She bewitched with the flame in her eyes, her awesome expression and the song “Kaigomai – Kaigomai” in the film “Rebetiko.” Actress, singer and writer Sotiria Leonardou passed away on Saturday, following a rare illness that had her bed-ridden for several years.
Leonardou was not a rebetiko singer but she was identified as one due to the film that became a cult in Greece. “I would sing three-four rebetiko songs in my repertoire because I really liked rebetiko. But I don’t like the misery that some people create when they sing it. That’s my opinion! I was very convincing in the film and moved the people so that they thought my life was like that, a rebetika drama! ”
Born in Athens, she studied music, theater, dance and martial arts. She was a student of Polnish theter director Jerzy Grotowski in Southern Italy, attended a seminar at the Indian Katakali Theater in India, and “African ritual magic in theater” in South Africa where she lived for 4 years.
She participated in many concerts with the Mikis Theodorakis Orchestra.
She first became known for her role in the film “Rebetiko” (1983) directed by Costas Ferris, for which she co-wrote the script. She played the role of famous Greek-Armenian rebetiko singer Marika Ninou (1922-1957)
Sotiria Leonardou won the prize for “Best Actress” at the 1983 Thessaloniki Film Festival for her portrayal of Ninou. She won three other awards as well: two “Best Supporting Actor” prizes, and one for music.
She played the leading role in Pantelis Vulgaris’ film “Acropolis, for which she won a prize.
She was the screenwriter for “An African Tale” and the founder of the “Cyber Scene” theater.
“Singing is not just to have a nice voice. It is about being able to express something emotionally. And to do that, you have to learn to create characters,” she said once in an interview.”
In recent years Sotiria Leonardou was struggling with a rare illness that had confined her to bed. The illness had affected the brain nerves causing her mobility problems and had an impact on her voice. It deprived her of the ability to do what she loved most: singing.
RIP Sotiria , you will always remembered for this unique performance on “REMBETIKO” and especially on this scene of “kegome” (I’m burning). But I am wondering : why the writer of this article uses the Greek spelling on English letters writing. Try to read the word “kaigomai”. is written in English “kaigomai” but it pronounced “kegome” . the “ai” in Greek pronounced “E” . that’s all