Lina Orfanos
New York City, New York, United States | SELF
Music
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Today's generation of Greek Americans in New York City has been fortunate in hearing the voices of such wonderful vocal artists as Aphrodite Daniel, Grigoris Maninakis, Anna Paidousi, and Julie Ziavras quickly come to mind. But there are many others. These singers follow in the footsteps of song-birds like Marika Papagika who sang Greek, Turkish, Jewish, and Armenian songs in the early 20th century in dives on 8th Avenue in mid-Manhattan and under the Manhattan Bridge around Delancey and Cherry Streets.
Now enters the youthful Lina Orfanos with vocal chords of enormous artistry and soul. With a trained voice anda background in opera and symphonic music, Orfanos grew up harmonizing withe the Greek songs she heard at home, at weddings, and at long gone venues such as Acroama in Astoria and Thiassos in Chelsea. And then there was her experience attending a concert by Mikis Theodorakis and Maria Farantouri at Carnegie Hall in 1994.
"I think my singing future was sealed then even though I was a young adolescent," says Orfanos. "I learned that the same Greek song could be performed in an intimate setting like a club and in a grand setting like a concert state. That was the beauty of songs written by composers like Thoedorakis. Of course, they had to be sung differently and that took skill on the part of the vocalists but that's made me stand up and take notice. The melodic depth was amazing."
Orfanos made her solo debut in 2001 at the Donnell Library Center in Manhattan performing selections from the Theodorakis songs cycles Epiphania, The Mauthausen Cantata, and the Ballad of the Dead Brother. Her debut CD, a live recording, Greek Songs of Romantics and Realists: The Songs of Manos Hadzidakis and Mikis Theodorakis was released in 2004 by One Soul Records and has received critical aclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Since then she has made numerous appearances in various New York City concert, civic, and cabaret venues including the famed Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
Orfanos has been responsible for the North American debut of Theodorakis' French songs and several arias from his operas Electra and Antigone. In June of 2006 she was invited to perform at teh Cultural Center in Ioannina and Anagonstiki Recital Hall in Kerkyra. By special invitation, she was coached by Mikis Theodorakis at his home in Athens. He has followed her progress right from the start of her career and says that Orfanos has "a beautiful voice with lyricism, sensitivity, and interpretive perfection." He finds her talents to be especially well-suited for his lyrical song cycles.
Orfanos' next appearances will on be on January 13, 2007 at the Middle Eastern taverna Maia (212.358.1166) in the East Village and on January 20, 2007 at the Cornelia Street Cafe (212.989.9319) in Greenwich Village. Her show From Athens with Love features Spiros Exaras on guitar, Mathis Kunzli on percussion, and Kostas Psarros on bouszouki (see www.linaorfanos.com). She'll be singing some of the great songs of Manolis Hiotis, Manos Hadzidakis, Thanos, Mikroutsikos, Vasilis Tsitsanis, Stavros Xarchakos, and of course Mikis Theodorakis. - NEO Magazine
Discography
Greek Songs for Romantics and Realists: Lina Orfanos sings Manos Hadzidakis and Mikis Theodorakis
Enchanted Night: Lina Orfanos sings Mikis Theodorakis
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Bio
Lyric soprano Lina Orfanos was born in New York City where she grew up immersed in the sonorous cultures of the classical, ethnic, popular, and theater musical worlds of the city. As a child she performed with the Metropolitan Opera Children's Chorus and appeared in eight different operas singing in French, Italian, German, and Russian. In adolescence, she studied cabaret and musical theater at the Herbert Bergoff School in Greenwich Village and performed with the Montclair Operetta Club appearing in Evita and Kismet. In addition, she performed with the Montclair High School Madrigals and the Jazz Ensemble. She holds a Bachelors of Arts in Music with a specialty in vocal studies from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. She performed with the Westminster Symphonic Choir at Avery Fisher Hall and Carnegie Hall. She studied voice for several years with Anne Akley Gray of Princeton, New Jersey and currently studies with Lori McCann of Montclair, NJ.
Lina made her solo debut in 2001 for the World Languages Program at the Donnell Library Center in Manhattan performing selections from the Theodorakis song cycles Epiphania, The Mauthausen Cantata, and The Ballad of the Dead Brother. She made numerous appearances in the next few years in various New York City concert, civic, and cabaret venues. Her debut CD Greek Songs for Romantics and Realists: The Songs of Manos Hadzidakis and Mikis Theodorakis was released in 2004 by One Soul Records and has received high praise from music lovers on both sides of the Atlantic. The internationally famed singer Maria Farantouri says that Lina has a "remarkably beautiful voice." The legendary Mikis Theodorakis considers her an "artistic singer with solid technique, a beautiful voice with lyricism, sensitivity, and interpretive perfection."
In 2004, Lina formed the Poetica Ensemble in order to interpret her favorite Greek blues, folk and art song cycles. The Poetica Ensemble is composed of enormously talented musicians under the direction of Spiros Exaras. While their repertoire focuses on a wide range of musical styles, they particularly excel at interpreting songs based on the poetry of Manolis Anagnostakis, Brendan Behan, Paul Eluard, Odysseus Elytis, Nikos Gatsos, Federico Garcia Lorca, Yannis Ritsos, and George Seferis. In addition, they are responsible for the North American premieres of Theodorakis' French songs, his cycles Lirikotera and Beatrice on Zero Street, as well as a number of his sublime arias from the operas Electra and Antigone. Although best known as an interpreter of Greek music, Lina also enjoys singing the American songbook and particularly jazz standards.
In 2005 and 2006, Lina's solo appearances impressed audiences at the Humanities Concert Hall of San Francisco State University, the LeFrak Concert Hall of Queens College, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine Concert Series. She possesses consummate recital skills, a repertoire of high quality, and a vocal expressiveness beyond her years. She was a special guest for the Hellenic Music Foundation Concert "Unforgettable Greek Melodies" at the Hellenic Cultural Center of the Archdiocese of New York and the Saint Peter's Church, Citigroup Center. In the spring of 2006, she appeared with other singers at the thrilling Contemporary Greek Music Festival held at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at New York University.
Lina sang for the first time in Greece in June 2006 where she was invited to perform at the Cultural Center of the northwest city of Ioannina and the Anagnostiki Recital Hall of the Ionian island of Kerkyra. Her concerts included the songs of Bernstein, Gershwin, Hadzidakis, and Theodorakis. Her impeccable craft, rich, deep colorings, and emotional presence dazzled audiences. By special invitation, Lina was coached by Mikis Theodorakis at his home in Athens. He expressed delight and pleasure at her emergence as an exciting vocal talent especially well-suited for his lyrical song c
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