GevorgHakobyan

Press

• Simon Boccanegra

  Teatro dell'Opera di Roma

  Nov 2024 - Dec 2024

  • Gevorg Hakobyan’s Paolo was superbly sung. His baritone has a touch of acid to the tone, making the evil of his character’s motivations even more apparent. The voice is so firm, and completely even from top to bottom, ringing out thrillingly into the house. Hakobyan also sang with scrupulous attention to the text, filling the words with meaning.

    • Opera Traveller
    • 01 December 2024

  • Il Paolo Albiani del baritono Gevorg Hakobyan, forte di un’emissione sonora, duttile e dal bel corpo di armonici, è in via crescente ben restituito nella foggia boitiana alla Jago, fra le pieghe di uno stile subdolamente galante come nella ballata “L’atra magion vedete?” destinata a narrare la prigionia di Maria/Amelia sui lividi commenti dell’orchestra e il sottovoce del coro di tenori e bassi o tra gli affondi che ne rivelano i tratti più autentici di un’anima nera." [Translated] "The Paolo Albiani of the baritone Gevorg Hakobyan, strong in his sonorous, ductile emission and with a fine body of harmonics, is increasingly well rendered in the Boitian style à la Jago, between the folds of a deviously gallant style as in the ballad ‘L'atra magion vedete? ‘ destined to narrate the imprisonment of Maria/Amelia over the livid comments of the orchestra and the sotto voce of the chorus of tenors and basses, or amidst the lunges that reveal the most authentic traits of a black soul.

    • Connessi all'Opera
    • 03 December 2024

  • Sbalzato con cura e vigore anche il Paolo Albiani di Gevorg Hakobyan, dall’emissione omogenea e dalla dizione scandita. Ben modulato nella scena iniziale e assai drammatico nella maledizione, rende con tragica verità la fine della sua storia, tra orgoglio e coscienza del fallimento." [Translated] "Gevorg Hakobyan's Paolo Albiani, with his homogeneous emission and marked diction, is also carefully and vigorous. Well modulated in the opening scene and highly dramatic in the curse, he renders the end of his story with tragic truth, between pride and consciousness of failure.

    • Opera Libera
    • 27 November 2024

  • Ottimo anche Gevorg Hakobyan nei panni di Paolo Albiani, il baritono eccelle per espressività dimostrando anch’egli un perfetto controllo nella parte più lirica e in quella più “recitata”." [Translated] "Also excellent was Gevorg Hakobyan as Paolo Albiani, the baritone excelling in expressiveness, also demonstrating perfect control in the more lyrical and the more ‘acted’ parts.

    • Opera Mundus
    • 04 December 2024

• Tosca

  Australian Opera

  Jul 2024

  • Gevorg Hakobyan as Scarpia dominated the stage with his presence. We could well believe Scarpia ruled Rome by fear, while Hakobyan conveyed a smooth charm complete with menace even in his casual questioning, as in Act two’s bedroom scene.

    • Opera Wire
    • 11 July 2024

  • Hakobyan’s sadistic chief of police is typical of the oafish class that strays dangerously close to the halls of power, often hijacking ideological movements for their own political gain and treating those around them as mere playthings. We’ve all seen them, elevated from the underbelly of society to positions of power in return for dubious services rendered.

    • Limelight Arts
    • 26 June 2024

• Arias of Love and Sorrow

  Delos

  Jan 2023

  • In one of the finest calling-card débuts we have heard in quite some time – the DELOS recording ARIAS OF LOVE & SORROW – Armenian Baritone Gevorg Hakobyan brings keen interpretive intelligence and a gift for coloring his glorious sound to suit everything from the snarling utterances of Iago’s Credo to the noble cantilena of Nabucco’s prayer Dio di Giuda, the latter sung with seamless legato.

    • All About The Arts
    • 13 November 2023

  • An exciting program that is well suited to Hakobyan’s dramatic voice. There is not an aria on this CD where I would say that Hakobyan’s voice does not fit one hundred percent, even though he is particularly impressive as a Verdi baritone.… admirably balanced and nuanced in its richness of expression.… it is a fascinating CD of a fascinating singer.

    • Pizzicato
    • 27 January 2023

  • Armenian baritone Gevorg Hakobyan, now forty-one, proves in this calling-card recording to be a very serviceable exponent of the dramatic baritone Fach — one that is particularly underserved today, even in international theaters. He has sung in many important Eastern European and Italian houses plus Vienna, Madrid and Barcelona, and on the evidence here he’s preferable to some of his seasoned European rivals that we in North America are routinely offered (year after year after year). Both his Italian and Russian selections show familiarity with the idioms and an ability to shade phrases with emotion, as well as some welcome dynamic shading. Aleko’s classic audition aria “Ves’ tabar spit”; Tomsky’s point number “Tri karty”; and Nabucco’s recitative and prayer “Dio di Giuda” show reveal him to be a capable interpreter. And, unlike many youngish singers, he seems to have investigated the recorded performance tradition. In Michele’s intense aria of vengeance from Il Tabarro, he delivers the final “Sei tu” lifted in pitch and delivered parlando — not as Puccini wrote it but a plausible verismo variant as recorded by Tito Gobbi. Surely the least accessible and thus most valuable readings here are the selections from Armenian operas. Hakobyan sings the Sovietized version of an aria from the first Armenian opera, Arshak II (1868), written in Italian by Tigran Chukhajian (1837–98) about the fourth-century ruler. In 1945, an adaptation by Armenian-language musicologist Levon Khodja-Ernatyan (1904–54), given a politically expedient libretto to suit Stalinist dogma, made its debut. From Armen Tigranian (1879–1950) we hear the titular heroine’s brother’s enraged aria from Anoush (1912) and the hero’s patriotic declaration from David Bek (1950), given a posthumous premiere.

    • Opera News
    • 27 January 2023

  • Gevorg Hakobyan brings keen interpretive intelligence and a gift for coloring his sound to suit the snarling utterances of Iago’s Credo, the self-questioning of Gerard in Nemico della patria, the seething anger of Michele’s Nulla! Silenzio!, the heartbreak of Eri tu, and the noble cantilena of Nabucco’s prayer, the latter sung with seamless legato. Hakobyan’s is a true dramatic voice: sizeable, rock solid in the middle and low registers, perfectly even in sound in the tricky passaggio that often creates trouble for some baritones, and fearless both with the top F sharps and G’s that abound in the Verdi and Puccini arias included in the album. He also boasts a fine low A in Eri tu and an equally assured low G in Michele’s aria from Il Tabarro. In the imperfect world of Opera Gevorg Hakobyan, a major artist perfectly equipped both vocally and musically – deserves to be stepping right now into the leading baritone repertoire in the major opera houses.

    • All About the Arts
    • 10 January 2023

• Tosca

  Dutch National Opera

  Apr 2023

  • As Baron Scarpia, Gevorg Hakobyan’s ideally dark baritone finds the right colours to portray the complex character of a psychopath who can hide his sadistic inner brute beneath a manipulative, suave varnish.

    • Bachtrack
    • 14 April 2022

  • Armenian baritone Gevorg Hakobyan transformed into a terrifying character. Stripped by Kosky of his noble savoir vivre and elegant cynicism, Hakobyan exhibited a harsh, almost plebeian approach, which made him the atrocious counterpart of Byström's Tosca.

    • Scherzo
    • 16 April 2022

• Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci

  Lyric Opera of Kansas City

  Sep 2023

  • Gevorg Hakobyan was a superb Alfio, his baritone suggestive of the heavy-drinking swagger that allows him to dominate the villagers and not stand being cuckolded.

    • Bachtrack
    • 30 September 2023

• Pique Dame

  Oper Stuttgart

  Jan 2019

  • Den armeniske barytonen Gevorg Hakobyan imponerar stort i Tomskijs roll som är handlingens katalysator. Hans stämma har en fyllig klang och mörk tyngd. I den berömda balladen om de tre korten sjunger han uttrycksfullt, dramatiskt och med en lysande diktion. [Translated] The Armenian baritone Gevorg Hakobyan impresses greatly in the role of Tomsky, who is the catalyst of the action. His voice has a rich sound and dark weight. In the famous ballad about the three cards, he sings expressively, dramatically and with brilliant diction.

    • Capriccio
    • 07 February 2019

  • Armenian baritone Gevorg Hakobyan (Tomsky) brilliantly presented bright vocal images, as well as a successful mastery of the stage situation.

    • Zbruc
    • 25 January 2019