ALINA VARDANYAN, A FUTURE SOPRANO IN THE NERSES THE GREAT FAMILY

Alina Vardanyan, 17, is training to be a singer at the Arno Babajanyan Musical-Pedagogical State College. Upon graduating she is planning on attending the Yerevan State Conservatory. Her brother, Sarkis, served during the last Artsakh war and has now been deployed to Davush, where he will be posted another year and half.

“As a child I used to sing,” she tells Crossroads, “so I said, ‘Why not’ and decided to become a musician.” The focus of her education is vocal training as a first soprano, her role in every choir she performs with. While her musical interests are ample in terms of genres, she admits to a strong preference for American songs and Russian Estrada, a type of musical stage performance, as well as an endless love for jazz.

Her strengths also include classical Armenian music, Italian opera arias and Russian romance songs. Maria Callas, the legendary American-Greek soprano, and Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti are among the singers she admires.

“I want to train first and foremost as a classical music singer,” Alina says. “Once you master classical music you can sing jazz and whatever you want after that.” And she regaled the group of Nerses the Great families gathered at the Yerevan office with an improvised repertoire of songs.