''David Bek'' () is an opera composed by

Armen Tigranian Armen Tigranian or Tigranyan or Dikranian (; 26 December 1879, Alexandropol – 10 February 1950, Tbilisi) was an Armenian composer, conductor and sociocultural activist. His best-known work is '' Anoush'', premiered in Alexandropol in 1912. It ...

based on the novel ''

David Bek Davit Bek or David Beg (; died 1728) was an Armenian military commander and the leader of an Armenian rebellion against the invading Ottoman Empire and implanted Safavid Muslim tribes in the mountainous region of Zangezur (today the Armenian pr ...

'' (1880–82) by

Raffi Raffi Cavoukian (, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is an Armenian-Canadian singer-lyricist and author born in Egypt best known for his children's music. In 1992, ''The Washington Post'' called him "the most p ...

. After the composer's death, the opera was completed by Levon Khoja-Eynatyan, G. Budaghyan, and the

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

was developed by Aram Ter-Hovhannisyan.Энциклопедический музыкальный словарь, Москва 1966 The opera describes events surrounding the historical figure of

in the early 18th century and the struggle of the

Armenian people Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

against

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and the Ottoman Turks. ''David Bek'' was first performed 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 ...

in 1950.

Recordings

* David's aria on Arias of Love & Sorrow Gevorg Hakobyan (baritone), Kaunas Symphony Orchestra, John Fisher, Constantine Orbelian 2023

References

{{Opera-stub Music of Armenia Operas Armenian-language operas Operas by Armen Tigranian Operas based on novels Operas set in the 18th century Operas set in Armenia Cultural depictions of Davit Bek Operas based on real people Unfinished operas 1950 operas