Author: Tambiyan Samvel

Winston-Salem Journal, NC
May 20 2007

Meet Handel the Storyteller

Opera institute preparing work that tells of dysfunctional
first-century family
Sunday, May 20, 2007

By Ken Keuffel

JOURNAL arts reporter

Steven LaCosse is directing opera singers from the N.C. School of the
Arts in Handel’s Radamisto. But Baroque opera isn’t the only thing on
his mind these days.

He described Radamisto, which will open Wednesday in De Mille Theatre
on campus, as "The Sopranos of its day."

That "day" would be 1720, the year that Handel wrote Radamisto for
the then-fledgling Royal Academy of Music in London. The work, though
Handel’s first success in opera, fell into obscurity for nearly 200
years. It has been revived by scholarly editing that has made its
score performable for contemporary ensembles.

"It’s all about what I can get, who I can use, who I need as an ally
or who, when I’m done with them, is not an ally anymore," LaCosse
said. "We have a ruthless king who takes everything he wants, and
he’s surrounded by a bunch of people who will help him as long as it
benefits them. And if it doesn’t benefit them anymore, then they go
to the other side."

Radamisto is set in Asia Minor during the first century. In it,
Tiridate, the King of Armenia, falls for Zenobia, his sister-in-law.
To prove his love for her, he wages war against neighboring Thrace.

Thrace is ruled by Farasmane, the father of Radamisto, Zenobia’s
husband, and Polissena, Tiridate’s wife. Prince Tigrane, who assists
Tiridate in the attack of Thrace, hits on Polissena.

Farasmane is taken prisoner and his kingdom is seized. Radamisto and
Zenobia take refuge in Thrace’s capital; they resist attack and
escape. What LaCosse describes as "various confusions of disguise,
capture and recapture" ensue.

In the end, Tiridate is defeated, but, in keeping with the conventions
of opera that Handel knew, the final scene is very much unlike The
Sopranos in character.

"It still had to have a happy ending," LaCosse said, referring to the
conventions of opera in Handel’s time. "He couldn’t avoid that."

But LaCosse was quick to add that Handel also "kind of broke the
rules a little bit, to tell the story."

He noted that Radamisto’s characters don’t always leave the stage
when they sing and don’t always sing arias in da capo form. (A little
Music 101: A da capo aria is in ternary form, with the third section
the same as the first; singers ornament the third section with
improvisation.)

"I like it (Handel’s music) a lot," said Christa Ruiz, who will play
Polissena. "It’s a little bit of an acquired taste…. There’s
repetition. It can get a little dull for people who aren’t really
paying attention."

Those who do pay attention will discover intense music with a great
deal of emotional content, she said.

Adam Ulrich, who will play Tigrane, has discovered that Handel, who
is best known for his Messiah, was "a very good storyteller through
music."

"He’s very good at characterizing through music and at matching mood
with music," he said. He also said that the slow ballads are "really
beautiful" and that the more up-tempo fare can take on a "really
exciting" character.

Ulrich also expressed thanks to NCSA for introducing him to a "very
challenging" style of singing that has become something of a
specialty among singers as Handel’s operatic star has risen.

"Learning how to sing Handel is always good; that’s No. 1," LaCosse
said.

– The A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute at the N.C. School of the Arts
will present Handel’s Radamisto at 8 p.m. Wednesday and Friday and at
2 p.m. next Sunday in De Mille Theatre on campus. Tickets are $12,
$10 for senior adults and students. Call 336-721-1945.

CIC publishes the final returns of the parliamentary election

ArmInfo News Agency
2007-05-20 18:27:00

The Central Electoral Commission of Armenia summed up the final
returns of the May 12 parliamentary election.

According to the CIC, the total number of the republic’s voters made
up 2 mln 319 thsd 722 people. 1 mln 391 thsd 540 people of them
participated in the election. The party-list election returns are as
follows:

National-Democratic Party – 8 556 votes,
National Consent – 4 199,
National Unity – 49 864,
Prosperous Armenia – 204 483,
Dashinq – 32 943,
Heritage – 81 048,
People’s Party – 37 044,
Democratic Route – 8 351,
Impeachment bloc – 17 475,
ARF Dashnaksutyun – 177 907,
Democratic Party of Armenia – 3 686,
Youth Party – 2 291,
People’s Party of Armenia – 22 762,
Communist Party – 8 792,
Republican Party of Armenia – 458 258,
Marxist Party – 2 660,
Republic – 22 288,
United Labor Party – 59 271,
Unified Liberal National Party – 2 739,
New Times – 47 060,
Social Democrat Hunchakyan Party – 989,
Christian-Democratic Revival Party – 3433,
Orinats Yerkir – 95 324.

5 parties have entered the Parliament: Republican Party of Armenia –
41 mandates under party-list system and 23 mandates under
single-mandate system, Prosperous Armenia (18 and 6), ARFD (16),
Orinats Yerkir (8 and 1), and Heritage (7). One candidate from Dashink
has entered the Parliament under single-mandate system, and 9
candidates ran on civil initiative. 5 of them will most likely enter
the faction of the Republican Party.

Felix Khachatryan, Sona Sargsyan and Zaven Pluzyan, CIC
representatives from the Justice bloc, Orinats Yerkir party and
National Unity party respectively, refused to sign the protocol of the
final party-list election returns.

F.Khachatryan said that didn’t want to sign under the document which
is "the grave-stone of Armenian democracy". F.Khachatryan and
Z.Pluzyan didn’t sign the protocol of the single-mandate election
returns either.

Registan.net, WA
May 19 2007

The Pop Star & The President’s Daughter

Across the former Soviet Union, pop stars are made wealthy
individuals in or close to government. It’s not always a bad
investment. Onnik Krikorian, for example, reported that pop stars
were a big part of political rallies during Armenia’s recent
parliamentary election campaign. (One can find a few posts mentioning
this .) Uzbek pop star Rayhon Ganiev says that Gulnora Karimova is
using the pop star’s image to make herself look better. And why might
she do that? Rayhon says it’s about the upcoming presidential
election.
In an interview to GNN the singer said one has to have a huge amount
of money to earn respect in Uzbekistan. Rayhon is widely believed to
be promoted by the Forum of Culture and Art of Uzbekistan Foundation
that is invovled in promoting the peculiarities of Uzbek traditions
and cultural values. `I think She(Gulnara) is using my face and
creativity to promote her own positive image before the nation just
on the eve of elections’, Rayhona said.
Other musicians also complained about corruption and the need for
connections to succeed in the world of Uzbek pop music. One, Iroda
Dilroz, said she likes what she described as the state’s support.
Maybe she’s angling for the Mustaqillik Kuni concert.

imova-and-uzbekistans-music-industry/

FORMER MAYOR OF GORIS INTENDS TO NOMINATE HIS CANDIDATURE FOR 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

Noyan Tapan
May 17 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 17, NOYAN TAPAN. "A grave crime has been committed once
again against the Armenian statehood – the collective will of our
people has been violated. Only enemies have treated our people this
way." Samvel Harutyunian, non-partisan candidate nominated by the
majoritarian electoral system in electoral district No 37, mayor of
the city of Goris in 1992-1994, made this comment on the parliamentary
elections during the May 17 meeting with reporters.

In his words, this crime has thousands of executors and two authors –
the Armenian president Robert Kocharian and the prime minister Serge
Sargsian.

S. Harutyunian said that he will not apply to law enforcement bodies
with the request to identify electoral violations. Instead, he proposes
forming an "army of devotees" and announcing that "the Armenian
liberation struggle under the name of "Liberation Movement" starts."

The former mayor of Goris said that he intends to nominate his
candidature for the 2008 presidential elections.

CONFERENCE DEDICATED TO NAGORNO-KARABAKH TO BE HELD IN MOSCOW ON MAY 27

Arka News Agency, Armenia
May 16 2007

YEREVAN, May 16. /ARKA/. The conference "Call of Mrav" dedicated to
the history and fate of modern Shahumyan territory, in the north of
Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) will be held in Moscow on May 27, 2007.

"Yerkramas" Armenian newspaper in Russia reported that the main
objective of the conference is to introduce to a large audience the
ethnography, culture and most important historic events that influence
the fate of the modern Shahumyan region.

Adviser of the NKR Foreign Ministry A. Melik-Shakhnazarov, senior
scientist of the ANAS Institute of Anthropology and Ethnography,
Doctor of Historical Sciences A. Ter-Sarkisyants, expert of strategic
culture fund, PhD in History A. Areshev and students of Moscow State
Institute of International Relations and Russian State Agricultural
University will make reports.

Mountain Mrav in the territory of the Shahumyan region is the symbol
of this land, by analogy, Ararat is the symbol of Armenia. Since 1992
the Shahumyan region has been under the control of Azerbaijan.

The organizers of the event are the NKR Representation in Russia,
"Russian-Armenian Commonwealth" Organization (Moscow Office of the
ARFD Hay Dat), Union of Armenian Youth "MITK".

APPEAL COURT CLARIFIES OBSERVERS’ STATEMENT

Panorama.am
20:26 15/05/2007

Alina Yengoyan, press secretary of the appeal court, clarified on
court files on election processes, which were also reported in the
observers’ statement.

The observers’ statement says that court rulings were in some cases
arbitrary and not consistent. The report pinpointed to court cases
canceling the registration of candidates in 19 and 39 election
communities.

According to the clarification, Armavir court canceled the registration
of Hakob Hakobyan and Susanna Harutunyan because the court found two
and three fake signatures in the nomination list of the candidates.

Vayots Zor court received an application to cancel the nomination
of a candidate in election community 39 because he used the Armenian
flag during the campaign, which is banned by law. The court decided
to warn the candidate to refrain from such actions but it did not
cancel the nomination.

"In both cases, there were no legal contradictions in the court
rulings. Therefore the court rulings cannot be described as not
arbitrary and non-consistent," Yengoyan told Panorama.am.

CEC QUALIFIES OYP VICE-CHAIRWOMAN’S STATEMENTS AS FALSE AND PROVOCATIVE

Noyan Tapan
May 15 2007

YEREVAN, MAY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. On May 15, RA Central Electoral
Commission refuted the publication of the same day in Haykakan Zhamanak
daily under the title "Theft", according to which at Syunik region’s
polling station N 38/23 CEC added 58 ballot-papers received in favor
of Impeachment bloc to votes received by ARFD. According to CEC,
OYP Vice-Chairwoman Heghine Bisharian’s statement that until May 14,
0 votes had been given for Impeachment at polling stations N 38/25
and 38/25, but as a result of May 14 recalculation the data became
58 and 169, respectively, does not correspond to reality, either. It
is mentioned that no application of recalculation was received at
electoral district N 38, no recalculation was done at polling stations
N 38/25 and 38/28 and the votes received by the Impeachment bloc when
summing up results at the above mentioned polling stations were 58
and 169, respectively.

"Once more we witness Heghine Bisharian’s false and provocative
statements, which have nothing in common with real facts," CEC
statement read.

OSCE CHAIRMAN-IN-OFFICE ADDRESSES THE GOVERNMENTS OF ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN

ArmRadio.am
15.05.2007 13:56

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Spain’s Foreign Minister Miguel Angel
Moratinos has declared that his visit to the Karabakh conflict zone
is aimed to expedite the settlement of the conflict. Azerbaijani
television informs that Moratinos addressed the Governments of Armenia
and Azerbaijan, noting that "Spain is ready to support the efforts
of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs."

On June 4 the OSCE Chairman-in-Office will visit Baku and later
in Yerevan.

"I call on the Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to undertake
actions corresponding to the current political situation and take
into consideration the mediators’ efforts, Miguel Angel Moratinos said.

Noyan Tapan Highlights weekly
May 14, 2007

Aliyev says to Azeri refugees: "Don’t hope to return home soon."

by Haroutiun Khachatrian

On May 4 the Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev made a speech in
the town of Ramani not far from Baku, presenting, as he put it, the
"essence of negotiations" around Nagorno Karabakh. The speech caused
quite a great resonance, including in the Armenian press.

Before turning to the subject proper, I’d like to note that a
considerable confusion arose as a result of an inadequate presentation
of the Azerbaijani president’s speech in some preliminary reports. To
avoid misunderstanding of this kind, I have used the reports
containing large excerpts from Aliyev’s speech (newsazerbaijan.ru and
websites, and reports of ITAR-TASS).

If we ignore part of Aliyev’s statement, in which he tries to
pre-determine the status of Karabakh (actually it is an important part
but famous and often repeated by Azerbaijanis), the main emphasis in
the speech is laid on the issue of how the Armenian party should
withdraw its troops from seven Azerbaijani regions around Nagorno
Karabakh (again we ignore the fact that the negotiations are held
between Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, hoping that the
authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, which actually controls
the territories, will agree later to act accordingly). With the
preliminary agreement published by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs in
June 2006, at the first stage troops must be withdrawn from five
regions, except Lachin and Kelbajar, then – in the course of further
development of the process (in case of settling issues related to the
status of Karabakh, as requested by the Armenian party) – also from
the two other regions. The Armenian party expects a constant link to
be secured between the Republic of Armenia and the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic through the territory of the Lachin region. It is important
that after the withdrawal of the Armenian (Karabakh) troops, the
Azeris, who previously lived in these areas and were displaced during
hostilities, should naturally return there.

So, according to the preliminary agreement of June 2006, the
sequence of events should be as follows:

1. Withdrawal of Armenian troops from five regions,

2. Return of refugees (IDPs) to these regions,

3. Reaching an agreement on the order of determining the status
of Karabakh,

4. Withdrawal of Armenian troops from Kelbajar and Lachin,

5. Further return of IDPs – to Kelbajar and Lachin,

6. Return of Azeries to Karabakh,

7. Holding a referendum on the status of Karabakh.

That is, the Armenian party in principle would not object to the
withdrawal of troops from Lachin, the more so – from Kelbajar.

It is in this part that Aliyev said news. In his words:

"Our demands are: All the occupied Azerbaijani territories must
be freed without any condition being put forward. The process of
returning Lachin and Kelbajar may not be based on any precondition. At
the current stage of negotiations, the main principle is that the
Armenian troops unconditionally leave the seven occupied Azerbaijani
territories. No doubt, we realize that this process will proceed stage
by stage and last several years."

In other words, Azerbaijan no longer agrees with the June 2006
principles. Well, it is up to Azerbaijan. But the Azeri president goes
further to say:

"This is our principal condition. And this provision was accepted
both by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs and the Armenian party."

That is, according to Aliyev, there was a turning-point in the
negotiation process, and the Armenian party agreed to his conditions.

Before citing the reaction of the Armenian party, I’ll give a
third side’s information about the situation around negotiations. This
side is the U.S. Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza who
said in his interview to The Voice of America on April 25 (quotes
translated from Russian):

"The matter concerns immediate withdrawal of Armenian armed
forces from 5 regions around Nagorno Karabakh, return of these regions
to Azerbaijan, deployment of peace-keeping forces there and return of
refugees. Negotiations on conditions to return Kelbajar and Lachin are
continuing." "But here we are close to reaching an agreement," Bryza
went on.

That is, according to Bryza, at least eight days before Aliyev’s
speech there was no change in the issue about five or seven regions
must be freed. And nothing might change during these eight days
either, because no negotiations were conducted in this period.

Columnist of Azerbaijani newspaper "Zerkalo" Rauf Mirkadyrov
writes in this connection:

"The president speaks about unconditional withdrawal of Armenian
troops from all the seven regions, including Kelbajar and Lachin,
while U.S. co-chair – about the necessity to agree on certain
conditions for return of these two administrative-territorial units.
This is not the same thing."

After saying "this is not the same thing," Mirkadyrov delicately
ends the sentence. Delicately, as another conclusion would logically
follow it: "Either Aliyev or Bryza is lying. Who is the liar?"

Of course, Aliyev is the liar. It is evident not only from the
fact that Bryza was not interested in telling a lie eight days before
Aliyev’s unexpected speech. It also follows from the comment of the
Armenian party (prime minister Serge Sargsian) that the Armenian party
had not changed its point of view.

Unlike Aliyev, Serge Sargsian did not accuse the Azerbaijani
party of lying (compare the following part of Aliyev’s speech: "I
don’t care what kind of deceitful statements the Armenian authorities
make before their people. That is why today I state the main
principles of the negotiation process."), he just took it into
consideration that the Azerbaijani party had probably changed its
position and he added: "I don’t know why Aliyev made this statement."

What do we have as a result? If we consider the sequence of the
above mentioned future events, at that moment the June 2006 agreement
did not certainly guarantee a solution of the Karabakh problem but at
least it allowed to fulfill the second of the above stated points: a
partial return of refugees to five of the seven regions. It would be a
great progress indeed not only in the lives of these unhappy people
but also in the whole settlement process as it would form a basis for
resumption of the joint life of Armenians and Azeries and enable to
ease the tension and increase the mutual trust.

Renouncing the June principles and especially speaking again
about the constantly growing military budget of his country
(i.e. threatening Armenia), Aliyev simply told his refugee
compatriots: "Don’t hope to return home soon." And he will keep
shedding crocodile tears about "one million refugees" all around the
world. The fact that the real number of refugees is half of this
figure is not a reason for making the fate of these unhappy people a
subject of speculations.

AZG Armenian Daily #088, 13/05/2007

THE REALIZATION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF PARTICIPATING IN ELECTIONS GROWN

According to the voting in , when 250 people took part in 6
days, 63% of citizens voted for a party taking into account the
ideological directions of the party. This fact is against the
viewpoint of psychologists that people don’t believe in any project or
idea. Only 3% of Armenians are ready to vote taking bribes. And maybe
all the philanthropies and donations of the candidates, the medical
equipments, from 5 to 15 thousand drams, various promises, seeds, etc
will have an opposite influence on the decisions of the voters. The
sympathy for the leader of a party plays a very important role in the
opinion of 31% of voters.

To the question, if the pre-electoral propaganda had an influence on
their opinion, 60% gave a negative answer. 58% of voters think that
their vote and participation in the elections may really influence on
the results of the elections. The majority of voters (47%) are sure
that the pre-election atmosphere has become healthier, and the
realization of the importance of participating in elections has grown.

By Karine Danielian