Liza Zaimi

She was born in Athens in 1935. She studied under the guidance of Spyros Papaloukas, Socrates Karantinos and Yannis Tsarouchis. Her first stage design work was for Konstantinos Oikonomos of Oikonomon’s play Exintavelonis (Kallithea Constantinopolitans Club, 1955-1956). She collaborated with the National Theatre of Northern Greece, the National Theatre of Greece and the Cyprus Theatre Organization (Ajax, 1973). In 1965, together with Yannis Metsis, Andreas Rikakis and Foni Samaropoulou, she founded the Yannis Metsis Dance Group (later Experimental Ballet of Athens), with the aim to present works from the international repertory, as well as to promote and/or create Greek-centered works. She was a close associate of Yiannis Metsis throughout the course of his team’s artistic activities. During the period from 1972 to 1992 she worked as a costume designer with the National Theatre of Greece. She also worked with the Rallou Manou Greek Ballet. A number of her costumes from Metsis’ private archive were presented in the retrospective exhibition Ellinikos Kosmos (Greek World) in November 2011. From 1960 to 1993, she worked as a costume and set designer with the GNO in at least 70 productions and/or revivals of operas and ballets. She has designed costumes, among others, for the ballets: Walpurgis Night, Commedia, Romeo and Juliet, El amor brujo, Chariot of fire, Memories, Poet visions, Mr. Piccoli’s Tuesday the thirteenth, Pastoral, Ten sketches for Strings, Roots, Zorba and The prodigal son. She also designed costumes for the operas: La favorita, Tosca, La belle Hélène, L’elisir d’amore, Il matrimonio segreto, La bohème, The afternoon of love, Aida, and Thais.

Source: Greek National Opera – Educational Virtual Museum