Armenian music art has suffered a great loss: on July 28, Armenian opera diva Arax Davtyan passed away in Moscow, Russia, aged 61. As an alumnus of the Yerevan State Conservatory after Komitas, in 1986 she got an invitation to work at the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Russia.

Audiences in more than 120 prestigious concert halls of the world, such as Carnegie Hall, New York; Gavo, Paris; Gebau, Amsterdam; Center Hall, Tokyo, and others, have heard Davtyan’s lyrical soprano, including her memorable performance in 1988, in Gebau, of Giuseppe Verdi’s ‘Requiem’.

She had a number of concerts all over the world, performing different masterpieces of singing art. As world-famed violinist and conductor Vladimir Spivakov stated, Davtyan is one of the greatest interpreters of Mozart’s pieces.

Besides being an excellent opera singer, Davtyan was also an amazing teacher: she pursued her teaching career both in Yerevan (State Conservatory, since 1997) and in Moscow, where she worked till the end of her life.

Arax Davtyan will be laid to rest in Armenia. A commission in charge of organizing Davtyan’s funeral has been set up by the Armenian government.