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The great Greek singer George Dalarad, who sang Theodorakis’ most iconic songs, bowed with his wife Anna to the composer. Photo: Personal profile of Dalaras
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Hundreds of people gathered in front of Athens Cathedral today to pay their last respects to composer and politician Mikis Theodorakis, whose body will be laid to rest in the cathedral for three days before being buried on the southern island of Crete, the Associated Press reported. from BTA.
Theodorakis’ body arrived at the chapel nearly two hours late. About 500 people came to honor the composer, who has been an integral part of the Greek political and music scene for decades. Among the first to pay tribute was the great Greek singer George Dalaras, who sang the composer’s most iconic songs, with his wife Anna Dalaras. Last night, Dalaras sang Theodorakis’ iconic song “Rain in the Poor Neighborhood” at the Veria Theater, and the whole theater sang and cried.
Theodorakis died on September 2 at the age of 96. The Greek Communist Party said over the weekend that he would be buried at his request in Chania, Crete, on September 9th, next to his parents and brother.
The composer Mikis Theodorakis
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There was a dispute in the family about the place where Theodorakis would be buried. His daughter initially said he would be buried in the village of Vrahati near Corinth, where he had a villa. But his son said on Friday that the family would comply.
A court has temporarily suspended funeral plans after unnamed associates of Theodorakis intervened, citing notarized documents revealing his will.
Theodorakis wrote a letter to the mayor of Chania in 2013, expressing a desire to be buried in Galatas, a village west of Chania, where his father came from.
The composer had a dynamic relationship with the Communist Party, which he left in the late 1960s and then rejoined in the late 1970s, after which he was elected MP from the conservative New Democracy in 1990.
In October, however, he wrote a letter to Communist Party Secretary General Dimitris Kutsumbas, instructing him to organize the funeral.
“Now, at the end of my life, when I rethink things, the details are erased from my mind and only the ‘big things’ remain. And so I see that I have spent my most important, strong and mature years under the banner of the Communist Party. “That is why I want to leave this world as a communist,” wrote the famous composer.
Born to the Greek Fr. Chios On July 29, 1925, Theodorakis studied music in Athens and later in Paris.
His works range from music for popular Greek songs, which have prevailed as anthems for the left for decades, to symphonies and film music. Probably his most recognizable work is the syrtaki from the movie “Zorba the Greek”.
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