Tatevik Sazandarian 2016 stamp of Armenia

Tatevik Sazandaryan (; 20 August 1916 – 6 October 1999), was a Soviet and Armenian operatic

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

who became a member of the

Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (SSUSSR) was the highest body of state authority of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991. Based on the principle of unified power, it was the only branch of government in the So ...

in 1958. She performed as a soloist at the

Yerevan Opera Theatre The Alexander Spendiaryan National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre (), simply known by locals as , is an opera theatre in Yerevan. It officially opened on 20 January 1933, with a performance of Alexander Spendiaryan's opera '' Almast'' as its ...

from 1937 to 1961.

Biography

Born in

Khndzoresk Khndzoresk (, ) is a village in the Goris Municipality of the Syunik Province in Armenia. The village is located to the east of the Goris-Stepanakert highway, on the steep slopes of Khor Dzor (Deep Gorge), which the village is named after, accord ...

, now located in

Syunik Province Syunik (, ) is the southernmost province of Armenia. It is bordered by the Vayots Dzor Province to the north, Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic exclave to the west, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran to the south. Its capital and larg ...

, Sazandaryan grew up in

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 ...

, singing as a soloist in the school choir from the age of 10. When she was 16 she moved to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

where she sang in a number of amateur performances. Once her talent was recognized, she studied in Moscow under Ruben Simonov. She began performing in concerts in 1933. She then returned to Armenia where she studied at

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 ...

's school of music and drama under Sargis Barkhudaryan. In 1937, she became a soloist at the Yerevan Opera Theatre. She is remembered in particular for playing Parandzem in Tigran Chukhajian's opera ''

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

'' and Tamar in

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 ...

's ''

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 ...

''. She also performed leading roles in ''

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 ...

'', ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'' and ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (, Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: Евгеній Онѣгинъ, романъ въ стихахъ, ) is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin. ''Onegin'' is considered a classic of ...

''. From 1961, she taught at the Yerevan Conservatory where she became professor in 1970. In parallel, she headed the solo singing department at the Theatre Institute of Yerevan. She gained an extensive reputation, performing in the principal cities of the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

as well as in Persia, Sweden, Tunisia, Hungary, Syria (1956), Belgium (1958, 1962), Greece (1959), Czechoslovakia (1960), and France (1963). Tatevik Sazandaryan died in

at the age of 83. In May 2017, a commemorative concert was held in her honour at Yerevan's National Theatre of Opera and Ballet.

Awards

Sazandaryan was honoured with many awards including the Stalin Prize (1951) and the

Order of St. Mesrop Mashtots The Order of St. Mesrop Mashtots () is awarded for significant achievements in economic development of Armenia, natural and social sciences, inventions, culture, education, healthcare, and public service, as well as for activities promoting scient ...

(1997). In 2016 a stamp was issued on the centenary of her birth. She is shown in the role of Almast in the opera of that name by

Alexander Spendiaryan Alexander Afanasyevich Spendiarov (, November 1, 1871, Kakhovka, Russian Empire – May 7, 1928, Yerevan, Armenia) was a Russian composer and conductor of Armenian descent, founder of Armenian national symphonic music. Biography Alexander S ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sazandaryan, Tatevik 1916 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Armenian women opera singers People from Syunik Province Academic staff of the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan alumni Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Fifth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Honored artists of Armenia People's Artists of Armenia People's Artists of Azerbaijan People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Stalin Prize Operatic mezzo-sopranos Armenian women music educators Soviet music educators Soviet women opera singers