Alkistis Protopsalti

Alkistis Protopsalti, or Alkistis Sevasti Attikiouzel, as her real name is, is a Greek singer. She was born on October 18, 1954, in Alexandria, Egypt, to Greek-Egyptian parents. In 1960, due to the political events occurring in Egypt at that time, she moved to Athens. During her teenage years, she engaged in sports, particularly track and field. Although it seemed she would pursue a career in sports, after encouragement from friends, she auditioned for Dimos Moutsis, who recognized her singing talent. Soon after, her first album "Tetralogy" was released, featuring songs based on poems by Cavafy, Seferis, Ritsos, and Karyotakis, set to music by Moutsis. He also gave her the stage name Protopsalti, under which she became known. Her first concert appearance was in 1975 at the Palais des Sports in Thessaloniki. Soon, more albums followed, along with collaborations with renowned musicians of the time, such as Nikos Xylouris, Dionysis Savvopoulos, Thanasis Gaifyllias, Stavros Xarchakos, Giannis Spanos, and many others. In 1985, she collaborated for the first time with composer Stamatis Kraounakis, a childhood friend, and the album "Kykloforo ki Oploforo," with lyrics by Lina Nikolakopoulou, became a milestone in her career. More collaborations with Kraounakis followed, including "Dikaioma," "Anthropon Erga," "Trito Stefani," among others. In the following years, her collaboration with Nikos Antypas resulted in the albums "San Ifaisteio Pou Xypna" and "Ydrogeies Sferes," with lyrics by Lina Nikolakopoulou. The album "Pes Mou Thalassa" followed, featuring contributions from various composers and lyricists, including Dimitra Galani. Next came "Na Se Vlepo Na Gelas" (2004), with some songs composed by Stefanos Korkolis. The album "Sto Oraiotero Semeio" followed, with the song "Pame Hawaii" achieving great success. Her latest personal work, released in March 2010, is the album "Fanera Mystika," the first to be distributed through a newspaper.