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OPERA SINGER HASMIK PAPIAN TO PERFORM AT ARMENIAN NIGHT IN BOSTON
PanARMENIAN.Net
June 17, 2011 - 10:02 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Hasmik Papian, a darling of the European and
American top opera houses, as well as a veteran solo performer will
next perform in Boston at the Armenian Night at the Pops on June 25,
The Armenian Mirror-Spectator reports.
In a recent interview from her home here, lyric soprano Papian spoke
about her spectacular rise in the world of opera.
Papian was born and raised in Yerevan, and almost did not become
a singer; she was studying the violin. "The decision [to become a
soprano] came very late," she explained. "I always knew I had a voice,
but I never thought I would become a professional singer."
"I won four international competitions and after the first one,
the son of the great tenor, Mario Del Monaco, Giovanni, who was the
head of Opera Bonn, [in Germany] heard me sing. Bonn, at that time,
was the capital of Germany. If you sing well [ in a major city like
that] it goes around quickly," Papian said. She got a contract and
started singing there.
That was back in 1993. She started looking for opportunities at the
end of her contract there.She was soon booked for a debut recital at
the Vienna State Opera. "I was there for rehearsals at 11 a.m. There
was a big crowd at the artists' entrance. I thought there must have
been an accident, but it was only spectators who had come to my
rehearsals. They came to wish me good luck. After my debut, I decided
if I could not live in Yerevan, this is the place I would love to
live," she recalled.
While she called Yerevan her "beloved city," Papian said that
Vienna has, hands-down, the "best audiences." In fact, she said,
the government does much to promote opera, and the art form is
so identified with the city that there are planeloads of Japanese
tourists who come for the weekend to attend a single performance.
She added, "I never left Armenia. I almost look at [my absence] as
a business trip." She noted that she goes back every year and added
she plans to live in Armenia at the end of her career.
As for her favorite stage, she said Metropolitan Opera in New York City
"is one of the best stages in the world."
PanARMENIAN.Net
June 17, 2011 - 10:02 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Hasmik Papian, a darling of the European and
American top opera houses, as well as a veteran solo performer will
next perform in Boston at the Armenian Night at the Pops on June 25,
The Armenian Mirror-Spectator reports.
In a recent interview from her home here, lyric soprano Papian spoke
about her spectacular rise in the world of opera.
Papian was born and raised in Yerevan, and almost did not become
a singer; she was studying the violin. "The decision [to become a
soprano] came very late," she explained. "I always knew I had a voice,
but I never thought I would become a professional singer."
"I won four international competitions and after the first one,
the son of the great tenor, Mario Del Monaco, Giovanni, who was the
head of Opera Bonn, [in Germany] heard me sing. Bonn, at that time,
was the capital of Germany. If you sing well [ in a major city like
that] it goes around quickly," Papian said. She got a contract and
started singing there.
That was back in 1993. She started looking for opportunities at the
end of her contract there.She was soon booked for a debut recital at
the Vienna State Opera. "I was there for rehearsals at 11 a.m. There
was a big crowd at the artists' entrance. I thought there must have
been an accident, but it was only spectators who had come to my
rehearsals. They came to wish me good luck. After my debut, I decided
if I could not live in Yerevan, this is the place I would love to
live," she recalled.
While she called Yerevan her "beloved city," Papian said that
Vienna has, hands-down, the "best audiences." In fact, she said,
the government does much to promote opera, and the art form is
so identified with the city that there are planeloads of Japanese
tourists who come for the weekend to attend a single performance.
She added, "I never left Armenia. I almost look at [my absence] as
a business trip." She noted that she goes back every year and added
she plans to live in Armenia at the end of her career.
As for her favorite stage, she said Metropolitan Opera in New York City
"is one of the best stages in the world."