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PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
U.S. PREMIERE OF DIKRAN TCHOUHADJIAN’S BELOVED OPERETTA “LEBLEBIJI
HOR-HOR AGHA” SMASHING SUCCESS: 129 YEARS LATER, OPERETTA MASTERPIECE
& TCHOUHADJIAN LEGACY LIVES ON
Pasadena, California – It may have been written in 1875, but that did
not stop AGBU Ardavazt Theatre Company (ATC) and Lark Musical Society
from recreating Dikran Tchouhadjian’s third and widely-acclaimed
operetta, “Leblebiji Hor-Hor Agha”.
About 7,000 people attended the colorful comic operetta, performed in
Armenian with English super titles on October 22, 23, and 24th at the
Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, CA. The operetta was originally
written and performed in Turkish to avoid the censor’s scrutiny, and
weaves a fanciful yarn of love and farce, telling the story of an old
chick-pea vendor and his reluctance to let his daughter marry the rich
man of her dreams. Frequently staged in Europe, the ATC production in
October marked the first time the operetta was performed in the United
States. Tchouhadjian (1837-1898), who is considered the father of
Armenian opera, was the first composer to bridge the gap between the
musical arts of the East and West, recreating the classical European
forms by introducing the melos of Middle Eastern music.
Krikor Satamian, ATC’s artistic director, was determined to keep the
passion of Tchouhadjian’s timeless and ingenious work alive. In 2003,
Satamian teamed up with maestro Vatche Barsoumian, the founder and
director of the Lark Musical Society and the Lark Conservatory, and
vowed to stage all four of Tchouhadjian’s operettas to save them from
obsolescence. The talented duo successfully staged the operetta
“Zvart” in 2003 and received glowing reviews.
Bringing “Leblebiji Hor-Hor Agha” to the U.S. in 2004, albeit 129
years since it was first performed in Constantinople, was the next
logical step.
“If we had waited another ten years, we risked losing this historical
and artistic treasure forever. We felt we were sitting on a goldmine
and worked passionately to resurrect it by making it accessible to
both Armenian and non-Armenian music and art lovers everywhere,”
commented Krikor Satamian.
It’s no small feat recreating a chef d’oeuvre, not to mention one that
was originally written in old Turkish dialect. The pre-production also
included several trips to Turkey and Armenia to find lost pieces from
the original manuscript. At the time the operetta premiered in Turkey
in 1875, people had the time to enjoy a 4-hour performance. Satamian
had to shorten the text by about 1 hour to reflect the fact that
today, most people don’t have the luxury of spending that much time
watching a performance. The production included about 75 choral group
members, 15 actors, and 12 dancers, 10 backstage volunteers, not to
mention a 47-piece orchestra.
The operetta was solely produced by members of the L.A. Armenian
community. All of the actors, the choral group and dancers hail from
the L.A. area.
“We saved Tchouhadjian from extinction, and in the process rejuvenated
and inspired the L.A. Armenian community,” added Satamian.
What’s next for the tireless and very talented Satamian-Barsoumian
team?
They plan to recreate the two Tchouhadjian operettas that have yet to
be translated (“Zimere” and “Arifin Hillesi”), but that’s not the only
project that has their attention these days. April 2006 marks the
100th anniversary of AGBU and they are thinking about staging an
operetta about Armenian history to commemorate the milestone.
Founded in 1979, the AGBU Ardavazt Theater Company (ATC) is the only
full time Armenian theater company serving the L.A. community. The ATC
was named after Ardavazt II, king of Armenia during the first century
B.C. Ardavazt was considered a champion and supporter of theater
arts. ATC serves other Armenian communities by taking productions on
tour to cities such as Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco,
Montreal and Toronto. For more information about AGBU and its cultural
programs, visit AGBU online at
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress