ARMENIAN APRICOT STONE BECOMES A TREE
Marco Brey

EuroVision.TV
May 18 2010

Oslo, Norway – The tall Armenian beauty Eva Rivas had her first
rehearsal today, and she was not only singing about an Apricot Stone,
it even appeared next to her on stage! Warm feelings surrounded her
performance, which is a musical blend of ethnic and modern sounds.

The Armenian entry for the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest will feature
one of the national symbols of Armenia: an apricot. It is not only
part of many myths and legends, but it also gave the colour to the
lower stripe of the Armenian flag. On stage, an apricot stone was
placed behind Eva, and there was also an artificial waterfall. During
the performance, a dancer approached the waterfall with a vase and
then watered the apricot stone. It then opened up and made a small
apricot tree appear, which kept growing till the end of the stage act.

Armenia will be setting a new record in this year’s Eurovision Song
Contest: Eva Rivas will be accompanied on stage by Jivan Gasparyan,
a 83-year-old musician – he will be the oldest ever person to feature
in an Eurovision Song Contest performance. He will be seated on a
stone, playing a duduk, a traditional Armenian flute. Apart from him,
Eva has three female backing vocalists to support her.

The tall Armenian singer performed in casual clothes today, but she
showed her dress for the Semi-Final to the cameras – it will be a long
dress in the colour of apricots. The stage was also lit in orange
colour, and it was surrounded by dark curtains. Smoke effects were
used, fitting the soft and mystic atmosphere of the song. In the last
run of the rehearsal, the pyrotechnical effects were also rehearsed.

They consisted of single flames appearing along the edges of the stage.

"Created within just 30 minutes, directly from the heart" In the press
conference, the Head of the Armenian Delegation, Diana Mnatsakanyan,
stated that she was very happy with the first rehearsal and with the
organisation on site in Oslo. When she was asked about the meaning
of her song, Eva Rivas explained that it is about the love of one’s
motherland, but that it was not only directed to Armenians, but rather
to all diasporas in the whole world. It tells the story of herself
and the lyricist of the song, Karen Kavaleryan, who have both grown
up outside of Armenia and only returned there quite recently.

Eva told the press that the song "was created within just 30 minutes,
and it came directly from the heart."

The backing vocalists, Gor, Mariam and Tigran, were also introduced
to the press, and they presented a short excerpt of Apricot Stone
together with Eva Rivas. A journalist asked Eva to tell more about the
songs she recorded which were written by the famous artist Sayat Nova,
and she replied that his songs were "saint" to the people of Armenia,
as he wrote them when his heart was bleeding because he could not be
with the woman he loved. The songs had a deep meaning and one must
read between the lines in order to understand the lyrics, she added.

As Eva Rivas had done a very unusual promotional tour prior to the
2010 Eurovision Song Contest, which included the planting of apricot
trees all over Europe, she was asked to tell more about it. She said
that the trees she planted were already growing fast, and that she
would also plant one in Norway during her stay here.

Between 1996-2004, Eva used to be a soloist of one of the most famous
ensembles in Rostov called Arevik. As a member of the aforementioned
choir she sang both classical and variety songs, as well as Russian
and foreign compositions. As a solo singer, Eva was repeatedly a
laureate in different contests and compositions. Likewise, she gained
the title of Vice-Miss of the Caucasus in Yerevan. The same year,
during the annual ceremony Armenian Song of the Year , she won the
first prize. In 2008, Eva started a cooperation with the Armenian
Production producing centre and is currently busy recording a full CD.

Last year, Eva shot a video clip of the song Tamam Ashkharh made
by Bookhadir Yuldeshev, a director of a great number of foreign
video-clips and a series of films. The process of shooting took place
in Armenia, Afghanistan, Algeria and Uzbekistan for 17 days. The clip
gained wide acclaim both within Armenia as well as abroad.