Margarita Perra
Soloist, Soprano
She was born in Monastiri, Ottoman Empire, on 15/01/1908. She began music lessons at the Graikou Conservatory (Thessaloniki) and in 1925 continued with voice lessons at the School of Music in Berlin with Oscar Daniel. She debuted at the Berlin Municipal Opera in 1926 as Norina [Don Pasquale]. In 1928 she participated in a tour of Spain and Latin America. In the period 1929-1935 she collaborated regularly with the Berlin State Opera, singing roles such as Queen of the Night [Magic Flute/Die Zauberflöte], Philine [Mignon], Konstanze [The Abduction from the Seraglio/Die Entführung aus dem Serail], Gilda [Rigoletto], Cherubino [The marriage of Figaro/Le nozze di Figaro], Nedda [Pagliacci], Mimi [La bohème], etc. In Berlin, she closely associated with a number of Greek artists such as Dimitri Mitropoulos Nikos Skalkottas, Katina Paxinou, Yannis Konstantinidis, etc. At the same time, she appeared in German cities under Bruno Walter. During 1935-1939, she interpreted leading roles in the Wiener Staatsoper Vienna State Opera. In 1936 she appeared at the Grand Opera Paris. She has appeared in a number of operas and festivals, including the Royal Opera House in London (1936), Zurich, the festivals of Salzburg (1935), Glyndebourne (1937) and Florence, Amsterdam, Budapest, Barcelona, Rio de Janeiro, the Colon Theatre in Buenos Aires, Metropolitan Opera New York. In the interwar years, she sang repeatedly in Greece (opera, oratorios, Lied). Some of her performances are available on record (Greek Lyric Theatre - 100 years, Ministry of Culture, 1989, etc.). She was awarded the Gold Cross of the Order of George A’. The Berlin State Opera awarded her the highest artistic title of Kammersängerin (1934). She collaborated with the ELS twice, appearing in leading roles in the operas Madama Butterfly and La Traviata (1949-50). She died in Zurich on 02/02/1984.