Armenian soprano Ruzan Mantashyan dazzled the audience at the SemperOpernball 2020 festival in Dresden on Friday with a dramatic performance of Tatiana’s aria from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin opera.
Mantashyan became a household name last month after SemperOpernball organizers reneged her invitation when a Azerbaijani tenor Yusif Eyvazov said he would not perform with the Armenian soprano because of her ethnicity. After many protests and confrontation from Mantashyan’s agents, the singer was reinstated to the program
“I am happy that the performance took place and reached its logical and triumphant end,” Mantashyan told Armenpress after the event.
Yerevan Komitas State Consevatory lecturer Margarite Sargsyan shared a video of Mantashyan’s performance on Facebook, and praised the soprano. “This was truly brilliant. Well-done….This is our school,” she said.
Other musicians who performed at the concert included violinist Pavel Milyukov, soprano Yulia Muzichenko and pianist Alexander Kashpurin, as well as the Azerbaijani Eyvazov.