Maria Farantouri or Farandouri ( el, Μαρία Φαραντούρη; born 28 November 1947 in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

) is a Greek singer and also a political and cultural activist. She has collaborated with Greek composers such as

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( el, Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films ''Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' ...

, who wrote the score for Pablo Neruda's '' Canto General'', which Farantouri performed all over the world. During the Greek military junta of 1967–1974, Maria Farantouri recorded protest songs in Europe with Mikis Theodorakis. In 1971, she recorded ''Songs and Guitar Pieces by Theodorakis'' with Australian guitarist John Williams which included seven poems by

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

. She has recorded songs in Spanish ('

Hasta Siempre "Hasta Siempre, Comandante," ("Until Forever, Commander" in English) or simply "Hasta Siempre," is a 1965 song by Cuban composer Carlos Puebla. The song's lyrics are a reply to revolutionary Che Guevara's farewell letter when he left Cuba, in ord ...

Comandante Che Guevara'), Italian, and English ("Joe Hill" and

Elisabeth Hauptmann Elisabeth Hauptmann (20 June 1897, Peckelsheim, Westphalia, German Empire – 20 April 1973, East Berlin) was a German writer who worked with fellow German playwright and director Bertolt Brecht. She got to know Brecht in 1922, the same year ...

's '' Alabama Song'' from Bertolt Brecht's ''

Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny ''Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny'' (german: Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, links=no) is a political-satirical opera composed by Kurt Weill to a German libretto by Bertolt Brecht. It was first performed on 9 March 1930 at the i ...

''), George Gershwin's works, as well as works by Greek composers

Manos Hatzidakis Manos Hatzidakis (also spelled Hadjidakis; el, Μάνος Χατζιδάκις; 23 October 1925 – 15 June 1994) was a Greek composer and theorist of Greek music, widely considered to be one of the greatest Greek composers and one of the most ...

Eleni Karaindrou Eleni Karaindrou ( el, Ελένη Καραΐνδρου, born 25 November 1941) is a Greek composer. She is best known for scoring the films of the Greek director Theo Angelopoulos. Biography Karaindrou moved with her family to Athens when she wa ...

and

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou ( el, Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; el, Βαγγέλης, links=no ), was a Greek composer and arranger of ...

. Her voice is

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typica ...

with two octaves. The international press called her a people's Callas (The Daily Telegraph), and the Joan Baez of the Mediterranean (Le Monde). Maria Farantouri was an elected member of the Greek Parliament from 1989 to 1993 representing the

Panhellenic Socialist Movement The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...

(PASOK).Libra Music
/ref> She is married to the poet and former politician Tilemachos Chytiris. On 23 September 2004, the President of the Hellenic Republic recognized the contribution of Maria Farantouri to Greek song, awarding her the Gold Cross of the Order of the Phoenix. She was awarded the ''Premio Tenco'' Italian Award 2014 for her contribution to international contemporary and traditional music, and the Spanish LiberPress 2017.

Discography

* John Williams Maria Farandouri: Mikis Theodorakis – Songs Of Freedom (1974) * Maria Farantouri: Mosaic (Libra, 2004) * Maria Farantouri: Live im Olympia (Plane, 1987) * Maria Farantouri: 17 Songs (EMI, 1990) * Maria Farantouri: Tou Feggariou Ta Pathi (Afieroma Sto Federico García Lorca) (Live concert 1996) * Maria Farantouri: Way Home (Peregrina, 2007) *

: Sinfonietta, Farantouri, Frankfurt Chamber Orchestra (Intuition, 1999) *

: The Ballad of Mauthausen-Farantouri Cycle (1966) *

: Poetica (Peregrina, 1998) *

: Asmata (Peregrina, 1998) *

: Canto General (various versions) *

: Pnevmatiko Emvatirio (Live at Royal Albert Hall, London 1971) *

Manos Hadjidakis Manos may refer to: Films * ''The Hands'' (Spanish: ''Las manos''), a 2006 Argentinean-Italian film * '' Manos: The Hands of Fate'', 1966 horror film Music * Manos (band), German Black metal band * ''Manos'' (album), by The Spinanes Other use ...

: The era of Mellisanthi (Lyra, 1981) *

: '' Elegy of the Uprooting'' (ECM, 2005) * Charles Lloyd & Maria Farantouri: '' Athens Concert'' 2CDs (ECM, 2010) * Maria Farantouri: ''Maria Farantouri Sings Taner Akyol'' – Maria Farantouri sings in Greek translation poems of the persecution suffered by the Kurdish people. * Mauthausen Trilogy (Plane, 2000) * Maria Farantouri: I Triti Porta (The Third Door). Music by Lena Platonos (Minos, 2000) * Maria Farantouri Sings George Gershwin (Legend, 2007) * Maria Farantouri: Afieroma Ston Miki Theodoraki (Melody Maker, 2008) * Maria Farantouri, Hthes Archisa na Tragoudo (I began Singing Yesterday) Live at Herodes Atticus Odeon, 2 CDs, DVD (Minos, 2014) * Maria Farantouri – Cihan Turkoglu, Beyond the Borders (ECM 2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farantouri, Maria 1947 births Living people Singers from Athens Greek entehno singers 20th-century Greek women singers PASOK politicians Greek MPs 1990–1993 20th-century Greek women politicians 21st-century Greek women singers Politicians from Athens Gold Crosses of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece)