Night at the Opera (House)

Classical Music in Yerevan

We are thrilled to be here for a six-week long International Music Festival, which begins tonight. This is a series of concerts by the Armenian Philharmonic in which soloists from other countries are featured. They are all being given in the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall in the Opera House. 

This is a grand circular building with Cinderella marble staircases, the centers of which are covered in red carpeting. Really, its size and style seem to call for long dresses and tiaras, but alas, Yerevan is like everywhere else. People wore whatever they wanted. Some were dressed up and then there were much more informal outfits. 

The concert hall itself has very good acoustics and is beautifully decorated with spectacular chandeliers--three of them over the orchestra seating. The colors are subtle greys, creams, and gold, with red velvet in small doses.

Our first experience was I Solisti Veneti--the soloists from Venice. We sat in the first balcony in seats that were the most expensive, at 5,000 AMD, or the equivalent of $12.50. Peter wondered if these prices were a holdover from when Armenia was a Soviet Socialist republic (cheap seats way upstairs are $1.25).

We arrived at 6:45 for a 7:00 performance but were among only a few people in the very hot hall at that time. Most people arrived just at 7:00 and the concert did not start on time. This concert was co-sponsored by the Italian Embassy so we got treated to a seemingly endless speech by the Italian ambassador, which was translated in chunks by a lovely Armenian woman who also announced the program as we went. No printed programs were available.

Differences from a similar concert at home that we observed: people of all ages; no announcements about shutting down devices; people talking throughout; turning lights up occasionally even though it was not intermission. The majority of women over men was probably not different than at home. Another huge difference was that cellphones went off throughout the concert. One woman who was sitting directly in front of us even took a call. I think my jaw dropped open.  She then proceeded to teach her young son how to use the phone. Another woman to the left worked text messages and her calendar. By American standards these various behaviors (talking throughout and using phones) are very disrespectful. I kept closing my eyes to zone out the distractions. Denise finally reached her limit and we left before the last piece. That said, I Solisti Veneti performed beautifully; the oboe soloist being my favorite.

Tonight's concert features works by Hartounian, an Armenian composer, as well as several European composers. We are curious to see if the audience behavior is any different for this series.Maybe everyone will be so busy gazing at the Conductor they will be more quiet. Stay tuned...