By Victoria Loutas
Maria Farantouri is a remarkable Greek singer and political activist, who has made immeasurable contributions to Greek music industry and greater society. She was born on November 28 in 1947 and has gone on to lead a successful and enriching life.
Maria Farantouri was born in 1947 in Athens Greece, to a working-class family. Like much of Europe, Greece was recovering from the devastation of WWII and the German Occupation, meaning most of her childhood was spent in hardship.
By adolescence, she discovered her passion for singing by participating in the choir of The Society of Greek Music, a progessive organisation which worked to support new music based on Greek traditions.
At age 16, Farantouri met the legendary Miki Theodorakis while she was training to become a classical singer. They immediately connected and formed the beginning of a life-long, artistic relationship.
Four years later, in the spring of 1967, a group of right-wing army colonels seized power in Greece, and the brutal junta lasted until 1974. Under the junta, politically active Theodorakis was imprisoned and his progressive music was banned. During this time, Farantouri went into exile in Paris and later in London, where she became part of the social unrest sweeping the world.
Over the seven years that the junta lasted, Theodorakis managed to smuggle out manuscripts of his music to Farantouri, which she would record and release. In this time, Theodorakis and Farantouri produced several iconic protest recordings and contributed to the protest canon that was inspiring students and demonstrators globally.
Maria’s smoky contralto was the perfect vehicle for Theodorakis’ music, says Gail Holst-Warhaft, who published a biography of Theodorakis in 1981. Together, they made the perfect artistic pair.
After the junta ended in 1974, Farantouri continued to develop her artistic career as she expanded her sound in a variety of directions, including jazz.
While her career was blooming, she met Tilemachos Chytiris, Greek poet and politician who also aided in the anti-Junta movement. Together, they married and had one son, Stephanos.
In the meantime, Farantouri continued her political activism and eventually was elected to the Greek parliament. She represented the Panhellenic Socialist Movement and served from 1989 to 1993.
On 23 September 2004, the President of the Hellenic Republic recognized the contribution of Maria Farantouri to the Greek music industry, awarding her the Gold Cross of the Order of the Phoenix.
The contributions Maria Farantouri made, not only as an artist but as a political activist in the anti-junta movement will forever be honoured and cherished.
