Anna Nishanyan Passes Away at 93

Anna Nishanyan, the renowned opera singer, has passed away at the age of 93 in Los Angeles today, July 24. The singer was born in Cairo, Egypt. In 1945, she made her stage debut in Egypt, performing the role of Anush in the opera "Anush." She graduated from the local Galustyan National Kindergarten. For two years, she attended courses with Italian professor Pojolin, and later studied under French opera singer Madeleine Suroni.

In 1952, she visited Yerevan for the first time and participated in a concert program. In 1959, at the invitation of the leadership of Soviet Armenia, she moved to Yerevan and began working at the National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Yerevan as a soloist. In 1963, she graduated from the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan with qualifications in chamber and opera singing.

She performed numerous opera roles, including Anna in A. Harutyunyan's "Sayat Nova," Shushan in A. Tigranyan's "David Bek," Anush in "Anush," Olympia in T. Chukhajyan's "Arshak II," Violetta in Verdi's "La Traviata," and Desdemona in Verdi's "Othello," among others. She held concerts on many of the world’s famous stages and performed works by Mozart, Mascagni, Bizet, Verdi, Musorgsky, and other well-known composers. She toured various cities across the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, France, Egypt, Lebanon, Canada, the USA, Australia, and Syria.

In 1964, she made an appearance in H. Ghaplanian's film "City Etiquettes." In 1970, she received the title of Honored Artist of Armenia, and in 1977, she received a letter of gratitude from the USSR. In 1980, she moved to the USA, where she continued her concert activities and received several American awards and titles, including "Famous Opera Singer." In 2013, she was awarded the gold medal by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia.

It is worth noting that Anna Nishanyan was the mother of Honored Artist Jean Nishanyan and the grandmother of notable actor and producer Arman Nishanyan. Her funeral service is set to be held on August 10 at the Armenian Church in Glendale.