Opera Singer. 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 Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" but spent most of the 1920s in the German capital earning praise in such roles as Rodolfo in Puccini's "La Boheme" and the tragic clown Canio of 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; today his rather significant legacy has been re-mastered and is available on CD.
Opera Singer. 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 Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" but spent most of the 1920s in the German capital earning praise in such roles as Rodolfo in Puccini's "La Boheme" and the tragic clown Canio of 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; today his rather significant legacy has been re-mastered and is available on CD.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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