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Iro Palli

Soloist, Soprano
She was born in Athens in 1929. She studied voice at the Hellenic Conservatory of Music and Arts and drama at the GNT Drama School. She continued her studies in Geneva and Vienna. While in Geneva she participated in the Geneva International Music Competition, where she won the gold medal. From 1948 to 1951, she worked with the Greek National Theater and appeared as the chorus leader in ancient Greek drama performances. She first appeared as a soloist with the Athens State Orchestra Athens in May 1951, under the direction of Theodoros Vavagiannis. During her career she appeared in many Opera houses abroad (Vienna, Salzburg, Paris, Bern, Geneva, Wiesbaden, Graz, Oldenburg, Basel, Strasbourg, Tel Aviv, etc). Her repertoire included roles in the operas Madama Batterfly, A Masked Ball (Un Ballo in Maschera) and others, as well as many works by Wagner. She performed as soloist in many concerts with the Symphony Orchestras of Vienna, Salzburg, Geneva, The French Radio and Television National Orchestra, the ERT National Symphony Orchestra, the Athens State Orchestra and the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra. From 1979 she was an instructor at the Athens Conservatory. She was a member of the London -based International Committee of Voice Teachers and the Jury Committee for the International Maria Callas Gran Prix atthe International Cultural Center Athenaeum. At GNO she appeared in the period 1971/77, interpreting leading roles in four operas: the role of Tosca in Tosca, the role of Magda Sorrel in The consul, the role of the Mother in Tito Xirellis' A Spring’s Tale and the role of Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro/Le nozze di Figaro. She passed away in Athens in 2000.