Yerevan music festival with closes with premiere dedicated to Converse Bank’s 25th anniversary

^{Official press release by Converse Bank}

On October 25, the 12th Yerevan International Music Festival closed with the premiere of Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Madama Butterfly”. The performance was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Converse Bank, the chief sponsor of the festival. Acting Prime Minister of the RA Nikol Pashinyan with his wife, government officials, businessmen, and music lovers attended the event….

“Madama Butterfly” was staged within the framework of Yerevan Music Festival. It had not been performed on Armenian stages for 10 years already. We hope that our performance, as well as the 12 concerts of the festival, have pleased even the most demanding music lovers. This year we have had the opportunity to listen to exceptional performances by world-famous musicians”, - said Eduard Topchyan, the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra.

Our compatriot Liana Aleksanyan, one of the best Butterflies in the world, acted as Madama Butterfly.

“All over the world, business supports development of culture. We would like to thank Converse Bank, which, with its support to the festival, gave us the opportunity to stage and perform “Madama Butterfly” opera that constantly attracts a large number of spectators on the most famous stages of the world”, - said Liana Aleksanyan.

She also mentioned that “Madama Butterfly” is one of the most popular operas in the world. Its success is due to the melodic elegance of the opera, the incredible purity and sincerity of the main heroine, and the unspeakable lyricism of her character, which becomes very tragic at the end of the opera.

In Armenia, “Madama Butterfly” was performed for the first time in 1934, at the National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet after Al. Spendiaryan, conductor - Gevorg Budaghyan. Last time, it was performed on the stage of Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall ten years ago, in 2008, as theatrical concert performance directed by Maestro Eduard Topchyan, staged by Sukias Torosyan.