Arax Mansourian

Arax Mansourian Արաքս Մանսուրյան
File:AraxMansourianNew.jpg
Background information
Born	(1946-08-01) August 1, 1946 Beirut, Lebanon
Website	www.arax-mansourian.com

Arax Mansourian (Armenian; Արաքս Մանսուրյան, born August 1, 1946) is an Armenian soprano, who started her career in her native Armenia and continued in Australia with Opera Australia. Ms Mansourian has been awarded the title of an Honorary Professor at the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory in 2015. Also in 2015 She was awarded with the First Degree Medal of Armenia. In 2010 Ms Mansourian was Awarded with the Medal of Komitas by the Ministry Of the Diaspora.

Biography

Arax Mansourian was born in Beirut, Lebanon in a family of survivors of the Armenian genocide. Her family moved to Armenia when Arax was still an infant. Growing up in Armenia, music was a very important part of her life. She knew early on that she wanted to sing. Mansourian studied at the Romanos Meliqyan college of music and later graduated from the Yerevan State Komitas Conservatory, where she was the only performer of modern classical atonal music by young composers. During her studies she participated in festivals throughout Russia and The Soviet Union. After graduation, she soon started to sing at the Yerevan State Opera and soon became one of its stars. The great Armenian diva, Tatevik Sazandarian, once said “Arax has it all, the whole package”. Throughout her career, Ms Mansourian was offered numerous film roles, which she declined. However her music has been used in many television programs, film soundtracks and documentaries. “... her mastery of stage and the dramatic intensity of her acting involuntarily reminds the audience of Greta Garbo” -Mandag, Stockholm, 28.10.1987.

After moving to Australia in the mid-nineties, she started her work with Opera Australia. Her first role with OA was of Liu in Puccini's Turandot ( “Arax Mansourian’s Liù is tremulously sung and deeply affecting,the only source of warmth” Deborah Jones, The Australian, Sep 1999). Liu was followed by Santuzza in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana in Melbourne (OA) "Armenian Arax Mansourian is a natural Santuzza with real power...", Sydney Opera House (OA) and Brisbane for Opera Queensland. Then came Tosca in Puccini's Tosca (Opera Queensland), Desdemona in Verdi's Othello (Opera Australia), Elisabeth de Valois in Verdi's Don Carlos, Fata Morgana in Prokofiev's Love for Three Oranges (OA Sydney) Katya in Janacek's Katya Kabanova (OA Sydney) "Her generous-voiced Katya, tragedy in every fibre of her being, was received with lusty cheers” The Australian." Katya Kabanova-Armenian soprano Arax Mansourian in the title role, she is magnificent, expressing Katya’s emotional roller coaster with immense feeling and voice control. Barry Quigley MOSMAN DAILY, FEB 2002".

Mansourian lives with her husband, Jacob Kiujian, in Sydney, Australia. She has two daughters. She is a passionate teacher, who is regarded as one of the world's best vocal coaches. She has many successful students, who have been influenced as much by her musicality and vocal color, as her rigorous vocal training.

Repertoire

Mansourian's repertoire encompasses more than 30 roles which include Verdi's- Aida, Leonora in La Forza del Destino, Desdemona in Othello, Elizabeth Valois in Don Carlos, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, Leonora in Il Trovatore, Amelia in Un Ballo Di Maschera , Liu in Puccini's Turandot, Mimi in La Boheme, Tosca in Tosca , Santuzza in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, Nedda in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, Isolde in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, Elizabeth in Tannhäuser, Kundri in Parsifal, Katya in Janacek's Katya Kabanova, Kostelnichka in Janacek's Jenufa, Fata Morgana in Prokofiev's Love for Three Oranges, Anoush in Tigranian's Anoush, Shoushan in Tigranian's David Bek and others...

Mansourian has had recitals throughout the world singing the music of European Masters , such as Schubert, Schuman, Mahler, Mozart, Fauré, Tchaikovsky, Glinka, Rachmaninoff while always including Armenian classics by Komitas, Kanachian, Berberian, her brother, composer Tigran Mansurian, in her repertoire as well as many other contemporary composers works. Ms Mansourian is the first performer to sing many never before performed songs by Komitas, as well as his unfinished opera Anoush. Mansourian's recordings of medieval Armenian chants are an important part of the treasure vault of Armenian music. In the 1990's, during a liturgical festival, she toured 14 cities in France with an all male Armenian choir. French Armenian artist Garzou said “Arax Mansourian was divine in Yekmalian's liturgy. As if she wasn't a singer but virgin Mary herself, so impressive and powerful was her singing...”

Mansourian has appeared in concerts with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, "Beethoven's Ninth Symphony" at the Sydney Opera Concert Hall, Verdi's "Requiem", Britten's "War Requiem", a series of concerts singing Hildegard von Bingen music, ABC "Swoon Concert" with Sydney Symphony Orchestra, John Haddock's "See My Children Fly" which the author wrote with Mansourian in mind. In the last decade as well as singing in Australia , Arax Mansourian has performed concerts in the USA, China, Egypt, Lebanon, Japan and Armenia. Throughout her career she has worked with Brian Castles-Onion, Carlo Felice Cillario, Simone Young, Antony Walker, Richard Gill, Richard Mills, Vladimir Kamirski and others.