Greek singer Ilias Vrettos paid tribute to fellow performer Giorgos Mazonakis in an Instagram post, recounting a night the two spent together at Mazonakis's home about a year and a half ago and wishing peace for what he called his friend's "tormented soul."
Mazonakis died on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, at the age of 54. In his post, Vrettos described a conversation the pair had shared in Mazonakis's kitchen, which ended with the two men singing Mazonakis's song "Opos Tha Fevgeis" ("As You Will Leave") together, a performance Vrettos also referenced in a video he shared alongside the post.
A Night at the Kitchen Table
Vrettos said he vividly remembered a night that stretched into early morning at Mazonakis's home about a year and a half earlier. The two had been sitting at the kitchen table discussing a possible collaboration at the time, he said. With a guitar in his hands, Vrettos said he asked Mazonakis if he knew which of his songs was his favourite. When Mazonakis asked which one, Vrettos said he told him it might not be one of his better known tracks, but that he loved "Opos Tha Fevgeis" more than any other. Mazonakis then asked him to sing it, telling him that since he liked it so much, he should be the one to perform it.
"The Most Beautiful Duet of My Life"
Vrettos described Mazonakis watching him from his chair, sitting cross-legged with a cigarette in his hand, a look of surprise crossing his face as he sang. By the second verse, Vrettos said, Mazonakis could no longer hold back and began singing along, starting with what he called a wonderful huskiness in his voice. By the chorus, he said, the room had filled with the harmonies of Mazonakis's voice.
Vrettos said he was mesmerised and quietly added a second voice underneath, calling it perhaps the most beautiful duet of his life. When they finished, he said Mazonakis told him he had sung it exceptionally well. Feeling awkward, Vrettos said he replied that after Mazonakis's own version of the song, no other interpretation mattered, and that it had been etched into his heart because of the way Mazonakis performed it. Mazonakis, he said, insisted he meant every word.
A Song That Now Sounds Different
Vrettos said he had been listening to the song constantly since Mazonakis's death and could never have imagined its lyrics would strike his heart in such a different and painful way. He said singing it now felt like performing it for Mazonakis again, only this time as a dedication, since Mazonakis had "disappeared into the light," as the song's opening line puts it, a moment he noted was unfortunately not captured on the video he shared.
He said everyone says goodbye to the people they have lost in their own way, and that this was his. Vrettos said he hoped that wherever Mazonakis is now, cigarette in hand, he is listening and enjoying it just as he did that night, but that above all he hoped his "tormented soul" would finally find peace. He added that Mazonakis would always be loved and sung, and closed the post with a farewell to him.
Who Was Giorgos Mazonakis
Mazonakis was one of the best known names in Greek pop and laiko music, with a career spanning several decades and a large catalogue of songs performed across Greece. His death on September 9 prompted an outpouring of tributes from fellow Greek performers in the days that followed.
Coverage of Mazonakis's death has continued across Greek media in the days since, including ongoing reporting on the circumstances surrounding his final hours.
