When the opportune comes, the Armenian opera fans recall with admiration the concert of the Bratislava opera theatre soloists at the Al. Spendiaryan Opera and Ballet National Academic Theatre in 2014. Recently, our opera soloists made a reciprocal visit to Slovakia.
“Aravot” met the pianist, laureate of international competitions, leader of the Youth opera program of the National Opera, soloist of the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Armenia, Levon Javadyan, who accompanied our opera singers at the Bratislava Philharmonic Hall.
Levon Javadyan noted that the concert was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s independence, and then added, “Soloists of our opera, mezzo-sopranos Lilit Hakobyan, Greta Baghiyan and baritone George Arakelov performed a really presentable program from the works of Komitas up to arias from Chukhajyan’s “Arshak II,” Harutyunyan’s “Sayat-Nova” as well as excerpts from the treasury of world opera literature, including known arias from operas of Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Wagner and others.”
Our interlocutor specifically mentioned that among the spectators, the concert was attended by the Deputy Minister of Science, Education and Sports of Slovakia, Ambassador of Armenia to Austria, Arman Kirakosyan, Ambassador of Armenia to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Tigran Seyranyan and other officials. “At the beginning of the concert, Armenia’s ambassador to Slovakia welcomed the attendees, spoke about the Armenian-Slovakian relations during the years of the independence of Armenia and the recent war unleashed by Azerbaijan. The Ambassador thanked the former Speaker of the Slovak Parliament for the attendance whose efforts played a role in the adoption of the resolution for recognizing the Armenian Genocide in 2004. Incidentally, Slovakia will preside the European Parliament from July 1, moreover, in this critical period for us,” said Levon Javadyan. The artist assured that after the performance of any of the Armenian opera singers, you can hear long applauses and bravos of the audience. As our interlocutor said, this concert was a proof of a high culture of our country, “Recently, there are a lot of talks about the caviar-diplomacy of Azerbaijan. After this event, how many tons of caviar must Azerbaijan supply to Europe at least to compensate this concert? I do not doubt that the responses of the concert will definitely reach Azerbaijan because, first of all, it is not often that you can meet so many officials in our cultural event, and then, right on the next day, the responses about the concert appeared in the periodicals.”
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We inquired from the Head of the Programs of the National Opera Theatre, who holds this office since the beginning of this year and once had informed “Aravot” that he is planning to stage Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” opera with young voices, when the premiere of this opera will eventually be held. “In recent months, young soloists are included in some performances of the repertoire of the theater, and some of them, such as, Tigran Ohanyan and Mary Movsisyan acted firstly on the stage with the aria of young gypsy in Rachmaninov’s “Aleko” and aria of Anush in Tigranyan’s analogous opera performances, respectively. As for the “Eugene Onegin,” it is specifically determined that in the fall, on November 6, renowned singer Tatevik Sazandaryan Competition will kick off with the concert performance of this opera with young voices,” said Levon Javadyan.
Samvel DANIELYAN
In the photo: Levon Javadyan (left), Georgi Arakelov, Lilit Hakobyan and Greta Baghiyan, “Aravot” daily
