World-famous Greek diva Glykeria to perform at Istanbul Ataturk Centre

World-famous Greek diva Glykeria will be performing in Istanbul’s iconic Ataturk Cultural Center – Turk Telecom Opera Hall tonight, May 28, at 20.00 in support of the Zografeion Lyceum, one of the few remaining Greek schools in Istanbul.

The one-off performance of the great Greek artist will open Istanbul’s Beyoğlu Cultural Road Festival, which will host a total five thousand artists across 53 locations this year.

“Bringing together the city’s buildings, streets, architecture, aesthetics, and historical fabric with all our intangible cultural heritage such as literature, theatre, music, opera, gastronomy, education, painting and cinema, the festival will contribute to cultural accumulation,” the Festival’s website notes.

“Beyoğlu Culture Road aims to preserve the cultural values jus t​as they were in the past, and to carry them to the future so as to revitalize Beyoğlu in its unique fabric,” it adds.

Glykeria made rebetiko song known to the world

Greek diva Glykeria’s career spans four decades, during which she has released over thirty albums and performed at more than 2,000 concerts on five continents, enjoying an exquisitely successful international career.

Glykeria is best known for her association with the rebetiko genre, as one of its most renowned modern-day interpreters.

This started in the early 1980s, when she released her first solo album, Ta Smyrneika, which was a compilation album with traditional songs from Smyrna.

Over the years, she made rebetiko music popular across the world—from Europe to North America and Australia—through her unique voice and beautiful songs.

She has collaborated with legendary Greek composers and performers, such as Apostolos Kaldaras, Sotiria Bellou, Marinella, Yiannis Markopoulos, Loukianos Kilaidonis, George Dalaras, and Margarita Zorbala among others.

Glykeria also has a deep connection to Israel, where she has performed many concerts and was awarded the golden key of the city of Jerusalem in 1994.

Zografeion Greek School in Istanbul

Founded in the late 19th century with donations from the Greek diaspora—most notably Christakis Zografos, a Greek banker and benefactor—the Zografeion is one of the last remaining open Greek schools in Istanbul.

It is located in the Beyoğlu district, close to Taksim Square, which is considered the heart of the city.

Many famous artists, architects, politicians, and theologians of the Greek diaspora have studied at the school, including Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople.

In the years that followed its opening, Zografeion became a particularly active school and always had more than 250 pupils. According to its most recent records, today the school has no more than fifty pupils (2019-2020).