Nar Ovanisian

Ovanisian, Nar Mikhailovich 

Born Mar. 30 (Apr. 12), 1913, in Tbilisi. Soviet Armenian bass singer. People’s Artist of the USSR (1964).

Ovanisian graduated from the Tbilisi Conservatory in 1941. From 1931 to 1937 he sang in the chorus of the Georgian Theater of Opera and Ballet and from 1945 to 1951 was a soloist there. In 1951 he became a leading soloist of the Armenian Theater of Opera and Ballet. His many roles have included the title role in Tigranian’s David-Bek, Nadir-shakh in Spendiarov’s Almost, Kochubei in Tchaikovsky’s Mazepa, Konchak in Borodin’s Prince Igor, the Miller in Dargomyzhskii’s The Mermaid, Mephistopheles in Gounod’s Faust, and Don Basilio in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. He has appeared as a concert soloist and has toured abroad. From 1954 to 1963 he was a senior instructor at the Yerevan Conservatory.

Ovanisian was a deputy to the fourth convocation of the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR. He was awarded the Order of Lenin.

REFERENCE

T’adevosyan, A. “Tazandavor ergich.” Sovetakan Hayastan, 1957, no. 9.