GevorgHakobyan

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Baritone
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  • Arias of Love and Sorrow

    Delos
    Jan 2023

    • In one of the finest calling-card débuts we have heard in quite some time – the DELOS recording ARIAS OF LOVE & SORROW – Armenian Baritone Gevorg Hakobyan brings keen interpretive intelligence and a gift for coloring his glorious sound to suit everything from the snarling utterances of Iago’s Credo to the noble cantilena of Nabucco’s prayer Dio di Giuda, the latter sung with seamless legato.

    • An exciting program that is well suited to Hakobyan’s dramatic voice. There is not an aria on this CD where I would say that Hakobyan’s voice does not fit one hundred percent, even though he is particularly impressive as a Verdi baritone.… admirably balanced and nuanced in its richness of expression.… it is a fascinating CD of a fascinating singer.

    • Armenian baritone Gevorg Hakobyan, now forty-one, proves in this calling-card recording to be a very serviceable exponent of the dramatic baritone Fach — one that is particularly underserved today, even in international theaters. He has sung in many important Eastern European and Italian houses plus Vienna, Madrid and Barcelona, and on the evidence here he’s preferable to some of his seasoned European rivals that we in North America are routinely offered (year after year after year). Both his Italian and Russian selections show familiarity with the idioms and an ability to shade phrases with emotion, as well as some welcome dynamic shading. Aleko’s classic audition aria “Ves’ tabar spit”; Tomsky’s point number “Tri karty”; and Nabucco’s recitative and prayer “Dio di Giuda” show reveal him to be a capable interpreter. And, unlike many youngish singers, he seems to have investigated the recorded performance tradition. In Michele’s intense aria of vengeance from Il Tabarro, he delivers the final “Sei tu” lifted in pitch and delivered parlando — not as Puccini wrote it but a plausible verismo variant as recorded by Tito Gobbi. Surely the least accessible and thus most valuable readings here are the selections from Armenian operas. Hakobyan sings the Sovietized version of an aria from the first Armenian opera, Arshak II (1868), written in Italian by Tigran Chukhajian (1837–98) about the fourth-century ruler. In 1945, an adaptation by Armenian-language musicologist Levon Khodja-Ernatyan (1904–54), given a politically expedient libretto to suit Stalinist dogma, made its debut. From Armen Tigranian (1879–1950) we hear the titular heroine’s brother’s enraged aria from Anoush (1912) and the hero’s patriotic declaration from David Bek (1950), given a posthumous premiere.

    • Gevorg Hakobyan brings keen interpretive intelligence and a gift for coloring his sound to suit the snarling utterances of Iago’s Credo, the self-questioning of Gerard in Nemico della patria, the seething anger of Michele’s Nulla! Silenzio!, the heartbreak of Eri tu, and the noble cantilena of Nabucco’s prayer, the latter sung with seamless legato. Hakobyan’s is a true dramatic voice: sizeable, rock solid in the middle and low registers, perfectly even in sound in the tricky passaggio that often creates trouble for some baritones, and fearless both with the top F sharps and G’s that abound in the Verdi and Puccini arias included in the album. He also boasts a fine low A in Eri tu and an equally assured low G in Michele’s aria from Il Tabarro. In the imperfect world of Opera Gevorg Hakobyan, a major artist perfectly equipped both vocally and musically – deserves to be stepping right now into the leading baritone repertoire in the major opera houses.

  • Tosca

    Dutch National Opera
    Apr 2023

    • As Baron Scarpia, Gevorg Hakobyan’s ideally dark baritone finds the right colours to portray the complex character of a psychopath who can hide his sadistic inner brute beneath a manipulative, suave varnish.

    • Armenian baritone Gevorg Hakobyan transformed into a terrifying character. Stripped by Kosky of his noble savoir vivre and elegant cynicism, Hakobyan exhibited a harsh, almost plebeian approach, which made him the atrocious counterpart of Byström's Tosca.

  • Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci

    Lyric Opera of Kansas City
    Sep 2023

    • Gevorg Hakobyan was a superb Alfio, his baritone suggestive of the heavy-drinking swagger that allows him to dominate the villagers and not stand being cuckolded.

  • Pique Dame

    Oper Stuttgart
    Jan 2019

    • Den armeniske barytonen Gevorg Hakobyan imponerar stort i Tomskijs roll som är handlingens katalysator. Hans stämma har en fyllig klang och mörk tyngd. I den berömda balladen om de tre korten sjunger han uttrycksfullt, dramatiskt och med en lysande diktion. [Translated] The Armenian baritone Gevorg Hakobyan impresses greatly in the role of Tomsky, who is the catalyst of the action. His voice has a rich sound and dark weight. In the famous ballad about the three cards, he sings expressively, dramatically and with brilliant diction.

    • Armenian baritone Gevorg Hakobyan (Tomsky) brilliantly presented bright vocal images, as well as a successful mastery of the stage situation.