Tigran Levoni Levonyan (''Khandikyan'', ; 1936–2004) 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 ...

operatic

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

and director, Professor of

Yerevan State Conservatory Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan (), also known as Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory (YKSC) or Yerevan State Conservatory (YSC), is a state-owned college of music located in Yerevan, Armenia. The institute was founded in 1921 as a music st ...

. People's Artist of Armenia (1984). He was the husband of

Gohar Gasparyan Gohar Mikayeli Gasparyan (14 December 192416 May 2007, ), also known as the "Armenian nightingale", was an Armenian opera singer. Life Born in an Armenian family in Cairo, Egypt, Gasparyan studied at a Music Academy in the city. In 1948, she ...

and brother of director Armen Khandikyan.

Biography

Tigran Levonyan was born in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

and repatriated as a child to Armenia in 1946. He graduated from

Yerevan Academy of Fine Arts 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

Russian Academy of Theatre Arts The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) () is the largest and oldest independent theatrical arts school in Russia. Located in Moscow, the school was founded on 22 September 1878 as the Shostakovsky Music School. It became the School of Mu ...

, then gained experience at the

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

theater.Biography
/ref> In 1962 he became the soloist of the National Theater of Opera and Ballet of Armenia performing the roles of Saro (opera "Anush" by Tigranian), Tirith ("

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 ...

" by Chuhajyan), Othello ("

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

" by

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...

), Canio (

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...

), Carlos (Don Carlos), Alfred ( La Traviata), Shahumyan (David Bek), Manrico (Trubadur), Cavaradossi (

Toska Toska is an island in Alver Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The island lies just west of the island of Radøy in the Hjeltefjorden, at the entrance to the Radfjorden. A road connection from the village of Manger on Radøy island to ...

) with great depth of dramatic feeling, impressive acting and a delicate interpretation of direction. From 1991 to 1999 he was the artistic director of Yerevan Opera Theater. In those years, the theater staged the following operas directed by Levonyan: Verdi "Othello", Tigranyan "Anush", "David Beck", Chuhajyan "Arshak II" and "Karine". He was the first to create opera films in Armenia (Almast, Arshak II, and Palmetto). On the occasion of 1700th anniversary of

Christianity in Armenia As of 2011, most Armenians in Armenia are Christians (97%) and are members of the Armenian Apostolic Church, which is one of the oldest Christian churches. It was founded in the 1st century AD, and in 301 AD became the first branch of Christianity ...

, he staged open air performances of Anush and Palmetto at

Zvartnots Cathedral Zvartnots Cathedral ( (Classical Armenian orthography, classical); (Armenian orthography reform, reformed), sometimes rendered in scholarly works as Zuart'nots' or Zuart'noc' ; 'place of reserection/lifefulness/joyfulness') is a medieval Arme ...

Filmography

*Karine (1968), *Anush (1983), *Arshak 2nd (1988, directed by Levonyan), *Almast (1986)

References

External links

BiographyLevonyanТиграну Левоняну исполнилось бы 75 лет
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levonyan, Tigran Musicians from Beirut 20th-century Armenian male opera singers Lebanese opera singers People's Artists of Armenia Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan alumni Operatic tenors Lebanese people of Armenian descent 1936 births 2004 deaths