Concert

Alain Altinoglu conducts Prokofiev, Khachaturian, and Aprikian – With Naïra Abrahamyan, Stella Grigorian, and Wiard Witholt

Legend of Armenia at the Opéra Comique

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Cast

Naïra Abrahamyan — Soprano

Stella Grigorian — Mezzo-soprano

Wiard Witholt — Baritone

Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine

The Gulbenkian Choir

Gulbenkian Orchestra

Alain Altinoglu — Conductor

Program notes

Join in a celebration of Armenian heritage with this musical evening at Paris’s Opéra Comique! The Gulbenkian Orchestra and Choir and the Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine under the direction of French-Armenian conductor Alain Altinoglu present works by Prokofiev, Khachaturian, and Aprikian.

The program's first two works were composed by Sergei Prokofiev and Aram Khachaturian, close colleagues and so-called titans of Soviet music. Prokofiev’s four-movement Classical Symphony was premiered when he was only 26 years old and greatly contributed to his rising career. Khachaturian’s colorful and evocative Masquerade Suite brings together selections from incidental music written for a 1941 play. The second half of the evening is devoted to Egyptian-Armenian composer and choir director Garbis Aprikian’s oratorio La Naissance de David de Sassoun. The piece marries Western musical technique with Armenian melodies to tell the story of David of Sassoun, the national Armenian hero.

A closer look: featured composers

Further listening: featured works

More info