Description

COSTA MILONA (KERATEA, 3 FEBRUARY, 1889 – LONDON, 27 MARCH, 1949)

 

 

 

 

A spinto tenor of note during the 1920s and 1930s, he is remembered principally for his recordings. Born Konstantinos Mylonas into poverty, he lost his father at an early age and was sent to work in the mines. Heard singing by a well-off gentleman, he was sponsored to the Athens Conservatory where he did well and gained recital experience in concerts sometimes accompanied by a young Dimitri Mitropoulos on the piano. Upon his 1920 graduation he relocated to Milan where he refined his art, Italianized his name, and took-up with a married Italian lady. Milona made 1923 appearances in Monte Carlo as both a Sailor and a Shepherd from R. Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” but spent most of the 1920s in the German capital earning praise in such roles as Rodolfo in G. Puccini’s “La Boheme” and the tragic clown Canio of R. Leoncavallo’s “I Pagliacci” while recording for various companies. He was seen at the Vienna State Opera in 1932, worked as a voice teacher in Berlin during the mid 1930s, and sang at the Deutsche Opera Berlin as late as 1938. After spending the war years in Berlin, he moved to London in 1946, his way paid by a wealthy English lady as by then his voice was used-up and he was broke. Milona died of heart disease after a period of steady decline.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1923 Monte Carlo Grand-Théâtre Tristan und Isolde (sailor)

1923 Monte Carlo Grand-Théâtre Tristan und Isolde (sailor)

1938 Berlin Deutsches Oper La Bohème (Rodolfo)

1938 Berlin Deutsches Oper Pagliacci (Canio)

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) Vesti la giubba P1530-I aT5907 Parlophon, Berlin 1922

Paola (Herapoulou) B21597 101705 Parlophon, Berlin, 12 May 1931

Pecché (Pennino) 3-8531 51620 Homocord, Berlin 1924-06-18

Pecché (Pennino) B12339 119054 Parlophon, Berlin 1930-06-20

Pêcheurs de perles (Bizet) Mi par d’udir ancora 03570 2743½A Vox, Berlin 1926-05 (ac)

Pêcheurs de perles (Bizet) Mi par d’udir ancora P1394 2-5941 Parlophon, Berlin 1922-06-09

Pêcheurs de perles (Bizet) Mi par d’udir ancora P51017 2-20817-2 Parlophon, Berlin 1928-11-07

Pos Pantrevoun Tin Agápi Mou (Lavda) B21521 101009 Parlophon, Berlin 1929-03-19

Puritani (Bellini) A te, o cara 3-8676 51902 Homokord, Berlin 1925

Ramona (Wayne) (Gr) B21517 101006 Parlophon, Berlin 1929-03-19

Rigoletto (Verdi) La donna è mobile P1380 2-5904 Parlophon, Berlin 1922-05-24

Rigoletto (Verdi) Questa o quella P1380 2-5903 Parlophon, Berlin 1922-05-24

Santa Lucia (Cottrau) 03657E 1729AA Vox, Berlin, October 1927

Santa Lucia (Cottrau) B 7796 119056 Parlophon, Berlin 1930-06-20

Santa Lucia (Cottrau) B17535 36600 Parlophon, Berlin 1928-10-31