AsmikGrigorian

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  • Soprano

About Asmik

“One of the fiercest dramatic talents in the field” (The New York Times), Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian’s “versatility is astounding” (The Times) with a “wild voice [that is] rich and dark” (Le Monde). Regularly engaged at the world’s leading opera houses, she has recently performed at the Wiener Staatsoper, Metropolitan Opera, the Salzburger Festspiele, the Royal Opera House, London and Teatro alla Scala.

Asmik works with many of the world's leading conductors including Franz Welser-Möst, Yves Abel, Vladimir Jurowski, Mikhail Tatarnikov, Alan Gilbert. She also frequently collaborates with top stage directors including Dmitri Tcherniakov, Romeo Castellucci, and Claus Guth.

She was a founding member of Vilnius City Opera, has twice been awarded the Golden Stage Cross (the highest award for singers in Lithuania), was named Best Female Lead in 2019 at the Austrian Music Theater Awards, and was named Female Opera Singer of the Year in 2022 by the Ópera XXI Association. She won Opus Klassik's 2023 Female Singer of the Year in recognition of her acclaimed debut album Dissonance with pianist Lukas Geniušas. In 2024, she received the Grand Jury Prize at the Austrian Music Theatre Awards, as well as the Theaterpreis DER FAUST Award for her performance as Salome at the Staatsoper Hamburg.

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Contact

Kate Robson

Kate Robson

Assistant Artist Manager

Representation

Worldwide general management with Askonas Holt

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Season Highlights

Sep 2024 - Oct 2024
Vienna State Opera
Verdi's Don Carlo (Elisabetta) Philippe Jordan (Conductor) Kirill Serebrennikov (Director)
Nov 2024 - Dec 2024
Teatro di San Carlo, Naples
Dvořák's Rusalka (title role) Dan Ettinger (Conductor) Dmitry Tcherniakov (Director) Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro di San Carlo
Nov 2024
Teatro Real, Madrid
Concert featuring works by Glinka, Puccini and Verdi. Henrik Nánási (Conductor) Orchestra of the Teatro Real Madrid
Dec 2024
Carnegie Hall and Cal Performances Berkeley
Recital of Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky songs with pianist Lukas Geniušas.
Dec 2024
COEX Convention Centre, South Korea
Puccini's Turandot (title role) Davide Livermore (Director)
Feb 2025 - Mar 2025
Theater an der Wien, Austria
Bellini's Norma (title role) Francesco Lanzillotta (Conductor) Vasily Barkhatov (Director)
Apr 2025 - May 2025
Opera Bastille, Paris
Puccini's Il Trittico (all three leading roles) Carlo Rizzi (Conductor) Christof Loy (Director)
Jul 2025
Barbican, London
Salome in Concert (title role) Antonio Pappano (Conductor) London Symphony Orchestra

Video

Audio

  • Asmik Grigorian sings Wiegenlied Lullaby from Berg's Wozzeck
    Credit: Concertgebouw Amsterdam

Photos

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Selected Repertoire

Bartók

Bluebeard's Castle (Judith)

Bellini

Norma (title role)

Berg

Wozzeck (Marie)

Cilea

Adriana Lecouvreur (in preparation)

Dargomyzhsky

Rusalka (title role)

Dvořák

Rusalka (title role)

Giordano

Fedora (title role)

Janáček

The Makropoulos Case (Emilia Marty)   •   Jenufa   •   Cunning Little Vixen (title role)   •   Kátya Kabanová ( in preparation)

Korngold

Die tote Stadt

Prokofiev

The Gambler

Puccini

Madama Butterfly   •   Suor Angelica   •   La rondine   •   Manon Lescaut   •   

R. Strauss

Elektra (Chrysothemis)   •   Salome

Rubenstein

The Demon

Tchaikovsky

Eugene Onegin (Tatiana)   •   The Enchantress   •   Mazeppa   •   Queen of Spades (Liza)

Verdi

Otello (Desdemona)   •   Don Carlo (Elisabeth)   •   Il Trovatore (Leonora)

News

Press

  • Norma (Bellini)

    MusikTheater an der Wien
    Feb 2025

    • [Translated] Asmik Grigorian is a phenomenon on stage, both vocally and as a personality. She turns the strange druid-seer-priestess into a Medes and a modern woman. Her acting is impressive, deeply touching and ennobles an essentially bland production. And she sings like a goddess, not only, but literally also in "Casta Diva", which she performs so magnificently, tenderly, yet always expressively, that you don't need to long for great role models for a second. In some roles, Grigorian is the singer of our time who knows how to enchant the audience like no other.

    • Ihr kräftiger und höhensicherer Sopran überstrahlte alles. [Translated] Her powerful and high-pitched soprano outshone everything.

    • Grigorian sang the title role with great vocal finesse. ‘Casta diva’ was taken by conductor Francesco Lanzilotta at a measured tempo, allowing plenty of time for her to negotiate Bellini’s ornamental curlicues, and she effected a lovely pianissimo...Dramatically, Grigorian was incendiary, a Norma with attitude. Her response to Adalgisa’s confession was laced with sarcasm, finally exploding in Act 2. ‘In mia man alfin tu sei’, her duet with Pollione, is if anything a tougher challenge than ‘Casta diva’ but Grigorian dug into it tremendously

    • Sie ist zynisch, cool und immer gefasst und weiß doch in Nuancen ahnen zu lassen, was in ihr vorgeht. Man kann den Blick nicht von ihr wenden. [Translated] She is cynical, cool and always composed, and yet knows how to give a nuanced idea of what is going on inside her. You can't take your eyes off her

    • Žengti tėvų pėdomis – vienas sunkiausių kelių profesijoje ir Asmik tą žino puikiai. Būdama vienu metu ir operos solistų dukra, ir dviejų vaikų mama, ne kartą Geriausia operos soliste tituluota moteris kurdama Normos rolę prisipažįsta sulaukusi netikėto atsiminimų pliūpsnio [translated] Following in the footsteps of one's parents is one of the most difficult paths in the profession, and Asmik knows that very well. Being both the daughter of opera soloists and the mother of two children, the woman who has been awarded the title of Best Opera Soloist more than once admits that she experienced an unexpected flash of memories while performing the role of Norma

      • LRT
      • 17 February 2025

  • Rusalka (Dvořák)

    Teatro di San Carlo
    Nov 2024

    • È spigliata, capricciosa, vibrante, tenerissima e dolente,come in quella sua delicatissima invocazione alla luna (Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém) che rivela in lei il corpo unico,potente e morbido al contempo, di parola e musica, lafluidità impressionante con cui trasforma in emissione divelluto difficoltà e passaggi lungo l’intera, ampiaestensione, l’amalgama speciale di colore ed espressione,le espansioni luminosissime all’acuto [ translated] She is lively, capricious, vibrant, very tender and sorrowful, as in her very delicate invocation to the moon (Měsíčku na nebihlubokém) which reveals in her the unique body, powerful and soft at the same time, of word and music, the impressive fluidity with which she transforms into velvet emission difficulties and passages along the entire, wide extension, the special amalgam of colour and expression, the very luminous expansions in the high notes.

    • La parte musicale ha riscosso un grande, meritato successo: Asmik Grigorian ha offerto un’interpretazione luminosa ed emotivamente profonda di Rusalka, combinando brillantezza tecnica e vulnerabilità piena di pathos. La sua esecuzione della Canzone alla Luna è stata uno dei momenti salienti, dimostrando la sua capacità di incantare con la voce e una presenza magnetica, anche se immobile come le era richiesto nel riquadro che la ospitava. [Translated] The musical part was a great, deserved success: Asmik Grigorian offered a luminous and emotionally deep interpretation of Rusalka, combining technical brilliance and pathos-filled vulnerability. Her performance of the Song to the Moon was one of the highlights, demonstrating her ability to enchant with her voice and a magnetic presence, even if immobile as was required in the frame that hosted her.

    • Il soprano Asmik Grigorian risolve la parte di Rusalka con un linguaggio melodico intriso di drammatica maturità. Voce teatralmente «accogliente» e morbida, soprattutto quando sfocia in un seducente e romantico sentimentalismo e in un lirismo carico d’affetto (come accade nell’aria lunare dell’Atto I). Vanta, dunque, una voce cromaticamente variegata – caratterizzata da un’interessante polivalenza drammatica, che garantisce all’attrice-cantante di restituire appropriatamente anche la disperazione d’una creatura acquatica costretta in un non-corpo che detesta. Un mirabile dinamismo vocale, determinato da omogeneità d’emissione e purezza stilistica. [Translated] Asmik Grigorian solves the part of Rusalka with a melodic language imbued with dramatic maturity. A theatrically "welcoming" and soft voice, especially when it flows into a seductive and romantic sentimentality and a lyricism full of affection (as happens in the lunar aria of Act I). She boasts, therefore, a chromatically varied voice - characterized by an interesting dramatic versatility, which allows the actress-singer to appropriately convey even the desperation of an aquatic creature forced into a non-body that she detests. A wonderful vocal dynamism, determined by homogeneity of emission and stylistic purity.

    • Asmik Grigorian, come si usa dire nel gergo calcistico per definire un top player, “fa reparto da sola”: è un’artista dall’intenso carisma scenico; fa teatro anche con il più misurato e apparentemente insignificante gesto o postura, perfino quando - come in gran parte dell’atto II - è muta: a parlare sono gli sguardi, i silenzi, l’accartocciarsi in se stessa. E fa teatro, e soprattutto emana fascino e voluttà, quando nel corso del canto alla luna, magnificamente interpretato, si accarezza sinuosamente e lentamente i capelli. Cantante-attrice/attrice-cantante, Asmik Grigorian: impossibile nel suo caso scindere i due aspetti, comprendere quanto il canto benefici del magnetismo della presenza scenica e quanto l’interpretazione musicale, l’uso raffinatissimo della tecnica di emissione piegata alle più minuziose intenzioni espressive, sia derivante dal carisma di attrice. La vocalità di Grigorian - che si giova di un timbro ambrato, di acuti affilati e precisi - è un florilegio di inflessioni, espressioni di un fraseggio profondo e analitico. [Translated] Asmik Grigorian, as they say in football jargon to define a top player, “does the department all by herself”: she is an artist with intense stage charisma; she creates theatre even with the most measured and apparently insignificant gesture or posture, even when - as in much of Act II - she is silent: what speaks are the looks, the silences, the curling up into herself. And she creates theatre, and above all she emanates charm and voluptuousness, when during the magnificently interpreted song to the moon, she sinuously and slowly caresses her hair. Singer-actress/actress-singer, Asmik Grigorian: in her case it is impossible to separate the two aspects, to understand how much the singing benefits from the magnetism of the stage presence and how much the musical interpretation, the extremely refined use of the emission technique bent to the most minute expressive intentions, derives from the charisma of the actress. Grigorian's vocals - which benefit from an amber timbre, sharp and precise high notes - are an anthology of inflections, expressions of a deep and analytical phrasing.

    • Asmik Grigorian delivered a luminous and emotionally profound portrayal of Rusalka, combining technical brilliance with heartfelt vulnerability. Her rendition of the Song to the Moon was a highlight, showcasing her ability to captivate with both voice and magnetic presence.

  • Recital with Lukas Geniušas

    Musikverein
    Nov 2024

    • Rachmaninows Dämmerung ist ein Lehrstück, eine Demonstration entspannten souveränen Gesangs, der Linien klar und schlank am Rande der Stille entlangschwingen lässt. [Translated] Rachmaninoff's Twilight is a lesson, a demonstration of relaxed, confident singing, which allows lines to swing clearly and slenderly along the edge of silence.

    • Warm und wohltönend entfaltet sich ihr fein modulierter Sopran in allen Lagen, in nobler Kühle leuchten Spitzentöne. Virtuosität ist nie Selbstzweck. Rachmaninows spätromantischen Stimmungszauber beschwört sie in raffinierten Ausdrucksfarben [translated] Her finely modulated soprano unfolds warmly and melodiously in all registers and her top notes shine in noble coolness. Virtuosity is never an end in itself. She conjures up Rachmanninoff's late romantic mood in sophisticated, expressive colours

      • Kronen Zeitung
      • 07 November 2024

    • Grigorian ist ein wahrhaftige Kunstlerin. Sie geht auf in ihrem Gesang und reibt mit in die verstorende Melancholie Rachmaninows...mit betörender Anmut lässt sie ihren glitzernden, silbrigen Sopran, wenn es passt, mit einger geringen Dosis Vibrato, in den Hohen erklingen. Sublim uberzeiht sie die Stimme mit zart-dunklen Schattierungen, feinsinnig nuanciert gestaltet sie jeden Moment mit der idealen, vokalen Farbung...Atemberaubend, wie sich diese Sangerin etwa in Dissonanzen ganz der Sinnlichkeit [translated] Grigorian is a true artist. She is absorbed in her singing and sweeps you away into the disturbing melancholy of Rachmanninoff...with beguiling grace, she lets her glistening, silvery soprano resonate in the high notes, with a dose of vibrato when appropriate. She sublimely covers her voice with delicate, dark shadings, and with subtle nuances she shapes each moment with the ideal vocal colouring. ...it is breathtaking how this singer surrenders herself completely to sensuality in Dissnances

    • Grigorian setzte ganz auf die Intensität ihres bemerkenswerten Instruments. Von Beginn an erfüllte das imposante Volumen den Großen Saal. Wobei es nicht um Lautstärke an sich ging, sondern stets um den Ausdruck. Gleiches galt für die dezidiert zurückgenommenen Passagen. [translated] Grigorian relied entirely on intensity of her remarkable instrument. From the very beginning, the impressive volume filled the space the Great Hall. It was not about volume per se, but always about the expression. The same applied to the more subdued passages.

  • Don Carlo (Verdi)

    Vienna Staatsoper
    Sep 2024

    • Staatsoper darling Asmik Grigorian made her role debut as Elisabetta... able to ride the long phrases that Verdi gives her with ease, particularly in ensembles. Her taxing Act 4 aria 'Tu che le vanità' was ten minutes of impassioned singing to crown an impressive evening.

    • Asmik Grigorian spielt für ihre Elisabetta eine Mischung aus jugendlichem Charme und Reife aus, die überzeugt, und sich zudem für ihre letzte große Arie nochmal in der Intensität steigert [translated] Asmik Grigorian 's Elisabetta was a convincing mixture of youthful charm and maturity, and the intensity increased again for her last great aria.

    • Dabei gibt Asmik Grigorian eine bemerkenswerte Elisabetta, die zwar Reife kennt, aber durchaus auch jugendliche Zerbrechlichkeit durchschimmern lässt. In ihrer letzten große Arie „Tu che le vanità“ kann sie mit großer Intensität, zwischen Schmerzenstal und tiefer Resignation, selbst noch die hintersten Ränge berühren. [translated] Asmik Grigorian gives a remarkable performance as Elisabetta, who knows maturity but also allows youthful fragility to shine through. In her last great aria, "Tu che le vanità," she is able to touch even the lowest ranks with great intensity, between the valley of pain and deep resignation.

    • Ihre an sich emotional imposante Darstellung lebt von vokaler Differenzierungskunst und Kontrasten [translated] Her emotionally impressive performance thrives on vocal differentiation and contrasts.

    • Die mit Abstand Beste ist Asmik Grigorian...eine starke Personlichkeit mit wunderschonem, dunklem timbre, guter hohe und lyrischen passagen [translated] The best by far is Asmik Grigorian...a strong personality with a beautiful, dark timbre, good high notes and lyrical passages

    • Ihre große Szene im vierten Akt schließlich gestaltet sie großartig, lotet mit profunder Tiefe und majestätischer Höhe die emotionale Amplitude der tragisch Liebenden aus. [translated] She finally performs her big scene in the fourth act magnificently, exploring the emotional amplitude of the tragic lovers with profound depth and majestic heights

    • "O ciel" - o Himmel: Der letze Aufschrei der Elisabetta bricht sich druckvoll und lang anhaltend Bahn aus dem Mund vin Asmik Grigorian, "diretissimo" in die Ohren und Herzen des Publikums, gleissend hell und fokussiert wie der Flammenstrahl eines Hockleistungsbrenners [translated] "O ciel" - O Heaven: Elisabetta's final cry bursts powerfully and long-lastingly from the mouth of Asmik Grigorian, directly into the ears and hearts of the audience, dazzlingly bright and focused like the flame of a high-performance burner

    • Betritt sie die Bühne, wird sie zum Zentrum. Zum Phänomen dieser von der Zeitschrift Opernwelt eben gekürten Sängerin des Jahres gehört, jeden Text zu einer sehr eigenen Sache zu machen, sie gibt der Partie der Elisabeth mit ihrem weiten Ambitus sowohl Schmerzenstiefe wie Engelshöhen; dazu Wahrhaftigkeit des Ausdrucks. Die Grigorian ist ein Sonderfall, auch hier, als Teil eines immerhin erstklassigen Casts [translated] When she enters the stage, she becomes the centre of attention. The phenomenon of this singer, recently chosen by the magazine Opernwelt as singer of the year, is that she is a real star. One of the most important singers of the year should make every text into a very individual thing; Asmik gives the role of Elisabeth the depths of pain and the heights of angels with her wide range, as well as truthfulness of expression. Grigorian is a special case, here too, as part of a first-class cast.

    • Ihre große Arie im letzten Bild lässt für Minuten das jämmerliche Drumherum vergessen: weiter Atem, subtile Schattierungen, auch Attacke, wo es drauf ankommt [translated] Her great aria in the last scene lets you forget the miserable surroundings for a few minutes: long breath, subtle shading, and attack where it counts

    • Asmik Grigorian gestaltete eine stimmlich und darstellerisch umwerfende Elisabetta [translated] Asmik Grigorian created a stunning Elisabetta, both vocally and acting-wise

    • Asmik Grigorian's Elisabetta was, without a doubt, the centerpiece of the evening. Grigorian, one of the most sought-after sopranos of our time, brought a singular intensity to the role, fusing technical mastery with remarkable emotional insight. Her Elisabetta was not just a queen trapped by circumstance but a woman in profound emotional pain, caught between her duty to the state and her personal desires. From her first appearance, Grigorian exuded regal authority, yet beneath this exterior was a woman struggling to maintain her composure in the face of unbearable loss. Her voice, crystalline and powerful, conveyed Elisabetta's inner conflict with heart-wrenching clarity. In the aria "Tu che le vanità," Grigorian’s portrayal was nothing short of transcendent. Her interpretation of the role’s climactic moment—a mixture of longing, regret, and resignation—was delivered with such raw emotion that it left the audience in stunned silence. The beauty of her tone, combined with her ability to shift from delicate vulnerability to towering strength, made this one of the most powerful renditions of Elisabetta I have ever witnessed.

    • Die litauische Sopranistin Asmik Grigorian ist eine hochdramatische, ergreifende Elisabeth, „Tu che la vanità“ singt sie mit fast verschwebend leisen Tönen so innig, dass man bei ihrem Hysterie-Ausbruch [translated] The Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian is a highly dramatic, moving Elisabeth: she sings 'Te che la vanita' with almost floating, quiet tones so intimately that one can hardly believe the size of her voice when she erupts in hysteria

      • Elisabeth Hirschmann-Altzinger
      • 01 October 2024

    • Dabei gibt Asmik Grigorian eine bemerkenswerte Elisabetta, die zwar Reife kennt, aber durchaus auch jugendliche Zerbrechlichkeit durchschimmern lässt. In ihrer letzten große Arie „Tu che le vanità“ kann sie mit großer Intensität, zwischen Schmerzenstal und tiefer Resignation, selbst noch die hintersten Ränge berühren. [translated] Asmik Grigorian gives a remarkable Elisabetta, who knows maturity but also allows youthful fragility to shine through. In her last great aria 'Tu che le vanita', she is able to touch even the lowest ranks with great intensity, between the valley of pain and deep resignation

    • ¿Y qué decir a estas alturas de la trayectoria de Asmik Grigorian? Es impresionante ver cómo se entrega a cada uno de los roles que encarna, cómo se transforma y cómo le da a cada uno su natural expresión...en la extensa aria del último acto (Tu che le vanità) donde lo dio todo y donde pudimos comprobar que es una voz excepcional, increíble en el agudo, segura en el centro y regia en el grave. Grigorian enamora por cómo recita el verso, cómo expresa en cada momento sus sentimientos a través de la música, por un cante cuasi perfecto y sobre todo entregado, visceral, maravilloso. Sin duda el momento más brillante de la noche. [translated] And what can we say about Asmik Grigorian's career at this point? It is impressive to see how she gives herself to each of the role she plays, how she transforms herself and how she gives each one her natural expression...it was in the extensive aria of the last act (tu che le vanita) where she gave her all and where we could see that she has an exceptional voice, incredible in the high notes, secure in the middle and regal in the low notes. Grigorian enchants with how she recites the verses, how she expresses her feelings at every moment through the music, with almost perfect singing and above all how she is dedicated, visceral and wonderful. Without a doubt the most brilliant moment of the night.

    • La chanteuse ose, ces dernières années, des prises de rôles risquées (Lady Macbeth et Turandot, notamment) et y apporte, à chaque fois, une singularité.... Dès son entrée en scène en Élisabeth, elle semble, avec ses attitudes et son regard froids, être celle qui parvient le mieux à se conformer à la conception de Serebrennikov...La voix est alors puissante, homogène des graves au somptueux médium et aux aigus ntenses, mais ronds cependant. [translated] In recent years, the singer has dared to take on risky roles (Lady Macbeth and Turandot in particular) and each time brings a singularity to them...from the moment she enters the stage as Elizabeth, she seems, with her cold attitudes and gaze, to be the one who best manages to conform to Serebrennikov's conception...the voice is powerful, homogenous from the bass to the sumptuous midrange and intense, yet rounded treble.

    • kiváló vokális és színpadi alakítása a szereposztás legmagasabb színvonalú teljesítményét nyújtja...Minden megszólalása, minden mozdulata figyelmet követel, a Tu che le vanità a fokozatos összeomlás tíz perces tour-de-force-jelenetévé válik. [translated] Her excellent vocal and stage performance provides the highest quality performance of the cast...her every utterance, every move demands attention. 'Tu che le vanita' is a ten-minute tour-de-force scene of absolute collapse.

      • Revisor
      • 27 September 2024

  • The Gambler (Prokofiev)

    Salzburg Festpiele
    Aug 2024

    • Stimmlich ist höchstes Niveau geboten: Asmik Grigorian gestaltet ihre Polina wunderbar differenziert und dominiert mit ihrer Bühnenpräsenz [Translated]The vocals are of the highest standard: Asmik Grigorian portrays her Polina in a wonderfully differentiated way and dominates with her stage presence

    • Asmik Grigorian sang die Polina mit wunderschön geführter Stimme und zeichnete auch die Charakterfacetten deutlich nach [Translated] Asmik Grigorian sang Polina with a beautifully controlled voice and clearly portrayed the character's facets

    • Asmik Grigorian, die mittlerweile längst – ganz gleich in welcher Rolle – so etwas wie ein Festpielstar ist, ragt als selbstbewusste Polina aus dem durchweg exzellenten Ensemble heraus. [Translated] Asmik Grigorian , who has long since become something of a festival star - no matter what role she plays - stands out from the consistently excellent ensemble as the self-confident Polina.

    • Asmik Grigorian, die Polina nicht nur beeindruckend spielt, sondern auch bravourös mit vielen charakterlichen Facetten ihres klangvollen Soprans singt [translated] Asmik Grigorian not only plays Polina impressively, but also sings brilliantly with many character facets of her sonorous soprano

  • Thurn und Taxis Gala Concert

    Thurn und Taxis Palace, Regensburg Germany
    Jul 2024

    • Grigorian haftet in der Präsenz und Dramaturgie nichts Divenhaftes an, wenn sie von Liebesschmerz und Sehnsucht singt. Immer umweht sie eine emotionale, nie theatralisch überzogene Authentizität im Ausdruck sowie eine künstlerische Demut vor der fantastischen Musik. Fast mühelos, aber doch mit hoher Körperlichkeit führt sie ihre Stimme durch alle Register und alle Dynamiken der Arien spazieren, feilt scheinbar noch im Moment am richtigen Ausdruck, lässt keinen Ton verschenkt. [translated] Grigorian has nothing diva-like about her presence and dramaturgy when she sings of lovesickness and longing. She is always surrounded by an emotional, never theatrically exaggerated authenticity in expression as well as an artistic humility in front of the fantastic music. Almost effortlessly, but with a high degree of physicality, she leads her voice through all registers and all the dynamics of the arias, seemingly still working on the right expression at the moment, leaving no note wasted.

  • 'A Diva is Born' Recital

    Wiener Staatsoper
    May 2024

    • What is presented here is not the usual evening of songs or arias, nor is it a mixture of the two, but a musical journey that Asmik Grigorian has taken the audience on. A journey that leads from her childhood to the present and provides an insight into what moves her artistically deep down. The audience has largely and willingly accepted this unexpected invitation and has been richly rewarded.

    • Undoubtedly a precious and eccentric evening […] one that demands a repeat.

    • "I have the luxury of being myself in what I do,” she sings, directing it toward Roscic. It is a luxury and she showed us in the evening’s outing that she’s entitled to have it, from the pleasure she’s given us in her operatic work.

  • Madama Butterfly (Puccini)

    Metropolitan Opera
    Apr 2024

    • Moments like this are perfect for the Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian, a fiercely intelligent and captivating singer who made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera on Friday. She comes to New York having already reached star status abroad, and it didn’t take long in “Butterfly” to see why. … Grigorian is the type of singer who also behaves like a skilled, nuanced actress. She persuasively inhabits a character, imbuing performances of plush lyricism with empathy, sophistication and even a touch of spontaneity.

    • With this performance, Grigorian won the audience’s heart and secured her place among the finest interpreters of the role in recent memory. … The most compelling aspect of Grigorian’s Butterfly is the evenness of her sizable voice and her ever-present lyricism and sensitivity to the musical line. In this regard, the soprano was perfectly in sync with conductor Xian Zhang. Their chemistry resulted in a performance that was as moving musically as it was dramatically, with Grigorian and Zhang seeming to breathe and emote as one.

    • She presents a modern woman straightforwardly coping with adversity. Yet the result is moving. Grigorian’s real strength lies in vocal production. The daughter of two opera singers, she possesses a rare instrument that suits Puccini’s (and Strauss’s) doomed teen well: her voice is exceptionally focused with a timbre of youthful clarity and just a bit of edge, produced without strain, perfectly in tune, and capable of flexible phrasing, color and affect

  • Madama Butterfly (Puccini)

    Royal Opera House, London
    Mar 2024 - Apr 2024

    • All in all, this was a thrilling evening, made unforgettable by Grigorian’s astonishing assumption of the title role, which as far as I’m concerned is the finest and most complete to grace this stage in a generation.

    • Asmik Grigorian is beyond question the standout attraction here. Physically and vocally, Grigorian inhabits the part to a degree one does not often experience. This Cio-Cio-San makes a long and horribly believable journey from innocence to devastation. Grigorian’s range of vocal colour and weight, equal to almost all the varied demands that Puccini makes of her, is the chief glory.

    • During the interval I wondered if Grigorian had left room to dig even deeper. Dismayingly for anyone wanting a restful night, she builds the pathos to almost unbearable heights. Her Un bel di — a fantasy vision of how her husband will return to her — is so vividly felt and laceratingly sung it’s almost as if she’s about to will it into being.

    • Her performance in the title-role of Puccini’s Japanese tragedy, however, places her greatness as an operatic performer beyond question: her Cio-Cio-San is one of the most finely realised interpretations of this relentlessly demanding role that one could ever hope to witness.

    • Coming so soon after her debut as Turandot, Puccini’s most dramatic role for soprano, it is not surprising that she has more than enough voice for Butterfly, filling out the vocal lines generously and riding the climaxes with ease.

    • Grigorian will never sing beautifully just for the sake of a lovely sound. This was the most variegated Butterfly assumption I have ever heard. Every shade of Cio-Cio’s ordeal was there in movement and in voice, from an initial fragile vulnerability through unstinting belief in the power of love through unwavering devotion, to the final tragic dénouement. Every phrase was carefully considered, every interchange with other characters thought-through and delivered with sure dramatic awareness.

    • A stunning performance from Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian in the title role [...] Grigorian's performance was heart-rending and along with most of the audience, there were tears in my eyes at the end.

    • Thanks to Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian and a stirringly bravura turn from conductor Kevin John Edusei, we are once again riveted to our seats, despite knowing where this journey ends.

  • Laws of Solitude: Strauss - Four Last Songs

    Feb 2024

    • On her new album, the Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian […] smooths out Strauss’s spectacles of tonal splendor with even-keeled lines. Her gleaming timbre, dark but not weighty, expresses psychic depletion with graceful clarity. […] Other singers light up these songs in a final blaze of glory, a last surge before the dying of the light, but Grigorian tends lovingly to the smoldering remains.

    • Opulent and expressive, versatile and technically flawless, Asmik Grigorian’s voice was seemingly born to sing Richard Strauss’ soaring Four Last Songs

    • On admire une fois de plus dans ce nouvel album la beauté de son chant, son timbre rond et ample de soprano dramatique et sa parfaite intonation, à défaut d’une prononciation idéale des poèmes de Hermann Hesse et de Joseph von Eichendorff. [translated] We admire once again in this new album the beauty of her singing, her round and full timbre of dramatic soprano and her perfect intonation, in the absence of an ideal pronunciation of the poems of Hermann Hesse and Joseph von Eichendorff.

    • Grigorian sings with her customary authority, shaping unbroken arcs of lyrical singing.

    • Soprano à l’abattage extraordinaire, elle émerge d’abord (Frühling) des flots orchestraux comme une sirène aux aigus glaçants puis, dans les volets suivants du cycle, s’impose par un chant dont la fermeté n’est jamais altérée par de permanentes variations de couleur. [translated] A soprano of extraordinary dejection, she first emerges (Frühling) from the orchestral waves like a siren with chilling high notes and then, in the following parts of the cycle, imposes herself with a song whose firmness is never altered by permanent variations of colour.

  • Pique Dame (Tchaikovsky)

    Bayerische Staatsoper
    Feb 2024 - Feb 2024

    • Die Bewunderung für die litauische Sängerin Asmik Grigorian ist hingegen von Anfang an groß, sowohl, was ihre darstellerischen, als auch, was ihre stimmlichen Qualitäten anlangt, und sie wächst stetig. [translated] The admiration for the Lithuanian singer Asmik Grigorian, on the other hand, is great right from the start, both in terms of her acting and her vocal qualities, and it is constantly growing.

    • Sobald diese Lisa am Bühnenrand auftaucht, ist sie Mittelpunkt. Eine Präsenz, ein Bewusstsein für szenische Kraftfelder, mit der die Litauerin mühelos in ein Schauspiel-Ensemble passen würde... Dazu ist da eine immens energiereiche Stimme. Ihr Gesang entfaltet eine natürliche Präsenz, nichts klingt da nach abgetrotzt oder „gemacht“. Vor einigen Wochen noch hat sie sich in Wien Puccinis Soprankiller Turandot hochintelligent für sich zurechtgelegt, nun wechselt die Grigorian mühelos zu Tschaikowsky. Man spürt, dass sie ihre Lisa sehr verfeinert hat, über ein halbes Dutzend Produktionen von „Pique Dame“ hat diese Künstlerin schon dominiert. [translated] As soon as this Lisa appears at the edge of the stage, she is centre stage. A presence, an awareness of scenic force fields with which the Lithuanian would easily fit into an acting ensemble... She also has an immensely energetic voice. Her singing unfolds a natural presence, nothing sounds contrived or "made". Just a few weeks ago in Vienna, she was still making a highly intelligent job of Puccini's soprano killer Turandot, now Grigorian switches effortlessly to Tchaikovsky. One senses that she has refined her Lisa very much; this artist has already dominated over half a dozen productions of "Pique Dame".

  • Turandot (Puccini)

    Wiener Staatsoper
    Dec 2023

    • Grigorian astonished. There was serious blade to ‘In questa reggia’, without bludgeoning the ear, and her high notes glistened [...] Above all, her acting mesmerised. Thanks to her – and Guth – we saw the real woman behind Turandot, more than a ruthless ice princess.

    • As a platinum-blonde Turandot, Grigorian manages to cut through the orchestra with steely brilliance, but her real achievement is to bring Turandot’s stratospheric music back to earth by giving it a haunted, hunted quality... Grigorian makes it clear that Turandot is not motivated by rage, but by fear

    • In Grigorian wiederum hat er ein sensibles Gegenüber, das die störrische Rolle singt, gleißend schön, lustvoll ihre Spitzentöne attackiert und somnambul den Text ausdeutet. Eine ideale Spielpartnerin. [translated] In Grigorian, on the other hand, he [Kaufmann] has a sensitive counterpart who sings the stubborn role, attacks its top notes with gleaming beauty and relish, and interprets the text somnambulistically. An ideal playing partner.

    • Grigorian präsentiert sich als Energiebündel, ist bereit, bis an die Grenzen ihrer Möglichkeiten zu singen. Ein "eisumgürteter" psychisch durch die Kindheit zutiefst beschädigter, nur noch am Männermord Lust empfindender Racheengel. Diese Leidenschaft in subtilen Facetten hervorzukehren, setzt sie alle Registerin fein differenzierten Farben ein… [translated] Grigorian presents herself as a bundle of energy, ready to sing to the limits of her abilities. An "ice-belted" angel of revenge, psychologically deeply damaged by her childhood, who only feels pleasure in murdering men. To bring out this passion in subtle facets, she uses all the registers in finely differentiated colours…

    • Klar war jedenfalls vorab: Wenn Sopranistin Asmik Grigorian eine Rolle verinnerlicht, ist davon aus zugehen, dass es nicht banal-kitschig ausgehen wird. Grigorian geht es in der Regel um dichtestes Durchleben von Bereichen, die tief in die inneren Konfliktherde und Traumata einer Figur hineinragen... dank ihre fulminanten vokalen Möglichkeiten. Der Charme ihrer Stimme rührt von einer überzeugend dramatischen Färbung her, die jederzeit Charakter und Dringlichkeit vermittelt. Auch im Grenzbereich der Beanspruchung, selbst in lichten Höhen des Dramatischen bleibt Präsenz erhalten. [translated] One thing was clear in advance: when soprano Asmik Grigorian internalises a role, it can be assumed that it will not turn out trite and kitschy. As a rule, Grigorian is concerned with living through areas that reach deep into the inner conflicts and traumas of a character... thanks to her brilliant vocal possibilities. The charm of her voice stems from a convincingly dramatic colouring that conveys character and urgency at all times. Presence is maintained even at the limits of stress, even in the light heights of the dramatic.

    • Dass sie eine geborene Singschauspielerin ist, hat Grigorian am Premierenabend, andem Turandot gegeben werden sollte, jedenfalls wieder eindrucksvoll deutlich gemacht. Vom ersten Ton an voll und ganz Herrin über eine notorisch schwierige Partie, in der es vor allem darauf ankommt, die immer wieder geforderten Kraftakte bis hin auf zum hohen C strahlend zu bewältigen, ohne die vielenleisen, intimen Töne, die Puccini auch fordert, zu vernachlässigen. Grigorian gelingt beides, sie wird nicht laut, wenn sie unverrückbar ihre Ansprüche klarmacht. Sie säuselt nicht, wenn sie zuletzt doch zurzärtlich Liebenden wird. Was oft wie eine jähe, unerklärliche Wendung wirkt, entwickelt sich in Grigorians Interpretation stetig: Ihr Gesangentblättert eine Frauenseele. [translated] Grigorian once again made it impressively clear that she is a born singing actress on the opening night of Turandot. From the very first note, she is completely in command of a notoriously difficult role, in which it is particularly important to master the repeatedly demanded feats of strength up to high C with radiance, without neglecting the many quiet, intimate tones that Puccini also demands. Grigorian manages both, she does not become loud when she makes her demands clear. She does not purr when she finally becomes a tender lover. What often seems like a sudden, inexplicable turn of events develops steadily in Grigorian's interpretation: a woman's soul blossoms in her singing.

    • Hier zeigte Asmik Grigorian wieder ihre Klasse... immer elektrisierende Stimme und die kluge Darstellung so spontan überzeugend im Einklang erlebt. [translated] Here Asmik Grigorian showed her class again... always electrifying voice and the clever performance so spontaneously and convincingly experienced in unison.

    • Herausragend an diesem Abend: Asmik Grigorian in der Titelpartie. Egal, welches Rollendebüt sie derzeit anpackt... es wird zu kraftvoll strahlendem Sopran-Gold. Garniert mit der bedingungslosen darstellerischen Klarheit und Identifikation, die Grigorians Darstellungen regelmäßig zu eigen ist. [translated] Outstanding this evening: Asmik Grigorian in the title role. No matter which role debut she tackles at the moment... it becomes powerfully radiant soprano gold. Garnished with the unconditional clarity and identification that is a regular feature of Grigorian's portrayals.

  • Salome (Strauss)

    Hamburgische Staatsoper
    Oct 2023 - Nov 2023

    • Asmik Grigorian has claimed her place as her own. She is wounded and furious, alone and full of longing; she hurls plates and glasses against the wall; she is a time bomb. She sings with every fibre of her being, pushes herself to her outer limits — which have grown in expressive scope and substance over the past half-decade.

    • Asmik Grigorian, die Salome der Salzburger Festspiele, wird als sopranschlank superintensive Interpretin der Titelpartie am Ende bejubelt wie kaum eine Stargast der letzten Staatsopernjahre. Eine sängerisch-darstellerische Sensation. [translated] Asmik Grigorian, the Salzburg Festival's Salome, is ultimately acclaimed as a super-intense interpreter of the title role like no other star guest from the last years of the State Opera. A singing and acting sensation.

    • Mit einer Stimme, die schonungslos bis zum Anschlag geht und danach noch weiter ins Wahre will. Andererseits aber fähig ist, während dieser Raserei in höchsten Tönen auch noch unmittelbar sinnlich mit betörend ungeschützten Piani ein volles Haus zu verzaubern. Und das alles kann Grigorian, wieder und wieder, bis hinein in die Schlussszene, in der sie in der Staatsopern-Premiere alles gibt, was selbst dort noch an Reserven in ihr brennt. [translated] With a voice that goes ruthlessly to the limit and then wants to go even further into the truth. On the other hand, during this frenzy, she is also able to immediately sensually enchant a full house with beguilingly exposed pianos. And Grigorian can do all of this, again and again, right up to the final scene, in which she gives everything in the State Opera premiere that she still has reserves burning in her.

    • Asmik Grigorian triumphiert in der Titelrolle [...] Eine Sängerin mit diesem Ausdrucksvermögen ist in diesem Saal nur selten zu vernehmen. Jedes Gefühl, jede Regung vermittelt die Sopranistin nicht nur schauspielerisch eindringlich, sondern ebenso mittels stimmlicher Gestaltung. Die Stimme spielt mit. Jeder im Publikum spürt das, darf also auch innerlich mitfühlen, mitleiden, mitlieben, mitverzweifeln. [translated] Asmik Grigorian triumphs in the title role [...] A singer with this expressive ability is rarely heard in this hall. The soprano conveys every feeling, every emotion not only through her acting, but also through her vocal design. The voice plays along. Everyone in the audience feels this, so they can also sympathize, sympathize, love, and despair.

    • The big heroine of the evening was Salome herself. Asmik Grigorian was in quite splendid voice [...] Her range of vocal colour throughout was extraordinary, the words pouring from her like streams of molten lava, her anguish carried aloft as if by soaring eagles when she reached the point of maximum resistance from Herod.

  • Vier Letzte Lieder (Strauss)

    Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France Orchestra
    Sep 2023

    • La voix pleine de caractère de la soprano lituanienne noue un beau dialogue avec Mikko Franck dont la direction manifeste une plénitude misant d’abord sur l’intensité du timbre instrumental. [translated] The characterful voice of the Lithuanian soprano enters into a beautiful dialogue with Mikko Franck, whose direction manifests a fullness focusing first on the intensity of the instrumental timbre.

    • On ne fera que rappeler rapidement la plénitude du timbre, la facilité vocale déconcertante, la puissance de projection parfaitement modulée, le large ambitus, la variété de nuances et de couleurs, le sublime legato et le souffle inépuisable, toutes caractéristiques réunies dans une interprétation d’une sensualité prégnante, bouleversante d’émotion [...] [translated] We will only quickly recall the fullness of the timbre, the disconcerting vocal ease, the perfectly modulated power of projection, the wide ambitus, the variety of nuances and colours, the sublime legato and the inexhaustible breath, all characteristics brought together in an interpretation of bursting sensuality, overwhelming with emotion.

  • Recital with Lukas Geniušas

    Wigmore Hall, London
    Sep 2023

    • ***** - a quiet affirmation of spiritual peace, immensely touching [...] The loud climaxes went from impressive to thrilling to alarming – but this was her debut in Wigmore Hall's highly responsive acoustic. Whenever a quiet coda followed such climaxes, her poised transition seemed artless.

    • This was Asmik Grigorian’s Wigmore Hall debut, and what a fine one it was

  • Macbeth (Verdi)

    Salzburg Festival
    Jul 2023

    • Asmik Grigorian funktioniert als Gesamtkunstwerk. [translated] "Asmik Grigorian functions as a total work of art.

    • Vocally, Grigorian is certainly a lighter soprano than the role demands. But, she faces up to that with wittiness. Her voice is more expressive than rounded and based on this her Lady Macbeth works. She pierces the orchestra with the most haunting of cries in the finale of the first act.

    • Asmik Grigorian was – as expected – a mightily impressive Lady Macbeth. Grigorian used her huge vocal range and all the acting skills she had at her command to explore her unhinged character’s moral depravity.

  • Pagliacci (Leoncavallo)

    Wiener Staatsoper
    Jun 2023

    • [...] singt sie Nedda mit warm leuchtendem Sopran, kapriziöser Koketterie. [translated] [...] she sings Nedda with a warm glowing soprano and capricious coquetry.

    • Das stärkste Argument liefert allerdings Asmik Grigorian als Nedda. Atemberaubend intoniertsie das Vogellied, berührt mit ihrem einzigartig schönen Sopran. [translated] The strongest argument delivers, however, Asmik Grigorian as Nedda. She intones the Birdsong aria breathtakingly, touched with her unique beautiful soprano.

    • Ich würde nie eine Rolle annehmen, in die ich mich nicht einfühlen kann, da ich auf der Bühne nicht lügen kann“, hat sie erst kürzlich in einem Interview von sich selbst gesagt. Getreu diesem Motto lässt sie sich auch auf diese Partie kompromisslos ein, jeden Gemütszustand nimmt man ihr vorbehaltlos ab. Ihre technische Souveränität braucht man kaum extra zu erwähnen. [translated] I would never take on a role that I can't empathize with because I can't lie on stage," she recently said of herself in an interview. True to this motto, she also gets involved in this game uncompromisingly, every state of mind is taken from her without reservation. Her technical sovereignty hardly needs to be mentioned.

    • La sua Nedda è espressionistica, nel senso di esprimere al massimo grado i tre poli del personaggio: la commediante sopra le righe, l’amante giovane, la vittima di un marito brutale. [translated] Her Nedda is expressionistic, in the sense of expressing the three poles to the fullest extent of the character: the over-the-top comedian, the young lover, the victim of a brutal husband.

  • Recital with Lukas Geniušas

    Teatro di San Carlo
    Dec 2024

    • Grigorian, grazie a una tecnica di emissione perfetta, dipinge un quadro di contemplazione del cielo crepuscolare che cede il passo alla sera incipiente: un capolavoro di tecnica vocale e d’intensità interpretativa. [translated] Grigorian, thanks to a perfect emission technique, paints a picture of contemplation of the twilight sky that gives way to the incipient evening: a masterpiece of vocal technique and interpretative intensity...

Discography