Gasparian, Goar Mikaelovna

(maiden name, Khachatrian). Born Dec. 14, 1924, in Cairo. Soviet Armenian soprano. People’s Artist of the USSR (1956).

Gasparian received her musical education in Cairo under the guidance of E. Feldman and V. Carrot. In 1948 she moved to the USSR and in 1949 became a soloist with the Armenian Theater of Opera and Ballet in Yerevan. Her roles include Anush and Shushan in Tigranian’s operas Anush and David-bek, Goar in Stepanian’s The Heroine (State Prize of the USSR, 1951), Olimpiia in Chukhadzhian’s Arshak II, Lucia in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Lakmé in Delibes’ Lakmé, Violetta and Desdemona in Verdi’s La Traviata and Otello, and Rosina in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. Gasparian’s performances are appealing because of her natural elegance and thoughtful and subtle interpretation of diverse characters. She also performs as a concert singer and has toured Poland, Hungary, England, France, Japan, the USA, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and other countries. A deputy to the seventh and eighth convocations of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, she received the State Prize of the Armenian SSR in 1964.