Mouskouri bids her Korean fans `adieu` ,from news.naver.com

Mouskouri bids her Korean fans `adieu` ,from news.naver.com
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Mouskouri bids her Korean fans `adieu`
코리아헤럴드|기사입력 2008-01-21 10:01


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Behind her trademark dark rimmed glasses, her deep brown eyes showed a mix of happiness and sadness.

Nana Mouskouri, the Greek goddess of song, faced reporters in a conference room of JW Marriot Seoul in southern Seoul on Saturday to hold a press conference about her "farewell concerts" in the country.

"I`m very happy to come back to Korea. I was a very lucky singer, having that many people listen to me," the 73-year-old singer said during the press conference. Mouskouri hardly looks her age, almost as healthy-looking as she was in her prime, but in recent interviews, she said that she wanted to bow out of the international singing arena because she wants people to remember her at her best.

"I will just step out of long tours. I will still do cultural work, reaching out to people through music," said Mouskouri who has been working as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 1993. Having playing an active role outside the world of music since her debut, she has traveled to various parts of the globe, including Mexico, Chile, Vietnam, Bosnia and Kenya to promote children`s human rights.

After the news of oil spill in Taean, the worst one ever in the East Asian country`s history, she decided to donate $10,000 from ticket sales of her concerts in the country to help cleanup the shore. "It`s natural to have an interest in the affairs of the country where I`m singing. I`ve always been interested in environmental issues," she said.

Born in Crete, Greece, the singer was trained in classical music at the Athens Conservatory. The singer also contributed largely to the popularization of semi-classical music, her classical training and lyrical voice suited for that type of music, her adaptation of "Song for Liberty" from a Verdi opera being one example.

She is said to be the biggest-selling female singer of all time, estimated to have released some 450 albums of which 350 became gold or platinum albums. According to some estimates, she has sold more than 300 million records, surpassing the number sold by Celine Dion and Madonna combined.

Mouskouri debuted in 1959, winning first prize at that year`s Greek Song Festival singing "Kapou Iparchi Agapi Mou." Her first hit was "The White Rose of Athens" released in 1961.

She began to be noted outside of Greece and Europe with the 1962 release of "The Girl from Greece Sings," produced by Quincy Jones. She sings in Greek, French, English, Spanish, Italian, German and Portuguese.

Some of her earlier albums included "Nara Sings," (1965) released in English and the French album "Le Jour Ou la Colombe" (1967). Many of her songs, such as "Only Love" and "Over and Over," have come to be perennial favorites of Koreans, as many of them have frequently been used in dramas and television commercials.

Her concerts here began yesterday at Seoul Central City`s Millennium Hall in Southern Seoul during which the singer presented some 40 different songs. "If you love something you know how to do things right," the singer said when asked the secret of her vocal healthcare.

"Greek music can be sad but not desperate. I think Greeks and Koreans share that optimistic emotional factor," she said.

The concerts will go on in Seongnam (Seongnam Art Center Opera House, Jan. 22), Daegu (Daegu Cultural Center for Students, Jan. 24), Changwon (Sungsan Art Hall, Jan 25) and Busan (KBS Busan Hall, Jan. 26). Tickets for the concerts range from 70,000 won to 190,000 won. For more information, call (02) 1544-7566.

By Lee Yong-sung

(danlee@heraldm.com)