Mata Markopoulou-Zaharopoulou
Soloist, Soprano
She studied at the Greek National Conservatoire, as well as in Italy. She was one of the first Greek soloists to sing in the former USSR. She settled in the USA, where she appeared in Ohio The cloak [Il tabarro] by Puccini, 1975), New Orleans [A masked ball/Un ballo in maschera], Pittsburg [Aida], Honolulu (Verdi’s Requiem, 1976 and Turandot (1977), Toronto (Il Tabarro, 1975), Vancouver (Rustic chivalry [Cavalleria rusticana], 1976), etc. She has also sung in a number of theaters in Europe. From 1971 to 1990 she sung leading roles with the GNO in the productions: Tosca [Tosca] (1971-1972), Gioconda [La Gioconda] (1971-72), Santuzza [Rustic chivalry/Cavalleria rusticana] (1971-72), Leonora [The troubadour /Il trovatore] (1974-75),The Consul in Gian Carlo Menotti’s [The consul], Lady Macbeth [Macbeth], (1975-76 alongside Giuseppe Taddei and in 1980-81). In 1978, she was honored in the USA with the Amita “Golden Lady” award for her contribution to the opera.