Aggela Papazoglou

Angela Papazoglou (; November 8, 1899 – August 17, 1983) was a Greek rebetiko singer from Smyrna, then part of the Ottoman Empire. She is best known for her memoirs, which were published posthumously and adapted into a play.

Biography Angela Papazoglou was born Angela Maronitou on November 8, 1899, in Smyrna, now called İzmir, to Eleni Maronitou and Dimitris Maronitis. Her father Dimitris was a violinist. She learned to play the santouri and violin at a young age, and by the time she was 11, she appeared onstage with her father. By the time she was 17, Papazoglou was singing at venues across Smyrna with other rebetiko players. To appeal to the diverse audiences of cosmopolitan Smyrna, she sang in Hebrew, Arabic, and Armenian as well as Greek. She learned a variety of Greek musical styles and also different genres from Europe and the Middle East. She went by the stage name Angelitsa while performing.

In 1922, following the Great Fire of Smyrna and the Greek-Turkish population exchange, Papazoglou resettled in Kokkinia, Greece.

In 1924, Angela Papazoglou met , a composer of rebetiko music. They married in 1927 and had one son, Giorgis. In 1929, Papazoglou went blind after a period of illness. Her memoirs provided the inspiration for the play Angela Papazoglou, a dramatized theatrical account of her life. It was first staged in 1999, with Anna Vagena playing the lead.

Discography Recordings of Angela Papazoglou's music appear on two anthologies: Women of Rembetika 1908-1947, 4-CD collection, JSP Records, 2012 Smirneiko Et Rebetiko: Les Grandes Chanteuses 1915-1936 (Smirneiko and Rebetiko: The Great Singers 1915–1936), , 1995