On the occasion of three concerts he will perform in Cyprus next week together with Nikos Portokaloglou (the second of them, in Nicosia, for the support of the “Sofia Foundation”), the top performer speaks in “Elefthera”, from the heart, about all that is changing in her but, above all, in the world around us.
–You have been in close contact with Cyprus for many years – what brings you to our island this time, Mrs. Protopsalti? The collaboration with Nikos Portokaloglou. Nikos is a multi-talented artist-songwriter with a warm voice that calms me, electrifies me, takes me on a journey and sets my heart racing. He has written great songs! The main thing, however, is that Nikos has a pure soul. We have worked together before, I had him as a guest at a couple of concerts, he invited me to his wonderful show, “Music Box”, we sang together on “Home with Mega”, we also have a brand new duet song called “Two Parallel Roads”. Our contact is excellent. We found that we are very, very close in our feeling, with contrasts charming (smiles). He tells me I’m ‘turbo’ and I tell him he’s ‘zen’, so the show could be subtitled… ‘Turbozen’ (laughs). This year our collaboration is completed. Preceded by rehearsals at home with his guitar, we mixed songs, laughed, sang, erased, wrote, and ended up. We are joined by an amazing band of eight musicians that emits sparks, in orchestrations by Thomas Kontogeorgis. Concerts, therefore, all over Greece and Cyprus – and indeed the first of our tour starts from my favorite island, the island of my heart, Cyprus.
–With the “Sofia Foundation” your relationship is very close. What do you remember, over the years, from experiences you had with the Foundation, but also with its people? The Foundation, quite simply, is amazing on all levels! With a unique project of offering “life-hope-education” to the children of Kenya – but also to the schools of Cyprus. I had the pleasure of planning and being in Kenya, and getting to know very closely all that the Foundation has to offer. Experience of a lifetime! I was moved, I cried, I sang in a completely rudimentary way inside the children’s dining hall, I played and danced with them… Moments indelibly written in my soul… They sang to me in Greek, flawlessly, “Salvation of the soul” and “Angel”, and I sang in Swahili “Malaika” – there are 10 shocking minutes of it on YouTube our visit there in 2017 and our concert and what happened in the Nakuru Children’s Prisons. Blessed is the work of the “Sofia Foundation”! Unique and the woman who inspired it, my dear friend, Marina Siakola. Great soul! Value! Worthy to be called “people” and her collaborators, but also all those who voluntarily and financially help the existence of this refuge of the soul… I hope we will visit it again soon…
–Someone, just looking at your rich resume, would think “you’ve done it all in your career and in music in general!”. Are there suggestions-experiences-hearings that even surprise you and motivate you to go one step further in your career and experiences? The Winter of 2025-2026 was unique. I played at the “Theatro Ivi”, in the show “Nikos Xylouris – the Archangel of Crete”. I was the narrator of his life, as Urania – the woman of today – and I described his life which was played out next to me by great actors – I sang, I participated in the events. It was a unique experience, it was like entering a time capsule and reliving it all! I had worked with Nikos for three years, after all… He was an excellent artist, a wonderful person, a source. The theater was a great experience – there were 100 performances at “Ivi”, I was very happy and moved even more. Another world that I respect and loved very much from the inside, with an amazing troupe. We had a great time! Collaborations, concerts and – most importantly – contact with people, give me life and light – I couldn’t do without them…
–Has the way you approach your art changed these days? In relation to, say, the 80s, 40 years ago, with the big hits you’ve had since then? The music, the songs, the performances, the contact with the world, is the washing of my soul. I don’t know what will stay or what will be forgotten – that will be decided by the audience and the story of the song… What I know is that music is like a shock wave for me, it hits the emotion and throws me into the sky. What I dreamed I laid down, what I dream shall come to pass. Dreams and desires for something else, different, never stop. You tune into your psychic alignment, look for explosive mixes and ideal chemistries, emotional melodies and words, and as a result, you embrace people in moments you know, and moments you’re not. This is the magic…
–Did you ever realize that you are “one of the most important female performers in Greece”? Or did the realization of all that you were experiencing from the audience never really come? I smile at what you ask me. What I experience with the public is unrepeatable! And I thank God for giving me these two centimeters, my vocal chords, since with them I communicate with the whole planet. I am grateful for everything I have felt and of the beach of my life I would not change a single pebble. The world knows exactly what Alcestis is… Alcestis steps on the Earth with eyes on the sky. What I do know is that with music people are happy and grateful because they have created memories with it. Exactly the same as me.
–Watching the shows and your presence in general, one cannot help but “see” in you a very sociable and multi-talented – in many fields – person, active – almost hyperactive. I wonder: Is this your reality? Exactly her! My motto is ‘carpe diem’, meaning ‘seize the day’ – and don’t let it go to waste. Life is short, a flash, whatever we catch. Because dreams have no age…
– How do you envision your future? I would like a lot to change in this cruel world we live in… For violence to be eliminated -which you find everywhere and for no reason-, for parents to be more involved with their children, to teach them how to behave, for there to be serious education -because that’s where everything starts-, for there to be greater respect for people, for there to be justice, for the laws to be valid, for wars and the misery of civilians to stop, for us to finally see smiling children, for there to be many role models for the youth from all areas, for the Arts and Culture to flourish, to finally protect the environment, to respect the animals and much more… We must become the voice for those who do not have… I am frightened by what is happening around us, at all levels.
–What is it like to be a woman today, Ms. Lead Singer? The woman remained, for centuries, a second or third class citizen. He suffered the most, and enjoyed the least. From then until today, several steps have been taken and we have arrived in today’s modern society to talk about substantial equality between men and women. But despite the progress that has been made in the Western world, let’s not forget that there are millions of women who are denied education, who have limited freedom of clothing, of movement, who have low social participation. Unfortunately, in many countries, deep-rooted gender inequalities persist. Unfortunately, the crisis also has a “female” face and when it is accompanied by poverty and isolation, then the mixture becomes “explosive”. We have even more intense phenomena of extreme acts of violence against women. Trafficking in women. Abuse – psychological and physical violence, domestic and non-domestic. In ancient Greek culture, it was certainly not the power that qualified the woman. The woman who possessed power was dangerous, foreign and barbaric, like the Amazons. Or even a witch, like Medea, Circe and Cassandra. The few mythical women who possess power and manage to escape anonymity are driven to loneliness and marginalization. The goddess Artemis possesses hunting skills and martial virtues. But, it does not complete her womanhood. So is Atalanti, the mythical huntress. In ancient epic and tragedies, women achieve heroic stature not through strength, but through sacrifice. Think of Iphigenia, Antigone or Alcestis. As the myths testify, the female nature is distinguished by patience and presence. Woman is hope, she is life, she is an eternal source of creation that is always moving and wins its reality with hard struggles, within the vast space of time.
- Info: The concerts by Alkistis Protopsaltis and Nikos Portokaloglos will take place on June 7 at the Municipal Garden Theater “Marios Tokas” in Limassol, on June 8 at the Amphitheater of the Blind School in Nicosia (the specific one for the support of the “Sofia Foundation”) and on June 10 at the Patticheio Municipal Amphitheater in Larnaca. Tickets: Ticketmaster.cy and ACS Courrier.
