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Yorgos Zakkas

Soloist, Baritone
He was born in Piraeus in 1921 and initially studied at the Conservatory of Piraeus and received his diploma from the Hellenic Conservatory of Music and Arts. He joined the National Theater’s Opera in September 1942. In the same year he debuted as a chorister in Franz Lehár’s operetta Die lustige Witwe. The following year he interpreted supporting roles in Il barbiere di Siviglia and later in Tosca, at the open-air theater in central Athens Klafthmonos Square, opposite to Maria Kalogeropoulou (Maria Callas), Ulysses Lappas and Tito Xirellis. During the thirty-year period from 1942 to 1972, he was a chorister and performer of auxiliary roles on the GNO, where he participated in 168 productions and/or revivals of 31 operas and 14 operettas, such as La traviata, Tosca, La forza del destino, Rigoletto, Don Giovanni, Madama Butterfly, Die fledermaus, Wo die Lerche singt, Madame de Pompadour, Turandot, Der Tapfere Soldat, Kassiane, The Godson, Faust, Boris Godunov, Otello, Medée, Christina, Die Csárdásfürstin, Der Freischütz, Ernani, Dialogues des carmelites, Manon, Queen of Spades, L 'amour des trois oranges, Kiss me Kate, Das Dreimädelhaus. He participated in many premieres of works presented by the GNO. In 1972 he was prosecuted by Greece’s military regime. He was restored in 1976 and worked as a prompter until his retirement (1986). He was a member of GNO’s artistic committee (1981-1988). // Last update of the biography: December 2015 - The list of productions below is continually updated.