On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of a prominent opera singer
Summery
Anna G. Asatryan
One of the central figures in 20th century Armenian music, tenor Avag Petrosyan (tenore di forza) was one of the most distinguished representatives of the Soviet-Armenian vocal school. He was a unique and profoundly national artist, a singer and dramatic artist harmonically combined, whose created characters were distinguished by the unification of his amazing vocal and stage presence.
A. Petrosyan became known for the heroic roles he played in Armenian operas:
Saro in A. Tigranyan’s “Anush,” Santur in A. Tigranyan’s “Davit Bek,” Ashugh and Sheikh in A. Spendyaryan’s “Almast,” Karo in A. Babayev’s “Artsvaberd,” Tirit in T. Chukhajyan’s “Arshak III,” Vahan in H. Stepanyan’s “Heroine,” Sos in V. Tigranyan’s “Sos and Varditer,” Seyran in L. Kojayeinatyan’s “Namus.” His roles as Saro and Santur (“Anush,” “Davit Bek”) became the masterpieces in his artistic repertoire.
A. Petrosyan was also a celebrated chamber singer, he was the delicate interpreter of Armenian, Russian and Western European classical songs, and was an unrivalled performer of Armenian traditional and folk songs.
A. Petrosyan presented Armenian musical culture to the cities of the Soviet Union, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, Tashkend, Tbilisi, Baku and also to the United States, Canada, India and France. Everywhere he went he spread Armenian song and received nationwide acclaim that very few artists have been able to garner.