Over 500 songs were recorded by Roza Eskenazi during her decade of peak output, cementing her reputation as the definitive voice of the rebetiko genre. Beyond her primary identity as a vocalist, she moved with agility between Greek, Turkish, Armenian, Arabic, Yiddish, Ladino, and Italian musical traditions to secure a broad following across international borders.
Early Development and Migration
Born as Roza Sarah Skinazi in Constantinople around 1895, she migrated with her family to Thessaloniki during her youth. Lacking formal schooling, she discovered her vocal potential while assisting her mother in domestic service in Komotini. After relocating to Thessaloniki, she secured work at the Grand Hotel Theater, initially as a dancer. Following an elopement with Yiannis Zardinidis in 1913, she adopted the name Roza. After his death in 1917, she placed her son, Paraschos, in a nursery before moving to Athens to pursue a full-time career in performance.
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In the late 1920s, she collaborated with Armenian performers Seramous and Zabel, which utilized her multilingual background. Her career entered a new phase when composer Panagiotis Toundas introduced her to Columbia Records. In 1929, she cut her first four sides for the label. By the mid-1930s, she was a high-earning performer at the Taygetos nightclub, commanding 200 drachmas per night, though her personal wealth was limited by an affinity for expensive jewelry.
Wartime Survival and Resistance
During the Second World War, her Sephardic Jewish background made her a target for deportation to Auschwitz. She spent three months in jail in Greece but narrowly escaped the fate of much of the Greek Jewish community. During the occupation, she operated from her Athens home, clandestinely housing British agents and resistance members while facilitating the rescue of various individuals.
International Reach and Later Years
Eskenazi toured internationally, visiting Egypt, Albania, and Serbia to perform for both Greek and Turkish diaspora audiences. She also conducted two tours of the United States, including a nine-month stay in the 1950s. After a decline in her professional visibility, she experienced a revival in the 1970s, which culminated in a final live concert in 1977. She died in 1980 after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
Fast facts
- Born: 1895, Constantinople
- Died: 1980, Athens
- Primary Genre: Rebetiko
- Occupations: Singer, musician
- Citizenship: Greece
- Known as: Queen of Rebetiko
- Languages performed: 7 including Greek, Turkish, and Yiddish
Questions readers ask
What was her role in the rebetiko genre?
She is credited with bringing rebetiko to a mainstream audience, recording over 500 songs in the 1930s and establishing the Smyrna school of the style.
How did she survive the Second World War?
She avoided deportation to Auschwitz by spending three months in jail and subsequently helped the resistance by hiding British agents and others in her home.
Achievements
- Worked as singer and musician
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