Baylor University (press release), United States
April 7 2004

Baylor Opera Director Invited To Conduct In Armenia
April 06, 2004
by Richard Veit

Richard Aslanian, director of opera at Baylor University and
artistic director of the Lyric Opera of Waco, has been invited to
Armenia as the first American to guest conduct at the Armenian
National Opera, one of the leading opera houses of the former Soviet
republic.
With the assistance of the International Program at Baylor, Aslanian
will travel to Armenia in May to conduct Giuseppe Verdi’s opera La
Traviata, which he directed for the Waco Lyric Opera last September.
He will be accompanied by his wife, Judith, who will sing in the
production.
Aslanian will conduct at Armenia’s Alexander Spendiarian Opera and
Ballet Theater, one of the principal features of Freedom Square,
which is located in the center of the capital city of Yerevan. Opened
in 1933, the theater building’s design is actually based on the
seventh century Cathedral at Zvarnotz.
The trip also has personal significance for Aslanian, as he makes
his first visit to the home country of his father and grandparents.
The families were forced to leave their homeland during the early
20th century to escape the Turkish massacres.
In addition to taking part in the cultural activities of the
country, the Aslanians will visit historic sites, such as Mount
Ararat (location of Noah’s Ark) and the Cathedral of St. Gregory, a
church built in the fourth century after Armenia became the first
nation to adopt Christianity as its official religion in A.D. 301.
For more information, call the Baylor School of Music at 710-3991.