Spyros Samaras

Spyros Samaras, Spiro Samara (Greek: Σπύρος Σαμάρας; 1861-25 March 1917) was a Greek composer born in Corfu. His most famous work is the Olympic Anthem, the words of which were contributed by Kostis Palamas. The Anthem was first performed during the opening ceremony of the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Olympic Games. It was declared the official anthem of the Olympic movement by the International Olympic Committee in 1958 and has been used at every Olympic opening ceremony since the 1964 Summer Olympics. Nonetheless, beyond this populistic image Samaras, who apart from Greece was educated also in Paris (Leo Delibes composition class), was a well known figure in the Italian musical theatres of late 'ottocento' and actually it was his career as opera composer that contributed to the commission of the Olympic Anthem's composition in 1895. Before that year, Samaras, among others, had already presented two of his most famous operas, Flora Mirabilis (1886) and La martire (1894), the latter based on a libreto by Luigi Illica with many naturalistic elements, which gave space to Samaras musical personality for an equal treatment. After 1896 Samaras's career as opera composer continued, culminating with Rhea (1908). However, his decision in 1911 to return to Greece, at a time, during which Balkan Wars and First World War were to initiate one of the most turbulant periods of modern Greek history proved to be unwise. On the top of that, his appointment as director of the Athens Conservatory never took place and his work met the polemic and the ambitiousness of the so-called 'National School' composers. These conditions led Samaras's work to obscurity. It is indicative that the composer during his staying in Athens wrote music for the popular operetta and that he left unfinished his Tigra, which is considered to be Samaras's returning opera back in Italian musical stages. Samaras, who was fervently supported by the publisher Edoardo Sonzogno, is a very interesting compositional figure belonging to the generation that heralded and coexisted with the puccinian operas. His works, having elaborate instrumentation and dramatic coherence, stand without difficulty by the side of those by Alfredo Catalani, Umberto Giordano, Pietro Mascagni or Ruggero Leoncavallo.