italian premiere of ''

Patrie! ''Patrie!'' is an 1886 French-language opera in five acts by Émile Paladilhe with a libretto by Victorien Sardou and Louis Gallet based on the play by Sardou about a 16th-century revolt of Flemish nobles in Brussels. The opera was Paladilhe's gr ...

''. He also appeared abroad in productions in Saint Petersburg and Warsaw and in 1897 at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo as Alfredo to Adelina Patti's Violetta in ''

La traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

''. Later in the season at Monte-Carlo, he sang the Duke of Mantua in '' Rigoletto'' and Edgardo in ''Lucia di Lammermoor''. Apostolou sang at the

Piraeus Municipal Theatre The Piraeus Municipal Theatre is a neoclassical building built on plans by the architect and was opened on 9 April 1895. The theatre has a 600-seat capacity and is located in the centremost place of Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιά� ...

in the 1901–1902 season and then returned to Naples where he had been a frequent performer at the Teatro San Carlo, having appeared there in the leading tenor roles of ''I Medici'', '' La damnation de Faust'', '' Mefistofele'', '' Lohengrin'', ''Lucia di Lammermoor'', ''

Maria di Rohan ''Maria di Rohan'' is a ''melodramma tragico'', or tragic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Salvadore Cammarano, after Lockroy and Edmond Badon's ''Un duel sous le cardinal de Richelieu'', which had pl ...

'' and '' Werther''. He died in Naples on 28 August 1905 from a heart attack while still at the height of his career.Heugel, Henri (24 September 1905)
"Nécrologie"
'' Le Ménestrel''. Retrieved 14 November 2017 .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Apostolou, Yannis 1860s births 1905 deaths Greek operatic tenors 19th-century Greek male opera singers Singers from Athens