updated: 20/11/2024

Back to Top

Image Info

This image is used in good faith for educational and non-commercial purposes. We are committed to respecting the rights of creators and will take immediate action to address any concerns regarding this image. If you are the rightful owner of this image or know who is, please contact us here. We will promptly provide proper attribution or remove the image upon request.

Performer Information

Yolanda Di Tasso

Γιολάντα Ντι Τάσσο

Mezzo-Soprano

Greek National Opera

Yolanda Di Tasso (Tatsoglou) was born in Athens in 1936. She studied voice with Kimon Triantafyllou at the Athens Conservatory before continuing her training at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. She distinguished herself in international competitions, winning at “Fabriano” and “Vercelli,” and made her debut at the Cairo Opera House in Aida and Il trovatore.

Her career included performances in major opera houses across Italy, with notable appearances at Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, and La Scala in Milan, where she performed for two consecutive seasons. Di Tasso also sang in Holland, Denmark, France, Germany, and various countries in Central and South America, including Peru, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Mexico. She frequently appeared at the Israeli Opera.

In 1985, she collaborated with the Bulgarian Radio Chorus and Orchestra to record Cassandra by Yorgos Sicilianos. She also taught singing and melodrama at the Hellenic Conservatory, contributing to the education of the next generation of artists.

Di Tasso collaborated extensively with the Greek National Opera (GNO) between 1964 and 1994, performing in 100 productions and revivals of 38 works. She interpreted both leading and supporting roles, including Carmen (Carmen), Charlotte (Werther), Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Azucena (Il trovatore), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Giovanna Seymour (Anna Bolena), Preziosilla (La forza del destino), Isabella (L’italiana in Algeri), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Santuzza (Cavalleria rusticana), Baba the Turk (The Rake’s Progress), Princess Eboli (Don Carlo), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Laura (La Gioconda), Mrs. Page (Falstaff), and Amneris (Aida). She also performed 20th-century works and premiered compositions by Greek composers.

Yolanda Di Tasso passed away on May 20, 2021, at the age of 85.

Source: Greek National Opera Educational Virtual Museum

Performances

#	Date	Venue	City	Country	Festival	Organiser	Artist(s)	Ensemble(s)	Work(s) Performed
1	September 8, 1986	Odeon of Herodes Atticus	Athens	Greece	Athens Festival	Athens Festival	Byron Fidetzis (conductor), Mihail Milkov (chorusmaster), Yolanda Di Tasso (mezzo-soprano), Giorgos Pappas (Papagiannakopoulos) (bass)	Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bulgarian National Radio Mixed Choir	Cassandra, Op. 47
2	December 20, 1987	Olympia Theatre - Greek National Opera (Olympia Municipal Music Theatre "Maria Callas")	Athens	Greece	N/A	Greek National Opera	Dimitris Agrafiotis (conductor), Spyros Sakkas (Man), Yolanda Di Tasso (Woman), Yorgos Stafetas (Old Beggar), Konstantinos Paliatsaras (Jester), Lazaros Tselepidis (Wiseman), Nikos Kapetas (Oracle), Ahilleas Tsantalos (High Priest), Dora Tsatsou-Symeonidi (director, choreographer), Rena Georgiadou (set designer, costume designer)	Greek National Opera Orchestra, Greek National Opera Choir	The Fire, Op. 42
3	December 23, 1987	Olympia Theatre - Greek National Opera (Olympia Municipal Music Theatre "Maria Callas")	Athens	Greece	N/A	Greek National Opera	Dimitris Agrafiotis (conductor), Spyros Sakkas (Man), Yolanda Di Tasso (Woman), Yorgos Stafetas (Old Beggar), Konstantinos Paliatsaras (Jester), Lazaros Tselepidis (Wiseman), Nikos Kapetas (Oracle), Ahilleas Tsantalos (High Priest), Dora Tsatsou-Symeonidi (director, choreographer), Rena Georgiadou (set designer, costume designer)	Greek National Opera Orchestra, Greek National Opera Choir	The Fire, Op. 42
4	December 26, 1987	Olympia Theatre - Greek National Opera (Olympia Municipal Music Theatre "Maria Callas")	Athens	Greece	N/A	Greek National Opera	Dimitris Agrafiotis (conductor), Spyros Sakkas (Man), Yolanda Di Tasso (Woman), Yorgos Stafetas (Old Beggar), Konstantinos Paliatsaras (Jester), Lazaros Tselepidis (Wiseman), Nikos Kapetas (Oracle), Ahilleas Tsantalos (High Priest), Dora Tsatsou-Symeonidi (director, choreographer), Rena Georgiadou (set designer, costume designer)	Greek National Opera Orchestra, Greek National Opera Choir	The Fire, Op. 42
5	December 30, 1987	Olympia Theatre - Greek National Opera (Olympia Municipal Music Theatre "Maria Callas")	Athens	Greece	N/A	Greek National Opera	Dimitris Agrafiotis (conductor), Spyros Sakkas (Man), Yolanda Di Tasso (Woman), Yorgos Stafetas (Old Beggar), Konstantinos Paliatsaras (Jester), Lazaros Tselepidis (Wiseman), Nikos Kapetas (Oracle), Ahilleas Tsantalos (High Priest), Dora Tsatsou-Symeonidi (director, choreographer), Rena Georgiadou (set designer, costume designer)	Greek National Opera Orchestra, Greek National Opera Choir	The Fire, Op. 42
6	January 3, 1988	Olympia Theatre - Greek National Opera (Olympia Municipal Music Theatre "Maria Callas")	Athens	Greece	N/A	Greek National Opera	Dimitris Agrafiotis (conductor), Spyros Sakkas (Man), Yolanda Di Tasso (Woman), Yorgos Stafetas (Old Beggar), Konstantinos Paliatsaras (Jester), Lazaros Tselepidis (Wiseman), Nikos Kapetas (Oracle), Ahilleas Tsantalos (High Priest), Dora Tsatsou-Symeonidi (director, choreographer), Rena Georgiadou (set designer, costume designer)	Greek National Opera Orchestra, Greek National Opera Choir	The Fire, Op. 42
7	April 16, 1994	Olympia Theatre - Greek National Opera (Olympia Municipal Music Theatre "Maria Callas")	Athens	Greece	N/A	Greek National Opera	Elias Voudouris (conductor), Tassis Christoyannis (Man), Yolanda Di Tasso (Woman), Yorgos Stafetas (Old Beggar), Paul Zachariadis (Jester), Giannis Tselepidis (Wiseman), Pavlos Maropoulos (Oracle), Christos Amvrazis (High Priest), Kostas Ferris (director), Pavlos Mantoudis (set designer, costume designer), Isidoros Sideris (choreography)	Greek National Opera Orchestra, Greek National Opera Choir	The Fire, Op. 42
8	April 24, 1994	Olympia Theatre - Greek National Opera (Olympia Municipal Music Theatre "Maria Callas")	Athens	Greece	N/A	Greek National Opera	Elias Voudouris (conductor), Tassis Christoyannis (Man), Yolanda Di Tasso (Woman), Yorgos Stafetas (Old Beggar), Paul Zachariadis (Jester), Giannis Tselepidis (Wiseman), Pavlos Maropoulos (Oracle), Christos Amvrazis (High Priest), Kostas Ferris (director), Pavlos Mantoudis (set designer, costume designer), Isidoros Sideris (choreography)	Greek National Opera Orchestra, Greek National Opera Choir	The Fire, Op. 42

Works

#	Cover Image	Catalogue Number	Work Title	Subtitle	Opus	Instrumentation	Remarks	Work Page
1		YSC89	Cassandra	a Tragic Cantata on the Original Text from Aeschylus's Tragedy "Agamemnon" (ver. 1072-1329) for Mezzo-Soprano, Bass, Mixed Choir and Orchestra	47	4444 – 6431, Timpani, Percussion (2 Performers: Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Vibraphone, Crotales, Cymbals, Large Tam-Tam, Small and Large Cowbell, Triangle, Snare Drum, Bass Drum), Harp, Strings, Mezzo-soprano, Bass, Mixed Choir		View
2		YSC84	The Fire	Musical Drama in One Act, with Prologue and Seven Scenes. Text by Maro Papadimitriou, theatrical adaptation by Yorgo Sicilianos.	42	2222 – 4231, Celesta, Timpani, Percussion (3 Performers: Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Triangle, Clapper, Suspended Cymbal, Cymbals, Large Gong, 5 Temple Blocks, Woodblock, Snare Drum, Snare Drum without Snares, Bass Drum, Maracas, Flexatone), Strings, Characters: Man (baritone), Woman (mezzo-soprano), Old Beggar (tenor), Jester (tenor), Wiseman (baritone), Oracle (bass), High Priest (bass), Crowd (mixed choir), Men (tenors and basses or baritones and basses), Dancers, Offstage voices (four male and one female voice).		View

Discography

#	Album Cover	Title	Artist(s)	Work(s) by Sicilianos	Format	Label	Release Date	Album Page
1		Cassandra	Bulgarian National Radio Mixed Choir, Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Byron Fidetzis, Giorgos Pappas (Papagiannakopoulos), Mihail Milkov, Yolanda Di Tasso	Cassandra Op. 47	LP - Vinyl	GPI	1985	View
2		Cassandra (CD - Reissue)	Bulgarian National Radio Mixed Choir, Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Byron Fidetzis, Giorgos Pappas (Papagiannakopoulos), Mihail Milkov, Yolanda Di Tasso	Cassandra Op. 47	Compact Disc	Lyra	1993	View

References

Minas I. Alexiadis, The Fire: An Opera by Yorgos Sicilianos [Η Φωτιά: Όπερα του Γιώργου Σισιλιανού], Department of Music Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 2021, accessed November 20, 2024, Hellenic Musicological Society, https://hellenic-musicology.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Sicilianos2021.pdf , 35-49
Valia Christopoulou, Yorgos Sicilianos Catalogue of Works [Κατάλογος Έργων Γιώργου Σισιλιάνου] (Athens: Panas Music Papagrigoriou - Nakas, 2011) , 112, 123
Cassandra [Κασσάνδρα], composed by Yorgos Sicilianos, performed by Yolanda Di Tasso (mezzo-soprano), Giorgos Pappas (bass), the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Bulgarian National Radio Mixed Choir, conducted by Byron Fidetzis. GPI, 1985, LP. Catalogue No.: CP 91005.
Cassandra [Κασσάνδρα], composed by Yorgos Sicilianos, performed by Yolanda Di Tasso (mezzo-soprano), Giorgos Pappas (bass), the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Bulgarian National Radio Mixed Choir, conducted by Byron Fidetzis. Lyra, 1993, Compact Disc. Catalogue No.: CD 0117.
Anastasios Rupert Arthur Mavroudis, Sicilianos, The Greek Modernist: Performing Selected Chamber Works and Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 51 (Athens: Benaki Museum, 2020) , 279
Yorgos Sicilianos, On Music [Για τη Μουσική], ed. Elly Yotopoulou-Sicilianou, foreword by Elly Yotopoulou-Sicilianou (Athens: Benaki Museum, Hellenic Music Centre, 2011) , 184
Dimitris Agrafiotis, Theodore Antoniou, Tatsis Apostolidis, Valia Christopoulou, Giorgos Demertzis, Popi Eustratiadi, Byron Fidetzis, Gianni Ioannides, Apostolos Kostios, Giorgos Kouroupos, Katy Romanou, Yorgos Sicilianos, Michalis Stathopoulos, Nikos Synodinos, and Nikos B. Tsouchlos. Yorgos Sicilianos: In the Avant-Garde of Contemporary Music [Γιώργος Σισιλιανός - Ο συνθέτης στην πρωτοπορία της σύγχρονης μουσικής]. Edited by Valentini Tselika. (Athens: Benaki Museum, 2007) , 141, 144, 206, 207

Table of Contents