Armen Tigranian
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Armen Tigranian or Tigranyan or Dikranian (; 26 December 1879,
Alexandropol Gyumri (, ) is an urban municipal community and the List of cities and towns in Armenia, second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th centur ...
– 10 February 1950,
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
) 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 around the ...
composer, conductor and sociocultural activist. His best-known work is '' Anoush'', premiered in Alexandropol in 1912. It is the first opera ever performed in Armenia.


Early years

Tigranian was born in Alexandropol in the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
(present-day
Gyumri Gyumri (, ) is an urban municipal community and the List of cities and towns in Armenia, second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th centur ...
,
Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
). Composer Vardan Tigranyan (1906–1974) and architect Edmond Tigranyan were his sons. He became interested in music at a very early age. In 1894, he moved to Tiflis (now Tbilisi) with his family, enrolled in the local music school where he mastered the flute, studied the piano and took classes in music theory under Nikolay Klenovsky. During the same period he studied composition with Makar Yekmalyan. Tigranian returned to Alexandropol in 1902 and devoted himself to teaching and composing music. He organized an amateur mixed choir and gave his first performance in 20 October 1902. He toured Tiflis,
Kars Kars ( or ; ; ) is a city in northeast Turkey. It is the seat of Kars Province and Kars District. ...
,
Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...
, and
Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
, disseminating Armenian music. During this period he composed his first compositions, including «Սև աչերեն» (Of the Black Eyes, text by Avetik Isahakyan, «Մնաք բարով» (Good Bye, text by Hovhannes Hovhannisyan) and choral arrangements of folk material.


Music

During the years 1908 and 1912 he composed his masterpiece «Անուշ» (Anoush), generally considered the "national opera of the Armenian people". Anoush, based on Hovhannes Tumanian's story of romance and tragedy, is a social drama distinguished by the originality of its national style, its folk characters, and its musical language. It captured the attention of audiences and became an enduring favorite of the opera repertoire. The opera was premiered by an amateur group in Alexandropol on 4 August 1912. The next year, Tigranian moved once more back to Tiflis where he became an active member of the Armenian Music Society, he taught, and toured, performing his own compositions. Following the establishment of the Soviet regime, Tigranian thoroughly reviewed and edited the opera Anoush in order to adhere to the principles of the new populist aesthetics. The new edition was performed for the first time in
Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...
on 27 March 1935, and then in Moscow during the ten-day Festival of Armenian Arts on 22 October 1939. For this occasion the score was re-orchestrated by Anoushavan Ter-Ghevondyan. The American premiere of Anoush took place on 27 May 1923 at the Lexington Avenue Opera House in New York in a presentation marketed toward the Armenian immigrant audience. The official American premiere of ''Anoush'' took place on 31 October 1981 at
Michigan Opera Theatre Detroit Opera is the principal opera company in Michigan, USA. The company is based in Detroit, where it performs in the Detroit Opera House. Prior to February 28, 2022, the company was named Michigan Opera Theatre. Annually, it produces four o ...
. Tigranian's second opera «Դավիթ Բեկ» ( David Bek (opera)) was inspired by the history of Karabakh Melikdoms. It is based on a novel by Raffi (pen name for Hakob Melik Hakobian) and was composed during 1941 and 1950. Its melodic contour is mostly derived from Armenian folk songs; its music is accessible. The instrumentation was realized by Levon Khoja-Eynatyan and was staged in 1950 in Yerevan shortly after the composer's death. Among the other works by Tigranian are the drama ''Leily and Mejnun'', ''Eastern Dance'' for symphonic orchestra, songs, choral works and piano pieces. A collection of his articles, letters, and memoire was published in 1981 in Yerevan. He has translated into Armenian the libretti of Verdi's
Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...
and Bizet's
Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...
. Tigranian died in Tbilisi and is buried in the Yerevan Central Cemetery, also known as Tokhmakh. There are schools named after him and streets designated in Yerevan and in Gyumri.


Awards

*Honoured Art Worker of Armenian SSR, 1935 *Honoured Art Worker of Georgian SSR, 1936 *
Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...
, 1939


References


Further reading

*Ռոբերտ Աթայան, Մաթևոս Մուրադյան. Արմեն Տիգրանյան։ Կյանքը, երաժշտական-հասարակական գործնեությունը և ստեղծագործութիւնը, Երևան, 1955. *Роберт Атаян, Матевос Мурадян. Армен Тигранян, Москва, 1966. *Ռոբերտ Աթայան. Արմեն Տիգրանյան, Երևան, 1981.


Listening


Armen Tigranian – Anoush, film-operaArmen Tigranian – David Bek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tigranian, Armen 1879 births 1950 deaths Armenian composers Armenian opera composers Armenian male classical composers Male opera composers People from Gyumri Musicians from Yerevan 20th-century Armenian classical composers 20th-century male musicians Musicians from the Russian Empire