Samara, Spiro (actually, Spyridon Filiskos)

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Samara, Spiro (actually, Spyridon Filiskos)

Samara, Spiro (actually, Spyridon Filiskos ), Greek composer; b. Corfu, Nov. 29, 1861; d. Athens, March 25, 1917. He was a pupil of Enrico Stancampiano in Athens, and later of Delibes at the Paris Cons. He won considerable success with his first opera, Flora mirabilis (Milan, May 16, 1886), and devoted himself almost exclusively to dramatic composition. Other operas were Medgè (Rome, 1888), Lionella (Milan, 1891), La Martyre (Naples, May 23, 1894), La furia domata (Milan, 1895), Istoria (Milan, 1903; as La biondinetta, Gotha, 1906), Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle (Genoa, Nov. 9, 1905), Rhea (Florence, April 11, 1908), and La guerra in tempo di guerra (Athens, 1914). He publ. Scènes orientales, suite for Piano, 4-Hands, many pieces for piano duo, and songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire