Anna Kasyan ( hy, Աննա Կասյան) (born 7 October 1981) is a
Georgian-born
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
opera singer
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...
(
soprano) living in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. Kasyan is one of the young artists who is viewed with high expectations in her field.
Early life and education
Kasyan began her early musical training by studying piano and violin at the Central Music School for gifted children in
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...
, Georgia. From an early age, she participated in many performances as a soloist. At the age of nine, she made her debut with an orchestra. In 1999, Kasyan entered
Tbilisi State Conservatory
Tbilisi State Conservatoire ( ka, თბილისის სახელმწიფო კონსერვატორია, ''Tbilisis Saxelmc̣ipo Ḳonservaṭoria'') is the State Conservatoire of Georgia, located in the capital Tbilisi ...
in violin class. By this time she became interested in singing and in 2001, she continued studying singing at the same
Conservatoryby professor Svetlana Egorova.
After completing her musical education, Kasyan continued her studies in France. Since 2003, she pursued singing classes at the
Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, where she graduated in 2008 with the Diploma of Higher Concertiste with unanimous approval. Simultaneous to her studies, Kasyan also entered "cycle du perfectionnement" (specialization) at
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
between 2004 and 2006. Kasyan participated in master classes led by
Tom Krause,
Raina Kabaivanska
Raina Yakimova Kabaivanska ( bg, Райна Якимова Кабаиванска); born 15 December 1934) is a Bulgarian opera singer, one of the leading lirico-spinto sopranos of her generation, particularly associated with Verdi and Pucci ...
,
Viorica Cortez,
Janine Reiss and
baroque music with
Nicolau de Figueiredo and
Jory Vinikour
Jory Vinikour (born May 12, 1963 in Chicago) is an American born harpsichordist. He has been living in Paris since 1990, where he studied on a scholarship from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program with Huguette Dreyfus and Kenneth Gilbert.
Vinikour ...
.
Awards and nominations
Kasyan is a prize-winner of numerous international competitions, including the 1st
Renata Tebaldi International Competition in San Marino (organized by the
Renata Tebaldi Foundation in 2005, Second Prize);
a First Prize in Singing Musical Autumn Festival, Adams, then a 1st Prize in Singing Competition in
Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...
. She was the winner of the Meyer Foundation award for the years 2004–2005.
Kasyan was selected by Adami (Society for Administration of Rights of Artists, Musicians and Performers) for Revelations Classics 2006.
In May 2008, she participated in
International Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Belgium. She gave an outstanding performance and the competition went well for Kasyan: 24 candidates were selected out of 72 eligible to compete. Kasyan participated in the semi final on 13 May 2008. At the end of the semi-finals, she was one of the 12 finalists, and then became the winner of the 4th prize in this very prestigious competition held every four years.
On 12 June 2009, Anna Kasyan won the
Grand Prix at the 3rd International Singing Competition at the 71st
Strasbourg Music Festival under the chairmanship of
Barbara Hendricks
Barbara Hendricks (born November 20, 1948) is an American operatic soprano and concert singer. Hendricks has lived in Europe since 1977, and in Switzerland in Basel since 1985. She is a citizen of Sweden following her marriage to a Swedish c ...
.
In 2010, Anna Kasyan was nominated for the
Victoires de la Musique
Victoires de la Musique (; en, Victories of Music) is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz ...
Classique award.
In 2012, Anna Kasyan was selected by
Ararat as being among top 50 most influential Armenians today, among other notable names such as
Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...
,
Serj Tankian
Serj Tankian (born August 21, 1967) is an Armenian-American singer, musician, songwriter, political activist and entrepreneur. He is best known as the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, keyboardist, and occasional rhythm guitarist of heavy metal ...
,
Ruben Vardanian
Ruben Karlenovich Vardanyan (, ; born May 25, 1968) is a Russian-Armenian politician who has served as the State Minister of Artsakh, an unrecognized state in the South Caucasus, since November 4, 2022. Prior to his political career, Vardanyan ...
and others.
Performances
Being an active performer, Kasyan has sung in prestigious halls such as
Carnegie Hall,
Opéra de Genève,
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
,
Salle Cortot in Paris, UNESCO,
Cité de la Musique
The Cité de la Musique ("City of Music"), also known as Philharmonie 2, is a group of institutions dedicated to music and situated in the Parc de la Villette, 19th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was designed with the nearby Conservatoire d ...
, gives concerts in San Marino and in Italy.
In December 2005, she made the notable performance of Mozart's ''
Requiem'' at
St. Eustache Church in Paris.
In 2006, she sang
Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...
-
Scarlatti-
Haendel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
in Paris. She also performed works of
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
composer
Garbis Aprikian before her
Mozart concert in
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
. Her talent was rewarded again in the same year 2006, when she received: the 3rd Prize in Opera category, Mozart Prize and the Best Opera Singer Prize at the
ARD International Music Competition
The ARD International Music Competition (german: link=no, Internationaler Musikwettbewerb der ARD) is the largest international classical music competition in Germany. It is organised by the Bayerischer Rundfunk and held once a year in Munich.
Si ...
in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
, and 1 Song Award at the International
Pamplona
Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region.
Lying at near above ...
.
In 2007, she performed in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
, where she performed songs of
Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
and French opera arias. The artist also gave a series of Mozart concerts in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, Zurich,
Osnabrück
Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...
,
Pamplona
Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region.
Lying at near above ...
and
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
and appeared in recital at the Festival of Sacred Music in
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...
, and at the Opera de
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
(Jano in ''Jenufa'').
Her recently notable roles include Zerlina in
Mozart's ''
Don Giovanni'', Despina in
Mozart's ''
Così fan tutte'', Rosina in
Rossini's ''
The Barber of Seville
''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...
'' and Norina in
Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera style duri ...
's ''
Don Pasquale
''Don Pasquale'' () is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's ...
''.
In September 2019, with the baritone
Adam Barro, she was the head of the concert organized in tribute to
Komitas
Soghomon Soghomonian, ordained and commonly known as Komitas, ( hy, Կոմիտաս; 22 October 1935) was an Armenian priest, musicologist, composer, arranger, singer, and choirmaster, who is considered the founder of the Armenian national sch ...
in the
Church of the Madeleine
, other name =
, native_name =
, native_name_lang = French
, image = Madeleine Paris.jpg
, landscape =
, imagesize =
, caption =
, imagelink ...
in Paris.
References
External links
AnnaKasyan.com – official websiteBiographical note
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kasyan, Anna
Musicians from Tbilisi
French operatic sopranos
Ethnic Armenian women singers
Georgian people of Armenian descent
21st-century Armenian women opera singers
Georgian emigrants to France
21st-century women opera singers from Georgia (country)
1981 births
Living people
Prize-winners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition
Armenian operatic sopranos
École Normale de Musique de Paris alumni
21st-century French women opera singers