Dikran Tchouhadjian

Tigran Tchouhadjian
Painting of Dikran Tchouhadjian.
Born	1837 Constantinople
Died	1898 Izmir
Other names	Dikran Chouhajian
Occupation	composer, conductor, public activist
Known for	Founder of the first opera institution in the Ottoman Empire

Tigran Tchouhadjian^[1] (Armenian: Տիգրան Չուխաճեան)^[2] (1837 - March 11, 1898)^[3] was an Armenian composer, conductor, public activist and the founder of the first opera institution in the Ottoman Empire.^[4]

Biography

Tchouhadjian was born in Constantinople. He studied at composer Gabriel Yeranian's class, then had classes in Milan. Along with other Armenian intellectuals of that period he fought for the development of the national culture, organized Armenian musical societies, theatres, schools, papers and free concerts. In his works Tchouhadjian used the elements of European musical techniques and Armenian folk melodies.^[5] He is an author of pieces for piano, songs and romances, chamber and symphonic works, operas (Zemire, 1890; Leblebiji, 1875) etc. He died in Smyrna (now İzmir).

He created the first Armenian opera, Arshak II (1868, partially staged in 1873), based on a historical fact about King Arshak II. It is the first “Armenian grand opera” with choruses and ballets, and was assembled on November 29, 1945 at the Armenian Opera Theater opera theater in Yerevan. Arshak II is a "gem" of Armenian musical culture and it has continued to grace the repertoire of the Yerevan Opera Theater. In the 2000s, it was staged at USA grand opera theatres (including the San Francisco Opera) by the efforts of Haig Avakian and Gerald Papasian.

References

1. ^ The Western Armenian transliteration of his name. In Eastern Armenian it would be Tigran Chukhajian. In modern Turkish it is rendered as Dikran Çuhacıyan. Alternative spellings of his surname include Choukhajian, Chukhajian or Chuhajian.
2. ^ The traditional spelling of his name in Armenian. In the reformed orthography it is spelled Տիգրան Չուխաջյան.
3. ^ The Armenians: From Kings and Priests to Merchants and Commissars by Razmik Panossian, Michael J. Dwyer, page 334.
4. ^ Donald Jay Grout, Hermine Weigel Williams. A short history of opera, p. 529
5. ^ Chukhajian in Great Soviet Encyclopedia

External links

• The Life and Work of Tigran Choukhajian
• Chukhajian - Arshak II - Aram Katanyan

Persondata
Name	Tchouhadjian, Dikran
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1837
Place of birth	Constantinople
Date of death	March 11, 1898
Place of death	Izmir