Richard Capuano and the famous Greek singer Sofia Vempo

This photo was taken on 5th March 1955 at Frida Angel’s house in Athens.

Here you can see my husband, Richard Capuano, dancing with the Greek singer Sofia Vempo.

Together with my husband we had many friends both from the Jewish community and outside it. We had a group of friends; one of them was an admiral.

All of them where people that liked to feast. Giose, Lava, Gionis… we had very nice parties; it was unimaginable to have a party at which there wouldn’t be a piano or a guitar.

As I sing correctly I was singing all night. Our companies were including all sort of different types of people, many friends, and we went on cruises, trips etc.

Sofia Vempo was a well known singer and actress of Greece before World War II.

During the war against the Italians and the Germans, she became very popular because she sang some wonderful songs that inspired the Greek people and humiliated the dictators of Germany and Italy.

During the Greek military dictatorship between 1967 and 1974, and especially during 1973 she helped and had hidden students in her apartment that were being sought by the police of that period.

Her spouse was Mimis Traiforos, a well known composer of classic Greek songs.

Sofia was also the star of another movie besides the classic ‘Stella.’ She was the star of ‘Stournara 288,’ where she played a famous singer who was forgotten by her fans and lived as a piano teacher.

She is known as the ‘National Singer of Greece.’

Photos from this interviewee