Tigran Levoni Levonyan (''Khandikyan'', hy, Տիգրան Լևոնյան; 1936–2004) was an

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 ...

operatic

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

and director, Professor of Yerevan State Conservatory. People's Artist of Armenia (1984). He was the husband of

Gohar Gasparyan Gohar Gasparyan ( hy, Գոհար Գասպարյան; 14 December 1924 – 16 May 2007), also known as the "Armenian nightingale", was an Armenian opera singer. Life Born in an Armenian family in Cairo, Egypt, Gasparyan studied at a Music ...

and brother of director Armen Khandikyan.

Biography

Tigran Levonyan was born in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

and repatriated as a child to Armenia in 1946. He graduated from Yerevan Academy of Fine Arts and

Russian Academy of Theatre Arts The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) (russian: Российский институт театрального искусства – ГИТИС) is the largest and oldest independent theatrical arts school in Russia. Located in Moscow, ...

, then gained experience at the La Scala theater.Biography
/ref> In 1962 he became the soloist of the National Theater of Opera and Ballet of Armenia performing the roles of Saro (opera "Anush" by Tigranian), Tirith ("

Arshak II Arshak II ( hy, Արշակ Բ, flourished 4th century, died 369 or 370), also written as Arsaces II or Aršak II, was an Arsacid prince who was King of Armenia from 350 (338/339 according to some scholars) until . Although Arshak's reign opened ...

" by Chuhajyan), Othello (" Othello" by

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

), Canio ( Pagliacci), Carlos (Don Carlos), Alfred ( La Traviata), Shahumyan (David Bek), Manrico (Trubadur), Cavaradossi ( Toska) with great depth of dramatic feeling, impressive acting and a delicate interpretation of direction. From 1991 to 1999 he was the artistic director of

Yerevan Opera Theater Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet ( hy, Ալեքսանդր Սպենդիարյանի անվան օպերայի և բալետի ազգային ակադեմիական թատրոն, ''Aleksandr Spendiaryani anvan operayi yev bale ...

. In those years, the theater staged the following operas directed by Levonyan: Verdi "Othello", Tigranyan "Anush", "David Beck", Chuhajyan "Arshak II" and "Karine". He was the first to create opera films in Armenia (Almast, Arshak II, and Palmetto). On the occasion of 1700th anniversary of

Christianity in Armenia As of 2011, most Armenians are Christians (97%) and are members of Armenia's own church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, which is one of the oldest Christian churches. It was founded in the 1st century AD, and in 301 AD became the first branch of ...

, he staged open air performances of Anush and Palmetto at

Zvartnots Cathedral Zvartnots Cathedral ( hy, Զուարթնոց ( classical); ( reformed), sometimes rendered in scholarly works as Zuart'nots' or Zuart'noc' ; literally 'celestial angels cathedral') is a medieval Armenian cathedral near Vagharshapat (Ejmiatsin) ...

Filmography

*Karine (1968), *Anush (1983), *Arshak 2nd (1988, directed by Levonyan), *Almast (1986)

References

External links

BiographyLevonyanТиграну Левоняну исполнилось бы 75 лет
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levonyan, Tigran Musicians from Beirut 20th-century Armenian male opera singers Lebanese opera singers People's Artists of Armenia Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan alumni Operatic tenors Lebanese people of Armenian descent 1936 births 2004 deaths