LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Irene Papas
built 775 days ago
Irene Papas was born Irene Lelekou (Ειρήνη Λελέκου) in Chiliomodi outside Corinth, Greece. She began her early career in Greece, achieving widespread fame there, before starring in internationally renowned films such as The Guns of Navarone and Zorba the Greek, and critically acclaimed films such as Z and Electra. She is a leading figure in cinematic transcriptions of ancient tragedy since she has portrayed Helen in The Trojan Women, Clytemnestra in Iphigenia (film), and the homonymous parts in Electra and Antigone. In 1977, she starred in the film Mohammad, Messenger of God (... known as The Message) about the origin of Islam, and the message of prophet Mohammad.
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This recording by Irene Papas and Vangelis is reminescent of "Heaven and Hell", but with more of a Greek sound. The album is both soothing and energizing, and it is one of Vangelis' more unique performances. Definitely worth it.
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Greek performer Irene Papas is renowned both as a singer and as an actress. She made fame with acting in movies as "The guns of Navarone" (1961), Michael Cacoyannis' "Zorba the Greek" (1964) and Costa-Gavras "Z" (1969). One of her last parts as an actor she played a role in the movie "Captain's Corelli Mandolin" (2001). Also, together with her husband director Michael Cacoyannis she created many films based on the original plays of Euripides, namely "Electra" (1960), "Trojan Women" (1971) and "Iphigenia" (1976). Apart from movies Irene has directed many Greek plays staged in theatres, more recently "Las Troyanas" (2001) in Sagunto (Spain), "Ecuba" (2003) in Rome (Italy) and "Antigone" (2005) in Syracuse (Sicily, Italy). She is currently president of three acting schools, the "City of the Scenic Arts" of Sagunto, the "Tor Vergata" of Rome and the "To Skolion" of Athens.
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Enrolled in dramatic school age 12, Greek actress Irene Papas spent her first professional years as a singer-dancer in stage reviews and as a radio vocalist. Trained in Athens in the classics of Greece's Golden Age, Irene has played all the major tragic roles, including Medea and Electra; in addition, she was active in the contemporary productions put on by the Greek Popular Theatre in the late 1950s. In films from 1950, Irene is best known to international audiences for her portrayals of gutsy resistance fighter Maria Pappadimos in Guns of Navarone (1961); The Widow in Zorba the Greek (1964); the wife of political martyr Yves Montand in Z (1968); and Catherine of Aragon (with nary a trace of her native accent) in Anne of a Thousand Days. In between these projects, Ms. Papas made her Broadway debut in 1967's That Summer, That Fall. She has ... delivered award-winning performances in the ambitious Euripides adaptations directed by Michael Cacoyannis, playing Helen in The Trojan Women (1972) and Clytemnestra in Iphigenia. On American television, Irene Papas has excelled in Biblical assignments: she was Zipporah in the 1976 miniseries Moses the Lawgiver, and Rebekah in the 1994 made-for-cable epic Jacob.
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Irene Papas was born as Irene Lelekou in Corinth, Greece. She began her early career in Greece achieving widespread fame in that country before staring internationally renowned films such as The Guns of Navarone, Zorba the Greek and critically acclaimed films such as Z and Elektra.
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The excellent singing of Irene Papas, who wrote the lines above in her notes for Odes, is supported by a choir and brilliant instrumentation: synthesizer, organ, drums and bouzouki. "Neranzoula, the Small Orange Tree" is a sad lament about the loss of youth, when the winds from the North with their icy hearts have destroyed the tender blossoms and ... the beauty of Neranzoula. "The Dance of the Fire" is composed by Vangelis, and when you listen to this instrumental track you can see the sparkles of a big fire enlightening the flushed faces of the people, you can hear the celebration's racket and you can smell the sweet scent of wine and the spicy smell of broiled meat.
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Irene Papas