Five years ago, Navasard Hakobyan planned to become a physician. Then the principal of his school heard him sing and suggested medicine might not be the proper path. His parents agreed.
“That very day in our house it was decided that I would become an opera singer,” he says through a translator from his Armenian home, “not knowing what it was and how difficult the road ahead was for me.”
Last month, that road led him to the Wortham Center, where Hakobyan took first prize in Houston Grand Opera’s 34th annual Concert of Arias. Singing selections from Tchaikovsky’s “Mazeppa” and Donizetti’s “La Favorite,” his robust baritone won over a panel of top HGO officials: general director and CEO Khori Dastoor; artistic advisor and soprano Ana Maria Martinez; and artistic and music director Patrick Summers. Soprano Christine Goerke, then appearing in HGO’s production of Francis Poulenc’s “Dialogues of the Carmelites,” also served as a judge.
In a celebratory news release, Dastoor beamed at “an awe-inspiring evening, full of beautiful music and spirited competition.”
“The rising stars who took the Wortham stage hold the keys to the future of this artform, and I’m happy to share that the future is looking bright indeed,” she said.
“I think the judges responded to the beauty and power of Navasard’s talent — he has an extraordinary voice that makes him capable of very deep _expression_ through music,” says HGO Studio director Brian Speck. “He is also a committed performer that inhabits the music and invites you into his world.”
Hakobyan’s first onstage role was Silvio in Ruggero Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci,” which he has since played twice more. In 2018, he joined the young artist program of the National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Yerevan, Armenia. The next year, he won the President of the Republic of Armenia Youth Prize.
Before the Concert of Arias, also known as the Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, Hakobyan’s other successes on the international stage came at Moscow’s José Carreras Grand Prix and last year at the Premiere Opera Foundation’s International Vocal Competition. There, he competed virtually and won $2,500.
Speck saw Hakobyan at one of these events and invited him to compete in Houston, where the young baritone triumphed over the contest’s eight other finalists — including Cuban-Puerto Rican soprano Amanda Batista, who took second place, and the third-place finisher, South Korean bass-baritone Jongwon Han — due to the “striking” quality of his voice, he believes.
“His sound fills the theater effortlessly,” says Speck. “You could close your eyes and just enjoy the sound. I think what makes his performances thrilling is the combination of that visceral reaction to his sound, and the way he shares himself when he sings. He stays in the moment and really communicates with the audience through his voice.”
Hakobyan’s trip to Houston for the concert, where he spent 13 days, also marked his first time in the United States. Although his time outside rehearsals was limited, it still sounds like the city left a favorable impression.
“I loved Houston,” Hakobyan says. “It is a very beautiful city, it has a lot of interesting sightseeing places. There is inexplicable vibe in the city which gives you very positive energy. I felt it.”
Hakobyan says he plans to invest his $10,000 prize money from the concert developing his career. One of his first steps will be to enter HGO Studio in the fall, where Speck will be happy to have him. “I’m excited that Houston audiences will have the chance to hear Navasard on the HGO stage early in his career,” he says.
“I think he will be a huge contributor to the operas in which he performs at HGO,” Speck continues, “and at the same time, we’ll be able to provide him with support to ensure his success and a foundation of skill and experience that will help him to build a major career in opera.”
When Speck’s invitation to compete in Houston arrived, Hakobyan says he accepted it “without thinking long.” Now, that intuition has paid off.
“At that moment I did not understand why I agreed, but my inner voice was telling me that I must definitely participate,” he says. “At that moment I felt that a new door of life was opening for me. In fact, I was right.”
Chris Gray is a Galveston-based writer.