Hasmik Papian is one of the leading Armenian sopranos of her generation and one of the most celebrated interpreters of Bellini’s Norma in the world. She has performed on the great opera stages of Europe and the Americas, from the Metropolitan Opera in New York to La Scala in Milan to the Vienna State Opera. She was awarded the People’s Artist of Armenia title in 2004 and named Cultural Ambassador of Armenia in the World in 2005 by His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians.
She was born 65 years ago today, on September 2, 1961, in Yerevan, in Soviet Armenia. She began her musical training at the age of 5 on the violin. She graduated from the Komitas Conservatory in Yerevan first as a violinist. Only later, at the encouragement of her friends, did she begin to explore her voice.
Tatevik Sazandaryan, the head of the vocal department at the Komitas Conservatory, listened to her sing a few notes and told her she had to become a singer. Papian returned to the Conservatory as a voice student and graduated a second time, this time as a soprano.
After her debut at the Armenian National Opera, she won the prestigious Belvedere Singing Competition in Vienna in 1990. It led directly to a contract with Opera Bonn and, from there, to an international career.
Papian has since appeared at the Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall in New York, the San Francisco Opera, the Washington National Opera, La Scala in Milan, the Opéra Bastille in Paris, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Vienna State Opera and Musikverein, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Zurich Opera, the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, and the state opera houses of Munich, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Dresden, and Berlin.
She has worked with conductors including Riccardo Muti and Valery Gergiev. Her operatic repertoire spans Mozart’s Donna Anna in “Don Giovanni,” Rossini’s Mathilde in “William Tell,” Halévy’s Rachel in “La Juive,” Bizet’s Micaëla in “Carmen,” Puccini’s Mimì in “La Bohème,” Magda in “La Rondine,” Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Verdi’s La Traviata. She has also performed the title role in Armen Tigranian’s Armenian national opera “Anoush.”
Her signature role is Norma in Bellini’s opera of the same name. She has performed it more than 150 times in 26 different productions, more than any other soprano of her generation. The Washington Post has called her “the best Norma alive.”
Alongside her state honors from the Republic of Armenia, she has received the Order of Saint Sahag and Saint Mesrob and the Order of Saint Mesrop Mashtots from the Armenian Apostolic Church. She has dedicated many of her performances to the memory of the Armenian Genocide, including concerts at London’s Wigmore Hall for April 24 commemorations.
In this clip, Papian performs “Oror” (Lullaby), the beloved Armenian classical lullaby composed by Parsegh Ganatchian to a text by the Armenian poet Kamar Katiba (Raphael Patkanian), at the inaugural Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity ceremony held on April 24, 2016, in Yerevan. The Aurora Prize is an annual international humanitarian award founded by Noubar Afeyan, Vartan Gregorian, and Ruben Vardanyan to recognize individuals and organizations advancing humanitarian causes. It is awarded on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide, in gratitude to their saviors.
Papian lives in Vienna, Austria, and returns to Yerevan every year. She has said she plans to live in Armenia at the end of her career.
Happy 65th birthday, Hasmik Papian.
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