Isabel Bayrakdarian

Isabel Bayrakdarian (born 1974 in Zahle, Lebanon) is an Armenian Canadian opera singer.

Early life

Born in Lebanon in 1974, she moved to Canada as a teenager. Bayrakdarian graduated in 1997 from the University of Toronto with an honours B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science.

Career

Isabel Bayrakdarian is noted as much for her stage presence as for her musicality,cite web |url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/v5/content/subscribe?user_URL=http://www.theglobeandmail.com%2Fservlet%2Fstory%2FRTGAM.20080506.wisabel06%2FBNStory%2FEntertainment%2F%3Fpage%3Drss%26id%3DRTGAM.20080506.wisabel06&ord=33110223&brand=theglobeandmail&force_login=true|first=Colin |last=Eatock |title=Has child, wil travel - a lot |work=The Globe And Mail |date=2008-05-06 |accessdate=2008-08-28] and she has followed a unique career path. Since winning first prize at the 2000 Operalia competitioncite web |url=http://www.operalia.org/pageswinners/winners2000.html |title=Operalia winners 2000 |accessdate=2008-08-26] founded by Placido Domingo, she has launched an international opera career, appearing at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, La Scala, Opéra National de Paris, Chicago Lyric Opera, Salzburg Festival, Dresden Semperoper, Bavarian State Opera, San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and the Canadian Opera Company among others.

Her roles have included Euridice in "Orfeo ed Euridice", Cleopatra in "Giulio Cesare", Romilda in "Serse"cite web |url=http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=10180 |title=DVD Review: "Serse" |work=ClassicsToday |accessdate=2008-08-28] , Emilia in "Flavio", Susanna in "Le nozze di Figaro"cite web |url=http://www.thestar.com/article/264741 |first=Martin |last=Knelman |title=We're hoping Isabel Bayrakdarian will come home |work=Toronto Star |date=2007-10-09 |accessdate=2008-08-28] , Zerlina in "Don Giovanni", Pamina in "Die Zauberflöte", Rosina in "The Barber of Seville", Marzelline in "Fidelio", Adina in "L'elisir d'amore", Norina in "Don Pasquale", Leila in Bizet's "The Pearl Fishers", Teresa in "Benvenuto Cellini", Mélisande in "Pelléas et Mélisande", the Vixen in "The Cunning Little Vixen", Blanche in "Dialogues of the Carmelites" and Catherine in "A View from the Bridge".

Her concert schedule includes appearances with the Chicago, Montreal, Toronto, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco symphony orchestras, Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, singing under the baton of such conductors as Seiji Ozawa, James Conlon, David Zinman, Michael Tilson Thomas, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Christoph Eschenbach, Colin Davis, Andrew Davis, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Mariss Jansons, Leonard Slatkin, James Levine, Peter Oundjian and Richard Bradshaw.

Bayrakdarian is the subject of a film entitled "A Long Journey Home"cite web |url=http://www.telefilm.gc.ca/data/production/prod_3807.asp?lang=en&cat=tv&g=doc&y=2005 |title=Telefilm Documentaries |accessdate=2008-08-26] that documents her first trip to Armenia. A major North American tour by Bayrakdarian in October 2008, will feature the music of Reverend Gomidas (Komitas Vardapet), with concerts in Toronto,cite web |url= http://www.roythomson.com/eventInfo.cfm?E=42&YearMonth=2008,8|title=Roy Thomson Hall Events |accessdate=2008-08-26] San Francisco, Orange County, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Boston and New York's Carnegie Hall. She will be accompanied by the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra conducted by Anne Manson, and pianist Serouj Kradjian. The "Remembrance Tour" is dedicated to victims of all genocides and will be sponsored by the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (a division of Zoryan Institute).

Prizes

In addition to her first prize at the Operalia Competition and four consecutive Juno Awards, Bayrakdarian has been awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, the 2005 Virginia Parker Prize from the Canada Council for the Artscite web |url=http://www.canadacouncil.ca/news/releases/2005/wt127639410792453428.htm |title=News Releases 2005 |work=Canada Council for the Arts |accessdate=2008-08-26] , the Leonie Rysanek Award from the George London Foundation, and a Metropolitan Opera National Council Award in 1997.

Personal life

In 2004 she married pianist Serouj Kradjian.

Recordings

Her first recording, titled "Joyous Light" was released in March 2002 and rose to No. 1 in the Canadian classical charts. Soon afterwards, her vocals were featured in Atom Egoyan’s film "Ararat", and in the movie "" in the track "Evenstar".

Since then she has won four consecutive Juno Awards for "Classical Album of the Year - Vocal or Choral Performance" for the following recordings: "Azulão" (Bluebird), an album featuring Spanish and Latin American songs (2004); "Cleopatra", featuring arias sung by the character Cleopatra from operas by Handel, Carl Heinrich Graun, Johann Adolf Hasse and Johann Mattheson (2005); "Pauline Viardot-Garcia: Lieder Chansons Canzoni Mazurkas", (2006); and "Mozart: Arie e Duetti" with fellow Canadians Russell Braun and Michael Schade (2007). In late 2007, "Tango Notturno", a collection of tango songs, was released on CBC Records. Her album "Isabel Bayrakdarian: Gomidas Songs", featuring songs by the 19th century Armenian composer Gomidas Vardabet, is due for release on September 23, 2008 on the Nonesuch label.

Her dance music single "Angelicus" with the Vancouver electronica group Delerium made it to the top of Billboard Dance music charts in March 2007 and was nominated for a Grammy Award.cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/blog/2007/12/10/isabel_bayrakdarians_1.html|first=Li |last=Robbins |title=Isabel Bayrakdarian's big week|work=CBC |date=2007-12-10 |accessdate=2008-08-28]

Popular and crossover

*"Millennium Gala" (2001, CBC Records)
*"Joyous Light" (2002, CBC Records)
* soundtrack (2002)
*"Ararat" soundtrack (2002)
*"Delerium: Nuages du Monde" (2006, Nettwerk)
*"Tango Notturno" (2007, CBC Records)
*"Gomidas Songs" (2008, Nonesuch) with Chamber Players of the Armenian Philharmonic conducted by Eduard Topchjan; Serouj Kradjian, pianocite web |url=http://nonesuch.com/albums/gomidas-songs|title=Gomidas Songs |accessdate=2008-08-26]

Classical

*"Azulão" (2003, CBC Records)
*"Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2" (2004, San Francisco Symphony label) with Lorraine Hunt Lieberson and the San Francisco Symphony & Chorus conducted by Michael Tilson-Thomas.
*"Cleopatra" (2004, CBC Records) with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra.
*"Pauline Viardot-Garcia: Lieder Chansons Canzoni Mazurkas" (Analekta, 2004)
*"Mozart: Arie e Duetti" (2006, CBC Records) with Russell Braun, Michael Schade and the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, conducted by Richard Bradshaw.
*"Gomidas Songs", (2008, Nonesuch Records)

Filmography

*"Opera Night at Cologne" (2005)
*Handel: "Serse" (2005)
*"A Long Journey Home" (2005)
*Mozart: "Don Giovanni". Live from Salzburg (2006)
*Great Performances at the Met: "The Magic Flute" (2007)

References

External links

* [http://www.bayrakdarian.com Official web page]
*imdb name|id=1291084|name=Isabel Bayrakdarian
* [http://nonesuch.com/artists/isabel-bayrakdarian Isabel Bayrakdarian on Nonesuch]