Titos Xirellis

Stavros Xirellis, known as Titos () (27 March 1898 - 24 January 1985) was a Greek operatic baritone and composer. Xirellis was a native of , Lesbos; the date of his birth is uncertain. He was born into a poor family, the son of a blacksmith. Early in life he was a cantor; he also took violin lessons in Mytilene before traveling to Athens for study at the Conservatory, where his vocal instructor was Nina Foka. Other instructors there included Philoctetes Economides, for harmony, and Armand Marsik, for theory, with whom he worked from 1917 until 1919. In the latter year he began studies with George Lombianikos, with whom he stayed until 1920. Throughout this time he remained a pupil of Foka. Xirellis graduated from the Conservatory with a Gold Medal for Excellence in Solo Work and Opera in 1920. Originally intending to be a tenor, he debuted instead as a baritone in 1918 with the Kyparissis troupe. Two years later he bowed at the Greek National Opera in the title roles of Rigoletto and Der fliegende Holländer. A scholarship allowed him in 1925 to move to Milan where he undertook lessons with Giuseppe Borghi; he also studied in Berlin with Mattia Battistini from 1926 to 1928, and was