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a fimios presentation
 
Maria Farandouri Concert
Thursday 2nd August 2007 at the Garden Theatre in Vathy, Ithaca
 
 
Maria Farandouri is a well respected singer, and well known through her relationship with Greek music icon, Mikis Theodorakis. In her prime, Maria was touted as the 'Joan Biaz' of the Mediterranean by 'Le Monde' and Mikis Theodorakis himself, who discovered Maria at the age of 16, announced 'You will become my Priestess', which she did become, and has since then has made her name synonymous with his over the years. Maria Farandouris' contralto voice is warm and evocative, in her later years, she has lost none of this warmth, which made the concert at the Garden Theatre in Vathy, a real pleasure to listen to. Maria Farandouri was forced into exile in 1967 with the Junta and returned to Greece in 1974. She became a symbol of resistance and democracy through the hundreds of concerts she gave with songs by Mikis Theodorakis and to this day, her iconic status remains untouched.
 

Above - Ithaki Council Members, including the Mayor Mr. Vasilopoulos and left, Avra Gavanozi, President of Fimios, were not only waiting for Farandouri as organizers, but also as fans of the renowned vocalist.

August nights

 
From 9.30pm, Farandouri fans were already seated in the Garden Theatre. They waited anxiously for their icon to take to the stage, but the wait was longer than expected when Farandouri was held up with her entourage at the hotel. The audience began to clap in frustration, a few members came back stage to approach the organizers with their growing disdain, but Fimios and the concert organizers were already doing all in their power to speed Farandouris arrival. Artists can be a little temperamental and the audience was asked to be patient just a little longer. Band members tried to relax back stage as they too, waited anxiously for their performer to arrive. At around 10.30pm Farandouri and her entourage descended the steps.

Pre-concert speeches were made by Fimios and Council members and then finally Farandouri and her poet took to the stage to begin what the audience had waited too long to see.

Maria Farandouris deep voice still embraces so much of what the turbulent years of Greece, during the Junta, evokes in her public.

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