Arax Mansourian

Soprano Arax Mansourian emphasizes the music of her native Armenia, though her expansive repertoire is certainly not limited to the region. She has often featured the music of Armenian priest and musicologist Komitas, including appearing in his incomplete opera Anoush as well as giving the first-ever performance of a number of his songs. Mansourian has appeared on major operatic stages throughout the world, performing leading roles in works by Puccini, Verdi, Wagner, and more. She offers varied recital programming, pairing standards by Schumann and Schubert with those of Komitas, Barsegh Kanachyan, and Armen Tigranian. Arax Mansourian (Armenian: Արաքս Մանսուրյան) was born on August 1, 1946, in Beirut, and she grew up in Armenia after her family moved there when she was an infant. Her grandparents were killed in the Armenian Genocide. Her brother is composer Tigran Mansurian, and Arax has often featured his works in her programming. Realizing early that she wanted to be a singer, she attended the Romanos Meliqyan College of Music. She continued her education at the Yerevan State Komitas Conservatory. While there, Mansourian performed in festivals in the Soviet Union. She became a fixture at the Yerevan State Opera shortly after graduating from the Conservatory, making her debut as Elisabetta in Verdi's Don Carlo. Mansourian made her recording debut in 1994 with the album Komitas, accompanied by Arthur Aharonyan. A recording of her singing medieval Armenian chants has been broadcast on Armenian national television for Genocide Remembrance Day. Immigrating to Australia to be married, Mansourian was unable to perform for a time and contemplated returning to Armenia. However, appearances as Leonora in a West Australian Opera concert production of Verdi's Il Trovatore and on the ABC series Swoon in 1995 began opening doors. She made her debut with Opera Australia in 1999 as Liu in a production of Puccini's Turandot. She has performed major roles as a principal artist with Opera Australia, along with other major companies throughout the country. In 2007, the Armenian Music Center issued Arax Mansourian: The Voice of the Centuries, featuring Armenian music from the Middle Ages. She was awarded the Medal of Komitas by the Armenian Ministry of the Diaspora in 2010. Mansourian teaches Armenian singing at the Sydney Conservatory, and since 2012, she has arranged concerts in Australia, Armenia, and the U.S., with her students singing works by Armenian and European composers; proceeds from these concerts are given to the Armenian charity Donate Life. In 2015, Mansourian was made an honorary professor at the Yerevan State Komitas Conservatory and issued the album Tigran Mansurian: Vocal Cycles.
© Keith Finke /TiVo