Grigor Tatevatsi was one of the greatest figures of medieval Armenia. He is known as a philosopher, a social-ecclesiastical figure, a teacher, scribe and miniaturist. He was born in 1346 in Vayots-Dzor where he spent his early years. He began to study under Hovhan Vorotnetsi in 1370. Together with the latter, Tatevatsi went to Jerusalem and it was Vorotnetsi who ordained him archimandrite in the district of Daranaghi in 1373. After his teacher's death, Tatevatsi headed the higher schools at Tatev and Aprakounis. He taught philosophy, theology and grammar at higher monasterial schools of Tatev, Aprakounis, Medsop and Yerevan. He died in 1409 and was buried near the St. Peter and Paul Church in Tatev.

The most significant of Grigor Tatevatsi's activities were those in Tatev, where the Syuniq prince Smbat Orbelian invited him in 1393. He worked there for fifteen years; those years being the most flourishing for the university. He conducted extensive pedagogical work and enjoyed great repute. He combined all-round knowledge in-born oratorical skills. Thovma Medsopetsi, Arakel Syunetsi, Mattheos Djughayetsi and other famous figures in XV century Armenian culture were pupils of Grigor Tatevatsi.

Great was Grigor Tatevatsi's role in the struggle led by the Armenian Church against tile Unitarians.

Grigor Tatevatsi's rich literary heritage covers almost all the fields of knowledge of that time. His more important works are: "Book of Questions", "Book of Sermons" (Summer and Winter volumes), ''Miscellany", "Concise Analysis on Porphyry's Work" and a number of others. His works, encyclopedic in nature, also contain valuable thoughts on aesthetics, which help in understanding certain aspects of his art and that of medieval art generally.

The nativity

Artist - Grigor Tatevatsi, 1378

Gospel, 1297

Grigor Tatevatsi's aesthetic views do not, of course, give a complete doctrine. It refers to separate thoughts and remarks scattered in different works in which he tried to explain his concepts of beauty, reveal the meaning of art and the role of art in society as well as problems on Christian symbolism of iconography and questions directly concerning to the practical work of the artist.

Art, for Grigor Tatevatsi, was a form of "rational" knowledge, the fruit of thought and work. "Each work of art is at first thought about, then seen through the eyes, and only after that, is it created by hand.

The crucifixion

Artist - A pupil of Grigor Tatevatsi, 1378

Gospel, 1297

Grigor Tatevatsi began his work as a scribe. Numerous manuscripts have survived will colophons written by him. However, his name as an illuminator is mentioned only once, in the Gospel illustrated at the Tatev Monastery in the year 1378. The Gospel was copied in 1297 in Eghegis, the "glorified capital" of Syuniq. In the same year the scribe of the Gospel, Hovhan, executed khorans (canon tables) and marginal illustrations. Simple plant and geometric designs prevail in the canon tables. In 1378, some one hundred years after its creation, the priest Sargis, sent the manuscript to the Tatev Monastery to be restored and illuminated by illuminator Grigor.

Title page of gospel according to John

Artist - Grigor Tatevatsi, 1378

Gospel, 1297

The following miniatures were painted at that same time: portraits of the four evangelists, title pages and five thematic miniatures: the "Annunciation", "Nativity", "Entry into Jerusalem", "Crucifixion" and "Virgin and Child". The identity of the painter of these miniatures becomes clear from the colophon around the bay in the "Annunciation". The colophon clearly states that the painter is Grigor, a pupil of Hovhan Vorotnetsi. The colophons surviving, as well as general features of the miniatures created in 1379 served as the basis for art historians to make the statement that all the miniatures made that year had been done by one and the same master, Grigor Tatevatsi. There are, however, certain stylistic differences, which suggest that yet another master, probably a pupil of Grigor Tatevatsi, also took part in the illumination of the manuscripts. In those miniatures Grigor Tatevatsi's influence is so strong that at first glance, all Christological miniature paintings are taken as the work of one artist.

Entry into Jerusalem

Artist - A pupil of Grigor Tatevatsi, 1378

Gospel, 1297

Taking the miniature the "Annunciation" created by Grigor Tatevatsi as a basis, we come to the conclusion that the portraits of the evangelists, the title pages and the miniatures the "Annunciation", "Nativity" (plate 14, plate 15) have been created by Grigor Tatevatsi; the other three miniatures "Entry into Jerusalem", "Crucifixion" and the "Virgin and Child" (plate 16, plate 17, plate 18) by the pupil.

Essential differences which permit speaking of two painters and dividing the miniatures of the manuscript into two groups are expressed, by differences in ways of thinking, concepts and interpretation of form. In Grigor Tatevatsi's works, the figures, especially those of the "Annunciation", are monumental and to a certain extent, dimensional. The folds of the garments are treated by means of color, emphasizing the harmony and proportions of the body. The faces are drawn with a sure, precise hand. As for the second painter, his drawings are somewhat weaker and that is especially seen in tile figure of the Virgin (in the "Virgin and Child" and "Crucifixion"). The execution of the other figures is also not successful; they are rather stocky and not so proportional. Flatness is stressed and is especially expressed in the folds of the garments; they are stiff and not at all flexible.

Canon table

Artist - Hovhannes

Gospel, 1297

The compositional structure of the page itself is also expressed by the differences in these two groups of miniatures. In the first group (the portraits of the evangelists, the "Annunciation" and "Nativity") the composition is encircled by homogeneous ornamental frames. In the second group ("Entry into Jerusalem", "Crucifixion", "Virgin and Child"), there is no frame. One or two sides of the composition have no ornamental frame decorations. It seems as if the painter, by means of this device, wants to free the picture of limiting borders, thus increasing the dimensional possibilities of the miniature.

The miniatures also differ in their color-range. Grigor Tatevatsi preferred dark shades of blue, brown, red and ochre; while the second painter preferred lighter shades. It must be said that the latter is professionally inferior to Grigor Tatevatsi.

The above-stated differences do not refute the presence of features common to both groups of miniatures, which were apparently conditioned by the common aim placed before the painters. They tried to give the manuscript a complete effect, and so the pupil, in fulfilling this task, endeavored to imitate his talented master arid sometimes even meticulously copied his interpretation of images, harmony of color and ornaments. The more beautiful miniature of the manuscript is the "Annunciation", where Grigor Tatevatsi's talent, his great imaginative powers and originality are brilliantly expressed. (It is not at all incidental that he placed his signature on this miniature).

The "Annunciation" is depicted within a closed ornamental frame, the composition is well-balanced. Its focal point is the small bay in which there is a jug of water. There are decorative arches to the left and the right of the bays. The figures are placed against an ornamental background, which gives the composition balance. The background, entirely covered with geometric and plant designs, deprives the miniature of depth. This lack is the reason why it seems as though the figures do not have sufficient space. This device stresses the monumentalism of the figures.

The image of Mary is quite expressive. Her features, face, eyes and especially thick eyebrows uniting over her nose, form an unusual arch, emphasizing the Armenian woman's ethnic type.

Virgin and child

Artist - A pupil of Grigor Tatevatsi, 1378

Gospel, 1297

The angel and Mary are bound by the same action but they represent different emotional states, revealed also by means of the coloring of the miniature. Warm red and yellow prevail in the clothing of the angel bearing happy tidings; while in Mary's garment, the combination of cold blue and deep violet shows her contradictory feelings, that of joy and deep concern. Great skill is displayed in depicting the figures, their gestures, and their movements. Somewhat elongated figures are remarkable for their shapeliness and proportions. Both the Virgin and the Archangel are distinguished by their grandeur and beauty. It is appropriate here to recall the definition of beauty given by Grigor Tatevatsi, which is in consonance with the images created by him. "One should know that the beauty of the image becomes similar to that of the prototype revealed in three-fold manner: first in the proportionality of form, second in the balance of the parts, and third in proper radiance".

]http://www.armsite.com/miniatures/index2.html[/url]

BROOKLINE, Mass.—Greek-Armenian actress Christina Alexanian left hundreds in tears on Saturday night after her powerful performance depicting the gruesome reality of the Armenian Genocide (1915) and the Destruction of Smyrna (1922) in her theatrical interpretation of the memoir entitled The Notebooks of Anzel Kourtian.

During the solo production, Alexanian filled the role of Anzel Kourtian, a Genocide survivor and migrant laborer, who once journeyed in a single shoe and continued to wear it without the missing pair as a reminder of her people’s civilized roots. Upon arrival in Smyrna, Greece after the barbaric march through Der Zor, every sign of hope for liberation had faded. “There was a burnt smell everywhere that I will never forget. Our whole life was an endless war,” expressed the actress, as she was seen hiding from Turkish soldiers tasked with setting Smyrna on fire.

https://armenianweekly.com/2019/12/17/christina-alexanian-stuns-brookline-audience-in-notebooks-of-anzel-kourtian/?fbclid=IwAR0lnkLL0LA2VeRLI1BupZ8Wfz4c0Jy_XOPQoFpFzqi_cKW_YbLQcFQwKtY

Dollmaker Mary Arakelyan brings a fairy tale to our reality. Mary from Yerevan married with an Artsakh man and now lives and works in Stepanakert. “All my toys and dolls I interweave myself. For more than one year I started puppetry. It all started when my daughter asked to knit her favorite movie character for her. For the first try it was better and I began to get deeper into this type of art”, she told to Mamul.am reporter. “Making small toys with bobbin or knitting needle is a kind of Japanese art that is called “amigurumi”. Today, puppetry is one of the most popular and lovely artworks all over the world.” Mary's dolls are mostly characteristic. “At first people were somewhat distrustful of the fact that puppets could be characteristic. But after seeing one or two dolls many have started to inquire about them. The characteristic doll can not only be a good toy but also become a souvenir and a good memory for the future. Today I receive orders not only from Armenia (saying Armenia I mean Artsakh too), but also from abroad – USA, Europe (Portugal, Northern Ireland, Poland) and RF. For example, I had an American client who ordered a doll for his grandchild and after receiving it he liked it so much that ordered for two other grandchildren also. In making characteristic doll you should not only get the appearance of a child or an adult but also be able to convey his character, mood, feelings. If all this happens, the doll gets life. Almost all say that my dolls seem to be alive, as if they talk to you.” The dolls of MARY Fancy Crafts are completely assembled on a metal structure, due to it their hands and legs are folded, the body is completely mobile. The dolls are made of 100% cotton threads, and the clothes are from cotton or childish acrylic. Toys are completely anti-allergic. Making a doll takes 5-7 days depending on the complexity of the clothes. Apart from money the best valuation of my job is children’s joyful eyes. You know then almost all my clients write and tell me how their kids can’t separate from their puppets for days, they take it at night to sleep with them and even take them to kindergarten. They are so tied up that they can’t separate from their little ones for a minute. It’s the most favorite part of my job.” Apart from characteristic dolls Mary also knits so-called tiny human beings with different animals, fruits, cartoon characters and people.

https://artsakh.news/en/news/120276

Mardik Martin, the co-screenwriter behind Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets, New York, New York and Raging Bull, has died. He was 82.

Martin died on Wednesday in Los Angeles, friend and screenwriter Howard Rodman wrote in a Facebook post.

Of Armenian descent, Martin was born in Iran in 1936, but raised in Iraq. He left Iraq for America at age 18 and studied at NYU in the early 1960s where he met fellow student and future collaborator Scorsese. “We spent a lot of time together aside from writing," Martin told the Los Angeles Times of his college friendship with Scorsese. "We had, like, 15 ideas, a lot of ideas. ‘Let’s do this, let’s do that.’"

After several projects made in college, including a documentary about Scorsese’s parents called Italianamerican, the duo's first feature was the gritty drama Mean Streets, with Martin co-writing the screenplay based on a story by Scorsese. Released in 1971 to wide critical acclaim, Mean Streets signaled Scorsese's arrival as a filmmaking talent and launched the acting careers of stars Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel.

The pair next worked together on 1977's New York, New York, the musical drama directed by Scorsese based on a screenplay by Martin and Earl Mac Rauch. The film, starring Robert De Niro and Liza Minnelli, had mixed success with critics and at the box office. Martin later told the LA Times that “they had to shoot whether the script was ready or not. That was the problem.”

Read More:https://artsakh.news/en/news/160287

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2dor2_tCI0

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3ynukc

11:51, 29 May, 2018

YEREVAN, MAY 29, ARMENPRESS. She had a unique love for music since early childhood. Her Armenian mother opposed her girl in becoming a singer, but at the age of 11 the future star took part in her first competition – and won!

At 15, she left school and began singing in clubs and restaurants of France. Her debut CD failed to gain commercial success, but the singer didn’t lose hope and her first failure was followed by multiple successes.

According to international press and critics, the best actress of the role of Esmeralda in Notre-Dame de Paris (musical) is Hélène Ségara.

In an ARMENPRESS exclusive Hélène Ségara talked about Armenia, her Armenian roots, collaboration with Charles Aznavour and Michel Legrand, the Notre-Dame de Paris musical and other topics.

Hélène Ségara arrived to Yerevan for the Republic Day celebrations on May 28. She performed two songs at the May 28 grand concert in Yerevan’s Republic Square. She sang Charles Aznavour’s Poir Toi Armenie and the old Armenian Dle Yaman song.

Read more:

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/935266.html

NEW YORK—Armenian-American pianist Kariné Poghosyan will make her debut at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall on June 7 at 7:30 p.m. with a solo recital inspired by New York City. Titled “The New York Connection,” the program will feature works by both native New Yorkers as well as composers who visited and worked in New York, including the virtuosic piano sonatas by Samuel Barber, Béla Bartók and Sergei Rachmaninoff; Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue; and her own arrangement of the beautiful Lullaby from Khachaturian’s “Gayaneh.”

“I have lived the past 15 years of my life in New York, and my attachment to this city is so deep that it’s not easy to describe in words. It is my home, my biggest challenger, and my incessant source of inspiration. No other city on the planet has the level of energy and artistic creativity! It is no wonder that almost every major composer in the twentieth century at some point visited here, either for a brief stay or for a long-term residence,” Poghosyan said about the upcoming performance.

In response to Poghosyan’s passionate playing, a critic once wrote: “If she had been born a few decades earlier, perhaps the Armenian-American pianist Kariné Poghosyan could have melted the Cold War.” With such ardent devotion to her art, she has been praised for her ability to “get to the heart of the works she performs.”

read more: Kariné Poghosyan

NEW YORK—Armenian-American pianist Kariné Poghosyan will make her debut at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall on June 7 at 7:30 p.m. with a solo recital inspired by New York City. Titled “The New York Connection,” the program will feature works by both native New Yorkers as well as composers who visited and worked in New York, including the virtuosic piano sonatas by Samuel Barber, Béla Bartók and Sergei Rachmaninoff; Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue; and her own arrangement of the beautiful Lullaby from Khachaturian’s “Gayaneh.”

“I have lived the past 15 years of my life in New York, and my attachment to this city is so deep that it’s not easy to describe in words. It is my home, my biggest challenger, and my incessant source of inspiration. No other city on the planet has the level of energy and artistic creativity! It is no wonder that almost every major composer in the twentieth century at some point visited here, either for a brief stay or for a long-term residence,” Poghosyan said about the upcoming performance.

In response to Poghosyan’s passionate playing, a critic once wrote: “If she had been born a few decades earlier, perhaps the Armenian-American pianist Kariné Poghosyan could have melted the Cold War.” With such ardent devotion to her art, she has been praised for her ability to “get to the heart of the works she performs.”

read more: https://armenianweekly.com/2018/05/29/armenian-american-pianist-karine-poghosyan-to-debut-at-zankel-hall-at-carnegie-hall-on-june-7/

http://asbarez.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/29511355_10214924003190117_5939162721130508375_n.jpg

Azeris Portray Ancient Armenian Textile and Woven Arts Culture as Being an Azerbaijani Turkish Tradition

GLENDALE—The Armenian Rugs Society, a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to promoting, preserving and advancing Armenia’s ancient rug culture, this week issued an announcement, in which it sounds the alarm on Azerbaijani efforts—campaign—to claim ancient Armenian textiles and woven carpets as their own. Below is the text of the announcement.

Official Azerbaijan, in collusion with members of the private sector close to the Azeri regime, has launched a campaign geared towards appropriating ancient Armenian carpet, rug, and textile weaving traditions and production as their own by generating articles in local and international news outlets, sponsoring exhibits, and publishing art books that portray Armenian woven arts and history, as their own.

Several Azeri news sources (Sputnik Azerbaijan, World Economics Magazine: Azerbaijan Journal of Economics, Finance and Business), supported and abetted by the Azeri government—a notorious human rights violator–have recently published articles erroneously claiming that what are clearly Armenian carpets and rugs of global renown, from a variety of historic Armenian regions, including the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), respectively, are Azeri cultural artifacts and traditions.

In one such article, “Revival of Azerbaijani Carpet,” the author, Ainur Veliyeva, has actually paraphrased verbiage taken directly from an Armenian Rugs Society publication (Weavers, Merchants, and Kings, 1980) concerning historical accounts of Armenian rugs, and has replaced the words “Armenia” and “Armenian,” wherever they appeared in the text, with the words “Azerbaijan” and “Azerbaijani.”

Read more: http://asbarez.com/171673/stealing-culture-azeris-launch-campaign-claiming-armenian-carpets-as-their-own/

Last week, on March 9, the documentary film, “Crows of the Desert -A Hero’s Journey through the Armenian Genocide” played in Dublin, Ireland. The screening was part of The Silk Road International Film Festival.

The festival played selected films throughout small theaters in the Temple Bar area of Dublin.

Levon Parian, the grandson and editor of the book, his wife Maro and daughter Sona arrived to see the film presented

“Such a fascinating location.’ Crows’ was shown in the back of a little bookstore in the middle of this cultural mecca in the heart of the old city of Dublin. Armenian-Irish well-wishers made us feel right at home opening their homes and hearts to us. We even visited a Genocide Memorial -walking distance from the theatre,” said Parian.

Last year, this award winning documentary inspired Supervisors Han and Barger to proclaim the month of April as “Armenian History Month.” The film is going to be shown in two more festivals in the near future. Two showings at the Sebastopol (Calif.) Documentary Film Festival are scheduled for Saturday March 24 at 4:45 p.m. and Sunday March 25 at 12:30 p.m. at the Rialto Cinemas, 6868 McKinely Street. GET TICKETS.

The next festival screening will be on April 9, at noon at the American Documentary Film Festival at the Camelot Theatres, in Palm Springs. GET TICKETS.

ISTANBUL—The Istanbul Governor’s office on Saturday ordered the cancellation of the screening of Iranian-Armenian filmmaker Anahid Abad’s film, “Yeva,”which was scheduled as part of the Intenational Filmmor Festival, over alleged security concerns and pressure from the Azerbaijani Consulate

Melek Özman from Filmmor told the Bianet news agency that the Consulate of Azerbaijan first sent an official letter to the French Institute, the venue of the festival, and asked them to cancel the screening. “Later, they applied to the Azerbaijan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they even applied to the Minister,’ said Özman. Eventually they received a written order from Turkish authorities banning the screening.

According to Azerbaijan government, the movie creates the perception that Karabakh is an Armenian territory.

Funded by Iranian cinema producer Taqi Aliqolizadeh, the film is a joint 2017 production of Armenia and Iran.

http://asbarez.com/171039/screening-of-anahid-abads-yeva-in-istanbul-halted-after-azerbaijani-threats/

Aivazovsky's Art is the art of Man and Humanity; it is the denunciation of oppression and despotism. He is the artist of the first for freedom, and the true advocate of Mother Nature.

Martiros Saryan

A sonnet by Hovh. Toumanian, 1893

(translation by Zohrab Heghinian)

Huge ripples of the unbated ocean,

Heavy spirals striking upward,

Forming as mountains, with an awesome roar,

The tempest breathing with fearful might

Unending in a vastness

With no edge.

"Rise up an stand"! Ordered brush in hand

That ancient wizard, angry at nature,

Hushed and obedient to the genius' voice,

The dark waves, at a time of storm,

On the canvas

Rise up now and stay forever. (translation by Rouben Rostamian)

Immense waves of unbated ocean

heavy spirals striking upward

rising sky high, and a roar awesome.

Dominion of the bellowing storm

unbounded and vast

with no end

Avast! thunders that ancient wizard

calling to the elements, brush in hand.

Hushed and obedient to the genius' voice

now the dark waves, in mid-storm

remain suspended

on the canvas

Biography: Hovhannes (Ivan) Aivazovsky is the most interesting phenomenon of 19th century art. He gained international fame at the age of 25, was elected a member to five European Academies and was awarded the medal of the French Legion of Honor. Delacroix referred to him in reverence and Turner called him a genius.

Aivazovsky's name is intricately bound with the sea. "Perhaps no one in Europe has painted the extraordinary beauty of the sea with so much feeling and expressiveness as Aivazovsky has", writes V. Adasov.

In his best seascapes (and in a legacy of about 6000, there are some works which condescend to his artistic ability and others which merit singular artistic attention) he has revealed his inner self through the spirit of the times, his ideals of humanism, and the love of freedom. The Artist lived by those ideals; the love that he had towards the oppressed, the help he offered and the work that he did for the public good make him an exceptional individual and a true son of his times.

Aivazovsky was born to an Armenian family in the city of Theodosia in the Crimea {The Artist's ancestors were called Aivazian. His father called himself Haivazosky. The Artist and his brother decided to call themselves Aivazian or Aivazovsky. Some of the Artist's work bears the signature Hovhannes Aivazian, in Armenian}. At the age of twenty he graduates from the Art Academy of St. Petersburg with a gold medal. He goes to Italy to continue his studies and returns as an internationally acclaimed seascape painter. Neither financial security nor life in Palace interests him. He returns to his native land, builds a workplace/home on the seashore and, until the last days of his life, dedicates himself to the work that he loves. He participates in exhibitions all over the world. He gets recognition and glory as a representative of Russian art greatly helps in familiarizing it.

In Aivazovsky's creative work one finds such aspects of Armenian culture and national temperament that it becomes impossible to separate his art from his native people. It is this characteristic that gives Aivazovsky's creativity its unique quality.

After the Russo-Persian war, in the beginning of he second quarter of the century, Eastern Armenia came under Russian rule. Western Armenia was still under Turkish rule. The Liberation movement in Greece and the Balkans became an incentive for the Armenia people. The surge of spiritual life found its reflection in art and literature.

Armenian artists received their education in European and Russian schools (Aivazovsky was one of the firsts) and thus were able to introduce new concepts into our national art. This process would later on culminate in the clarification and purification of our national artistic language.

Even in the early years, Aivazovsky had a vivid and emotional understanding of reality. He always remained a romantic at heart even through his art could never separate itself from his academic background. The Artist's expressive language was in complete harmony with the techniques that he used. As a young boy Aivazovsky had known the sea, had loved it passionately and had known the secrets of its movements. It was this memory, together with his imagination, that was responsible for his best works. Rather than merely "reproduce" the sea, Aivazovsky tells us its fables and thus makes a symbolic statement.

Aivazovsky made his mark in contemporary art through his own rules and his own world view; he was true both to his academic background and his romantic inclinations.

The magical aspect of light helps make the contact with the dreamlike quality of the Master's art. In the calm seascapes, man is either seen walking alone or sitting down with a thoughtful expression on his face, looking at the distance - towards the light. In the canvas entitled "The Mkhitarist Brothers on the Island of St. Lazare", for example, the island gives the impression of a ship in the sunset and the people seem to be travelers of hope and dreams.

The concept of light is all important to Aivazovsky. The perceptive viewer will observe that while painting the waves, clouds or sky space, the Artist's emphasis is on the light. In Aivazovsky's art light is the eternal symbol for life, hope and faith. This is light the Creator, the concept of which has its roots deep down in Armenian culture and its continuity in the next generation of Armenian artists. The Artist had heard the songs of the medieval poets glorifying light in the Armenian churches. In his last works ("Amidst the Waves") the light descends from an unseen source as mighty ray that pierces the darkness and establishes hope.

In the canvases depicting storms (which constitute more that half of Aivazovsky's legacy) man's solidarity to man is apparent in the struggle against the elements. Man does not give up; he triumphs. This is the expression of the popular trait of extreme optimism and resistance. The irony in Aivazovsky's romanticism is the faith that man (this tiny creature of the Universe) has in life and Nature. In the politically turbulent 19th century, it is this same unshakable faith that the Armenian people had in their struggle for self-determination.

The freedom loving spirit of the Artist was as much as expression of the times as it was a reflection of the destiny of his people. Inspired by Greek movement of liberation, he produced paintings depicting that struggle and wishes for a similar fate for the Armenians. He saw the salvation of his people in the nation whose adopted son he had become. The victory of the Russian fleet over Turks gave him hope that such a salvation was possible.

To eliminate "The Armenian Question", Sultan Abdul Hamid, in 1895, ordered a series of massacres which claimed the life of hundreds of thousands of Armenians. Numerous Armenian cultural monuments ware burned or destroyed. This tragic reality shocked the Artist: "My heart is full of grief for our ill-fated people; for this tragic and unprecedented massacre", he wrote to the Armenian Catholicos Khrimian. He threw into the sea the medal that the Sultan had given him years before. He painted and exhibited canvases depicting the massacre. It was with pain and grief that he painted his last canvas "The Explosion of the Turkish Ship", which he could not finish. The date was May 2nd, 1900.

Aivazovsky's house in Theodosia became a place for artistic pilgrimage. Armenian artists were invited there and actors and musicians performed there. It was there that artists like Bashinjagyan, Sureniants, Makhokhian and Shabanian started their creative life. Aivazovsky's dream was to create a union of Armenian artists from all over the world.

During his long period of creative life, and especially after 1868, Aivazovsky executed tens of canvases with Armenian themes. His landscapes depicting life in Tbilisi, Lake Sevan and Mount Ararat popularized the genre in Armenian art. He also had a series of works with themes from he bible and from ancient Armenian history. Two of his works, which were exhibited in the Church in Theodosia and have inspired patriotism ever since, are reproduced here for the first time.

It is impossible to appreciate 19th century Armenian art without Aivazovsky. It is equally impossible to ignore his Armenian roots and consider him a Russian artist. Today, the art of the great artist of the sea is seen as the most beautiful example of the close link between the Russian and Armenian cultures.

According to his wishes, Aivazovsky was buried in the Armenian Church of St. Sarkis in Theodosia. His tombstone has a quotation from historian Khorenatsi's "History of Armenians" - "Born a mortal, he left immortal memories". The "memories" condense in them the spirit of the times and the most precious spirit of all time - that of Humanism.

Shahen Khachatrian

Director of National Art Gallery

and Martiros Saryan Museum

The sigh was cut and mounted on a stand~sorry I've no pictures of that.

Arshak du karox ess estex texavorel qo filmere.

Mosjan yete urish harmar topic ka texapoxi endex

Gulf News (United Arab Emirates)
January 30, 2016 Saturday


Egypt's Shirley Temple dies at age 72

Fairouz was of Armenian origin and starred in numerous classic films

Ramadan Al Sherbini, Correspondent

Cairo: Actress Fairouz, Egypt's most famous child star of all time
died Saturday in Cairo, the state Middle East News Agency reported.
She was 72.

Fairouz had suffered liver and kidney problems in recent months, other
news reports said.

Minister of Culture Helmi Al Namnam paid a tribute to Fairouz.

`She deserved the title `The Miracle Child' due to her art and
creativity,' the official said in a statement. `I extend sincere
condolences to her family and fans of the late actress.'

Born Perouz Artin Kalfayan, Fairouz started her career at the age of
seven when she played the title role in the 1950 film `Yasmin'
co-starring iconic actor Anwar Wajdi.

A year later, she starred in `The Lady Fairouz'. She soared to further
renown when she portrayed the title character in the 1953 musical
`Dahab' also featuring Wajdi.

As a teenager, Fairouz performed in several films, some of them
featured Egypt's legendary comedian Esmail Yassin. Fairouz's last film
was released in 1959. Afterwards, she quit acting and later married
actor Badr Eddin Jamjum. She had since stayed away from limelights.

As a child actress Fairouz, who was of Armenian origin, also displayed
skills in dancing and singing.

Her talents earned her several titles including Egypt's Shirley
Temple. Her black-and-white films continue to impress audience of
different ages when they are re-run on Egyptian and Arab television
stations. She is the sister of celebrated actress Nelly.

Fairouz is survived by a son and a daughter.


http://gulfnews.com/news/mena/egypt/egypt-s-shirley-temple-dies-at-age-72-1.1662693

Kate Winslet is set to play Polish-Armenian Joanna Hoffman — one of Apple’s earliest employees who was known for standing up to Steve Jobs — in the new movie about the legendary Apple cofounder’s life.

The movie, which includes a star-studded cast that features Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs and Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak, is set to debut on Oct. 9, according to Business Insider.

In a recent interview with Vulture, Winslet explained how she landed the role. The actress was interested in the role as soon as she heard about the film from her hair-and-makeup artist, who was set to work on the movie after she had finished working with Winslet on “The Dressmaker.” The fact that the film was written by Andrew Sorkin was enough to draw Winslet in, but she was also intrigued by the movie’s three-act format.

Winslet decided to move on the opportunity right away, but there was one hurdle: she looks nothing like Hoffman, the Polish-Armenian immigrant that served as the only marketing person on the original Mac team for more than a year.

So, to audition for the role, she sent her husband out to purchase dark brown wigs in varying lengths. She took photos of herself in the wigs and sent them over to Scott Rudin, the film’s producer.

“I wanted to please her [Joanna Hoffman] as much as I could. How she sounds, and her accent, is fairly complicated. She grew up largely in Armenia, spent some time in Poland, and has Russians in her family, so she has all three accents, but she’s been in America since she was a teenager, so she had American rhythms,” Winslet said.

10:22 25.07.2014

Award winning director Fatih Akin’s latest film, “The Cut,” will premiere at the 71st Venice International Film Festival that will take place from Aug. 27 to Sept. 6, the Armenian Weekly reports.

“The Cut” tells the story of an Armenian man, Nazareth Manoogian, who after surviving the Genocide learns that his twin daughters may be alive, and goes on a quest to find them. Nazareth’s journey takes him from his village Mardin to the deserts, to Cuba and finally North Dakota. Nazareth, who is a mute, is played by Tahar Rahim. Other cast members include Simon Abkarian, Arsinee Khanjian, Akin Gazi and George Georgiou. The script is written by Akin himself and Mardik Martin. The film is in English, and runs for 138 minutes, although the version that will premiere in Venice is dubbed over in German.

“Tahar doesn’t say a word throughout the film and he is a bit like Charlie Chaplin, but at the same time, he is a typical western character, like Sergio Leone,” Akin told Cineuropa.

“The Cut” is the third in the thematic trilogy of “Love, Death and the Devil” that Akin has worked on. “I think wickedness exists within us from the moment we are born. What I found fascinating was exploring the fact that wickedness is a process of transition from goodness and that the opposite phenomenon exists too. These are concepts that are very intimately tied to each other. The most beautiful of bodies, for example, can be carrying cancer on the inside, and one same person can be capable of the nicest of actions and the vilest of crimes. I have always thought that humans were in this in between place in the evolution process. We still have to find out whether we will stop living behind borders, separated by religion, nationality,” he told Cineuropa.

Akin had submitted “The Cut” to the Cannes Film Festival, but pulled it last minute, for “personal reasons.”

One of Europe’s prominent filmmakers, Akin was born in Hamburg, Germany, to Turkish parents. His critically-acclaimed films that have won numerous international awards include “Head On” (Golden Bear award at Berlin Film Festival, Best Film and Audience Award at European Film Awards in 2004) and “The Edge of Heaven” (Best screenplay at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, and the LUX prize of European Parliament).

Meline Toumani, the Armenian Genocide and the Politics of Appeasement

Huff Post Books

Christopher Atamian
Writer/Producer/Director

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-atamian/meline-toumani-the-armeni_b_6548486.html


Meline Toumani's puzzling and sometimes maddening first book *There Was and
There Was Not: A Journey Through Hate and Possibility in Turkey, Armenia
and Beyond* purports to analyze the hatred still separating Armenians and
Turks on the eve of the one hundredth commemoration of the Armenian
Gencocide. The biggest problem with the expos©e lies perhaps in Toumani's
underlying assumptions, i.e. that Armenians and Turks all hate each other
and in equating victim and perpetrator. Toumani is usually a fluid writer,
but here she gets lost in an often muddled and contradictory analysis.

The author has a point when it comes to Genocide obsession among certain
Armenians, though by this late date, it is no longer a particularly
original one. Armenians as a group do spend a lot of time talking about and
trying to convince the world of the terrors they experienced from 1915 to
1923 when the Ottoman Turks massacred some 1.5 million Armenians along with
another 1.5 million Christian Assyrian and Pontic Greeks. For over a
decade, others have made the same point that Toumani makes and more
eloquently. Curator Neery Melkonian, for one, has said time and again that
the Armenian obsession with genocide hinders their ability to move forward
as a progressive people and reach their true, brilliant potential. And
theorist Marc Nichanian has argued that it is demeaning to keep begging the
world for recognition: everyone, including those Turks who really want to
know, are aware of what really happened from 1915 to 1923 -- the Armenian
Genocide was amply documented and written about when it happened and
afterwards for the last century.

At times, Toumani's book seems to be more of an expos©e of her own
insecurities and shame. She reproduces often demeaning stereotypes about
Armenian physical appearance, cultural traditions and all manner of details
that she would be taken to harsh task for were she writing about another
ethnic group. And after all, why shouldn't Armenians in the far-flung
diaspora obsess about the Armenian genocide, one may justifiably ask?
Unlike the Jews and the terrifying Holocaust of WWII for example, the
Armenian Genocide has never been properly acknowledged and lost property,
money and trauma never compensated by its perpetrator, the Turkish
government. The glowing reception that her book has received in the press
seems to buttress those who argue that the publishing world sometimes works
in lockstep with mainstream elites and governmental structures who have
tried their best to get Armenians to lay down their claims to reparations
and thus appease the often aggressively denialist governments of the
modern-day Republic of Turkey.

After recounting how embarrassed she was growing up by all manner of things
Armenian, Toumani recounts her four-year stay in Turkey where she meets
Turks who -- what do you know -- seem human after all. They are not
grotesque aliens, Klingons dead-set on devouring Christian children. But
who ever thought they were? Toumani spends time in Armenia as well. Upon
arriving with a friend in Yerevan, the country's capital, she writes: "I
was embarrassed. I had lured Gretchen along by telling her that Yerevan was
a beautiful city. But the city I saw now looked shabby and grim on that
first glance into the haze." (p199) Yerevan is a fact a pleasant mid-sized
city of pink tuff stone increasingly dotted with modern western-style
constructions. In what parallel cultural universe, one wonders, did Toumani
ever expect Yerevan, a city built by half-starved and tubercular genocide
survivors, to equal Istanbul the former capital of Byzantium, a city of
twelve million lining the Bosphorus?

Early on in her book, the author describes some perhaps lamentable scenes
at an Armenian summer camp in Massachusetts run by the nationalist Tashnag
party. At one point, a howling room of swarthy teenagers scream at each
other in support of or against the Lisbon Five, a group of Armenian
terrorists who, in a botched 1983 attempt to blow up the Turkish Ambassador
to Portugal, blew themselves up instead -- along with the Ambassador's wife
and a Portuguese police officer: "-An eye for an eye! -The ends justify the
means!...I noticed a young camper, Julie, weeping quietly while her friend
rubbed her back -- but then Julie was always crying about something...As
the debate continued, things grew chaotic. A folded-up metal chair slid to
the ground with a clatter...The glass in the sliding doors fogged up.
Younger kids squirmed as the older campers and counselors argued on. Some
said the men were martyrs and that Turkish denial of the genocide was too
powerful for softer measures." (p17-18) These people, Meline contends, are
somehow emblematic of the average Armenian viewpoint. But who in their
right mind would ever defend blowing up innocent people in the name of any
cause?

Had Toumani instead attended St Gregory's, another summer camp in Cape Cod
run by Mekhitarist priests, she would have found the emphasis was on
religion. At Camp Nubar, a wildly popular camp in the Catskills run by the
somewhat bourgeois*parekordzagan* or Ramgavar-affiliated AGBU, the emphasis
was on togetherness and fun. (For the record, I attended all three). It is
not my intention here to argue which "version" of Armenian life or identity
is preferable or even which one I subscribe to, if any. I am perfectly able
to think for myself as are most of my Armenian friends and colleagues. I
have always had Turkish friends and as a Harvard undergrad, I dated a
Turkish girl who later became a career denialist and Turkish diplomat.
Frustration at the Turkish Government's refusal to do the right thing, I
have always felt. Hope that one day the two people would reconcile, I have
always wished for. Hate, however, was never part of the equation.

Another example of journalistic bad faith. Toumani grew speaking Eastern
Armenian as opposed to Western Armenian like most Armenian-Americans: one
dialect's "t" is another's "d" for example, so that when she heard the term
"Hai Tad" ("Armenian Cause") at camp she didn't at first understand that it
meant "Hai Dat," as Iranian-Armenians pronounce it. Do Hai Tad and Hai Dat
really sound so different?: "Thus the words Hai Tahd did not communicate
anything to me. I sometimes imagined my elementary school classmate, Todd
Twersky, showing up unannounced at the perimeter of the campground. Hi,
Tod." (p16) I didn't speak a word of Armenian when I attended Camp
Haiastan, but I never once confused Hai Tad with any boy named Tod, and I
find it hard to believe anyone else ever did either.

Though I staunchly believe in the need for an apology from Turkey and
proper reparations, the Armenian Genocide is not something that keeps me up
at night. I suspect most Armenians are more similar to me than the
caricatured nationalists Toumani describes in her book. Her apparent
inability to comprehend the feelings of Istanbul Armenians who are trapped
between a cultural rock and a hard place -- neither Turkish enough for
Turks nor Armenian enough for Armenians -- also begs credulity for someone
so bright and well-educated as she. And when she doesn't get the
acknowledgment from ethnic Turks that she was hoping in Turkey, Toumani
admits to being more confused than before she left.

In the end Toumani's book would have been more honest and effective had she
titled it: "Ultra-Nationalism and its Discontents" and simply studied some
of the Armenian community's more right-wing members. That her book was
published in 2015 seems particularly insensitive, as if she were trying to
rub salt in the wounds of collective Armenian memory. The ultimate irony of
course is that of all the thousands of topics Armenian and non-Armenian
that Toumani could have chosen to dedicate her first book to, she chose
what else, but the very one she claims to be trying to distance herself
from.

 

Source: Panorama.am

BEDROS: NEW BOOK ABOUT THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

November 18, 2014

http://www.horizonweekly.ca/news/details/53189

Bedros, by Irene Vosbikian

Bedros is the inspirational saga of a man who, his father butchered
before his eyes, survives the Armenian Genocide - the first genocide
of the 20th century. It is a true story of hope, perseverance and
bravery. Bedros is an inspiration to the descendants of all the
persecuted immigrants who dreamed and triumphed in the New World.

About the Author

Irene Vosbikian was born in South Philadelphia and is a second
generation Italian American. Her father, Rudolf Di Fulvio, was killed
in WW II one month before she was born. As such, history and its
ramifications have always been an integral part of her life. She
married Peter Vosbikian, a first generation Armenian American, and
spent many hours listening in awe as her father-in-law recounted
hundreds of stories of his life in his homeland. These vivid,
first-hand accounts of the Armenian Genocide by the Turks led Irene to
plunge further into detailed and documented reports of this horrendous
part of history. The result is BEDROS.

tert.am

15:16 - 20.05.12

A book telling about the Armenian Genocide has been published in

Turkey, authored by Binnaz Oner, Agos newspaper reports.

Entitled `The Left Behind', the novel tells about the Armenian mothers

forced to hand their daughters in 1915 to Turkish families to save

their lives. Oner said she has been greatly affected by the stories of

the mothers forced to leave their children for saving the latter's

lives. `Leaving own child is worse than death for a mother. Only a

mother will understand the feelings of the other mother. Only mothers

may understand the pain of separation with a child,' she said.

Asked why she has written the book, Oner said the story of the

Armenian mothers impressed her deeply. `Each sensitive person would be

greatly touched by the story,' she said.

A potentially fascinating animated feature of Aghayans fairytale ANAHIT

http://media.pn.am/media/issue/182/397/textphoto/photo_182397_e86a70202.jpg

http://media.pn.am/media/issue/182/397/textphoto/photo_182397_e86a70202.jpg

http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/182397/

September 13, 2014 - 16:40 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Anahit animation film, based on beloved folklorist Ghazaros Aghayans fairytale, will premiere in early December, the film co-author told

According to David Sahakyants, with film production mostly finalized, the animation will be shown in cinemas during a month, to be followed by a festival tour.

We received an invitation to participate in Toronto Festival, yet had to refuse because of timing: the festival is due in November, while the film will debut in December, Sahakyants, who didnt rule out participation next year, said

A delicious fairytale, araspel, hekiat(From the Arabic hikayat=spoken).

Press hajord next to see the rest.

Aghayan Anahit

http://heqiat.am/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1929:-lr&catid=108:2010-04-26-10-10-32&Itemid=669

Vachakan was the only son of King Vache ** and queen Ashkhen.

Vachakan, as a youth, to much consternations of his parents wishes was an introverted bookworm, who insisted to become a monk and live in isolation.. Untilhe meets and falls in love with Anahit, a peasant cattle ranchers daughter and voila He becomes a valiant prince, and eventually the wise, benevolent and fearless King.. Another principal actor is Vaghinak, his foster brother, best friend, wise counsel and fearless guardian.

A teaser, the Opening Lines

Ղազարոս Աղայան «Անահիտ»

Մի ժամանակ Աղվանից աշխարհի թագավորանիստ քաղաքը Պարտավն էր, որ այժմ ավերակ է և ասվում է Բարդա: Դա գտնվում էր այժմյան Գանձակի և Շուշվա մեջտեղը՝ Թարթառ գետի վրա: Այդտեղ էր Վաչե թագավորի հոյակապ ապարանքը՝ իր ընդարձակ ծառաստանով, որ երկարումեկ ձգված էր Թարթառի ափովը: Այդ հինօրյա արհեստական անտառը բնականից գերազանցում էր իր հսկայական չինարներով ու բարդիներով, որոնց բարձրութեան ստուերի տակ ծածկւում էին քաղաքի նույնիսկ ամենաբարձր աշտարակները: Նրա չորս կողմով քաշուած ամուր պարիսպը վանդակի պաշտոն չէր կատարում բնաւ այն թեթևաշարժ ու արագավազ այծյամների ու եղջերուների համար, որոնք այնտեղ խմբերով զբոսնելու և խաղալու ազատ ասպարէզ ունէին:

:

See also #5 here;

http://hyeforum.com/index.php?showtopic=16483

Looking for Vachakan we are redirected to Vache.

** Somewhere I had said that is from vach=tent, ir. Tent dweller, nomad. No. Vache , From the Persian A young beast, much like a lions Cub.

[quotr]ՎԱՉԷ/=պարս. vace բառից, որ ձագուկ է նշանակում: Գործածական է դեռևս 1-ին դարից: Այժմ էլ կենդանի անուն է: VACHEH =From Persian vace "baby-animal", "cub". It is in use since I c. till now.

----

ASHKHEN =From Parthian akhen "gray"(Zend akhaena "black", **"bluish-black"). This name may also come from Parthian khet (Zend khaeta) "fiery red". It is an old name mentioned by M. Khorenatsi in his "History" as Ashkhadar's daughter. It may also come from a part of the above-mentioned name Ashkhadar and Persian en diminutive suffix (Ashkh+en).

ԱՇԽԷՆ= պահլ. akhsen գորշ բառից / զենդ. akhsaena թուխ, կապտասև/: Եթե պահլ. akhsen բառի դրափոխված ձևը համարենք , ապա Աշխեն անունը պետք է ստուգաբանվիմոխրագույն, գորշ: Բայց գույն է արտահայտում նաև աշխետ բառը /պահլ. khset, զենդ. khsaeta/, որ կարելի է մեկնել հրակարմիր:Հնագույն անուններից է : Խորենացին հիշատակում է Աշխէն կույս, որ Աշխադարի դուստրն էր: Շատ հավանական է որ այս անունը կազմված լինի հիշյալ Աշխադար անվան մի մասից և պարս. փաղաքշական en ածանցից /Աշխ - են/. ինչպես պարսկերենից ոկած մյուս անուններում /Խորէն/:

**Ashkhen=Brunetteղ Oddly, some of the Ashkhens I have known are (artificially?) blonde.

There is not much about the name Vaghinak, his trusted friend, aide and protector.

Remember that Aznavours birth name was Vaghinak Aznavourian.

-

13:18 18.03.2014

http://themetapicture.com/these-pictures-are-what-dreams-are-made-of/

http://cdn.themetapicture.com/media/cool-animal-children-photography-Elena-Shumilova-dog.jpg

– January 2, 2013

http://www.armenianlife.com/Home2/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/cheril.jpg

Cher

By Tom Vartabedian

Armenian Weekly

Say what you want about Kim Kardashian and the other sisters. But for my money, Cher continues to be my dream girl. Always was. Always will be.

Not that I have a love affair with the woman. An infatuation for beauty and talent mixed is more like it. And durability. To continue going this strong in Hollywood and Las Vegas at the ripe age of 64 probably takes a lot of makeup but more passion for the entertainment world. She’s still a class act, a true Armenian American icon.

That is why I shall be in her corner come Academy Awards time. If she doesn’t get an Oscar nomination for her role in the current production of “Burlesque,” I shall cancel my subscription to Hollywood Magazine and demand an investigation.

Her role as the club owner and den mother to a host of showgirls is truly impeccable. I marveled at her Academy Award-winning performance in “Moonstruck.” And I found her just as remarkable in such other films as “Mask,” “Witches of Eastwick,” “Tea with Mussolini,” and “Silkwood,” which earned her an Oscar nomination.

Here’s what one critic has to say about this present campy musical. “It takes a legend to make a star. Without Cher, ‘Burlesque’ wouldn’t work.”

The musical side is just as impressive, going back to the TV days of Sonny Bono. She’s sold more than 100 million records. Her concert tours are still sold-out. In truth, Cher knows no hiatus.

Though I’m a tad older than Cher, she was always the one I would showcase whenever outsiders asked me to identify any prominent Armenians.

“Well, you know Cher,” I would respond, calling to mind her given name, Cherilyn Sarkisian.

“No kidding, Cher’s Armenian?” they would reply. “I had no idea.”

The year was 1985, precisely 25 years ago. I was a well-groomed journalist for the Haverhill Gazette and was notified that Cher would be receiving the coveted Hasty Pudding Award given at Harvard University as Female Actress of the Year.

I talked my editor into going to Cambridge and covering the story, despite some resistance. He saw no local connection to the event so I drummed up an alibi.

“She happens to be a friend of mine,” I told him. “Can get a personal story and beat the other Boston papers.”

In some ways, that wasn’t far from the truth, given the ideology that all Armenians happen to be related through ethnicity. To be meeting Cher for the first time was indeed a revelation.

There she was, as glamorous as ever, in the back seat of a Mercedes convertible with the top down, waving to fans in a motorcade through Harvard Square. I waved, too, but she didn’t see me.

It wasn’t until we had adjourned to an auditorium when a more formal introduction occurred. I cornered her press agent and told the woman I was Armenian like Cher and would like a word with her. She obliged me.

“Eench bes es?” I said, offering an ethnic greeting.

It was then that Cher bowled me over with a perfectly controlled dialect of Armenian that totally caught me off guard. The woman knew her language and was relatively fluid, obviously getting it from her dad’s side. What I learned about John Sarkisian was that he drove a truck, gambled, and had spent time in prison. It was not the best relationship for an adolescent.

I also quickly discovered other Armenians in the crowd who also began exercising their native language. Cher had a definite Armenian following that afternoon and she didn’t disappoint when it came to her culture and heritage.

There was noticeable pride etched across her face which complemented her smile. What’s more, I figured if I was going to get the inside scoop on this starlight, I had better keep talking Armenian.

“What’d she say?” my competition wondered. “What kind of language is she speaking? Hey, that’s not fair.”

Well, sir, you should have been born an Armenian and perhaps you could have gained her better side in this interview, I snickered to myself. In the end, I came away with a story none of the other papers could match. Even my editors were amazed.

It’s no secret that Cher has reached out to the indigent of Armenia over her prominent career. And no wonder that she has shown a distinct charitable side in supporting people of her kind in this country.

Even today, when people ask me, “Armenian? What’s that?” I can still reply after all these years, “You want to know what Armenian is? Go ask Cher!”

Like her hit song, “The beat goes on!”

Rosy-Anoush Svazlian**: Embodiment of the Spirit of Armenia\e, [1]

Rosy-Anoush Svazlian

BY H. BALIAN

Decades ago, in the Alexander Spendiaryan Opera and Ballet Theater, a tradition was established. World-recognized Diaspora Armenian singers,*** such as Lusin Amara, Lili Chukasyan, Ara Beberyan, Anayis Bozabalyan, and Garbis Zobyan, were invited as guest performers. Today we are happy to hear the Armenian opera on stage once again with young Diaspora Armenian singers whose dreams have been to be revived by Armenian music lovers.

Recently we have become listeners to American Armenian singer Rosy Svazlians role of Anoush from Armen Tigranians famous opera, who attained her initial education in music in violin with her father Gerard Svazlian who for a long time has been and continues to be the violinist of the San Francisco Opera orchestra. Later on she continued her music education in piano for nearly over 10 years. After she decided to pursue her carrier in vocal, therefore she moved to Milan where she studied in vocal at Verdis Conservatory and completed her masters degree with Maestros Mastino and Tonini.

Rosy faced serious challenges singing an Armenian Opera. She had to overcome the language difficulties, since English was her first language; however thanks to her parents relentless efforts of teaching her Armenian, she finally mastered her mother tongue. Anoush was a lover, who through her performance had to overcome her parents, brothers, the publics and other villagers objections.

The Armenian spectator had already become acquainted with various versions of Anoush. Some had impression of an Anoush in love, while the others thought of her as a villager. And since art must mirror beauty, everything must be done artistically. Thanks to her beautiful voice and her artistic talent, she constructed the artistic image of her Anoush.

Rosy-Anoush was in total control of her breathing tempo and voice flow because of which her musical notations were sounding highly cultivated, expressed with effortless flight of beautiful sounds. Her talent as a singer helped her provide a more expressive version of Anoush. It was understood that her excessively short time-frame of preparing for her role demanded strong willpower under intense pressure. It is also worthy to note that the opera was directed by Garen Durgarian and conducted by Atanes Arakelian, who helped bring the opera to life.

When we requested the opinions of Vilen Charchoglian, the former concertmaster of the symphony orchestra of the Opera Theater who is currently one of the conductors, he said: I listened to Rosy with great pleasure. I also heard her sing with Placido Domingo. When she comes out on stage, you would think that the stage is filled with her aura. She is very artistic and musical. The impressions of Anoush are very authentic and beautiful. By listening to her, you receive a lot of pleasure.

Having heard the impressive Anoush Opera, the audience members gave a warm and standing ovation to Rosy once she left the stage.

Lets wish Rosy-Anoush Svazlian new achievements in her difficult and diligent profession while keeping the hopes of listening to her once again in the motherland alive.

**Her father Jirayr (Gerard) is the musical director of the San Francisco Opera., who produced the Tigran Chukhaian opera Arshak II in America.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_Jirayr_Svazlian

*** We are intimately faniliar with these Aartists

With all due respects to the likes of Vergine****, my ardent wish is that we rid ourselves from those turkifying qualifiers like Ji and Li. What is wrong renaming ourselves Sebastatsi-ian?

When did Sebastia become sivaz/svaz/ sivas? See how Bahram becomes Vahram, Bagram and visa versa..When and why did the Sebastastsis renamed sivaz-LI-(ian)?

http://hyeforum.com/index.php?showtopic=52237&page=1&&do=findComment&comment=306645

*** * How is she related to Jirrayr,(Gerard) they are both born in Alexandria, Egypt.

http://www.armenian-history.com/Nyuter/BIOGRAPHY/V-Svazlian.htm