"Portraits with Christos Vasilopoulos" is dedicated to well-known people of the arts who have left a strong imprint on Greece. These are twelve show specials with elements of research, shedding light on all aspects of culture. What has been the secret of their success, but also what have been the difficulties they have gone through and the bitterness they have experienced? Also, what has their everyday life been like, who were the people closest to them, and the people who have influenced them? "People with Christos Vasilopoulos" sheds light on these people's lives and distinguishes myth from reality.

The show "People with Christos Vasilopoulos" presents the life of Stelios Kazantzidis.


Part I - The rise

Kazantzidis was a legend of folk music, who sang of the suffering of poverty and the pain of being in a foreign land. He was perhaps the only Greek artist who did not have fans, but believers, who followed him in every appearance and was not an idol but almost a holy person, who was worshiped unconditionally. Kazantzidis' life began with suffering and losses. The child of Asia Minor Catastrophe refugees, who was born and raised in Nea Ionia, saw his father beaten to death and pass away because of his political beliefs.

The German occupation and the civil war shaped his character, as did the hard work for survival alone. The show records how he escaped from the small taverns and reached the top of the music industry. The beginning was with Vasilis Tsitsanis, but the peak of success was when Stelios Kazantzidis met the young singer Kiki Papadopoulou, who became known as Marinella, in Thessaloniki. Within a short period of time, the two young people fell in love, became an inseparable duo and the biggest names of Greece’s music industry and nightlife. Sales of records with the song "Mandoubala" skyrocketed and the appearances in films of Greek cinema also began.


Part II - The Years of Silence

In the second part of the tribute to the popular singer, his decision to stop performing at nightclubs, following the threats he received from the underworld, is documented. The show sheds light on the period in which the singer denounced that the godfathers tried to turn him into their prey and ruin him financially. He mentioned that they used knives, guns, and even grenades. The show "People" describes his great success with Marinella and the couple's marriage, which ended in divorce when Kazantzidis decided to retire from the popular folk stages to live as a farmer in Veroia. The problems would not stop for the legend of Greek singing. During the seven years of dictatorship, he was almost led to financial ruin by the regime, while problems began with the record company "Minos Matsas kai Yios" with which he had signed a contract. During the same period, Stelios Kazantzidis met the young musician Christos Nikolopoulos, with whom they collaborated, creating timeless hits such as "Yparcho". Christos Nikolopoulos reveals to Christos Vasilopoulos unknown moments of the life he lived next to the singer while describing the stories behind the great hit songs.