Thursday, 17 May 2007
The national culture of Armenia suffered an irremediable loss: prominent Armenian singer Gohar Gasparyan has died. People's Artist of USSR, Hero of Socialist Labor, USSR and ASSR State prize-winner, professor at the State Conservatory after Komitas, throughout many years her divine voice and rare singing talent conveyed utmost pleasure to the music fans both at home and abroad.
Gohar Gasparyan was born in 1924 in Cairo, in the family of modest bank employee Mikael Khachatryan. The parents of the future singer spared no efforts to give proper education to their talented daughter. She studied vocal with renowned art masters Eliz Feldman and Vincenzo Cappo
who had left the fascist Italy and moved to Cairo. Her delightful lyrical soprano was strengthened by the secrets of the Italian belcanto singing. At the age of 20 Gohar was already a well-constituted singer in Cairo, where she failed to hold a place of her own. It was not but in homeland that the name of Gohar Gasparyan became a phenomenon of vocal performance. This is the way she was apprehended by Armenian music fans after her very first performance which took place in June, 1949, at the Armenian Philharmonic Society. The admiration of musical circles was re-doubled after her opera debut as Delibi Lakme. Thereby Gohar Gasparyan's glorious artistic route was launched on the stage of the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater after A. Spendiarian. In her original interpretations the funs of the opera art saw and appreciated Anoush, Olympia, Shushan, Karine, Rosina, Norina, Julietta, Margarita, Norma and many other parts, several new chamber music pieces were brought to their notice.During many years, Gohar Gasparyan was the herald of the Armenian culture in the world. Many people in other countries were able to discover Armenia and the Armenian people.
She never aspired to glory and honors, however, glory and laurels went to the prominent singer as a well-deserved estimation of her merits.
Let us now bend heads before her memory and say goodbye with a feeling of pride to one of the most beautiful and wonderful phenomena of our people, whose name and art has been engraved for ever in the annals of our national culture.
Government Commission
