Opera singer Hayk Vardanyan: If you leave a society to be educated on TV, or, worse still, on the Internet, you will have neither a group of citizens nor a state
ABC interview’s guest was opera singer, tenor Hayk Vardanyan. Hayk believes that we are a fighting nation and even a good minority will be able to lead people and take the country in a different direction.
– Hayk, how do you manage to work in this difficult situation in the country? Is it an obstacle, or does it force you to redouble your efforts?
– It is difficult; it is very difficult, in fact. It turns out that along with other professional difficulties, one should also try to overcome difficulties related to the future of the country before taking to stage. As before making a career choice, I had set myself the task of somehow filling the gaps in our diplomacy, I am now trying to focus on it, because performances abroad are often accompanied by meetings. It is difficult, but we have to do it, we have to move forward, because we especially need to get stronger with our culture, unite around it and present ourselves to the world with it.
– You said an important thing. Under these conditions, when we know the reality about Armenia’s political reputation, can culture somehow restore it before the situation changes?
– You are right, at the moment we look rather miserable to the world’s eyes, and it is perhaps only with culture that we manage to fill that gap, because as far as the world of opera is concerned, it is the Armenian names that cause quite a stir there. There is no big stage in the world where you will not hear Armenian names. We must do our best in our spheres, and in some cases we must unite to solve bigger problems for our country.
– What is our singers’ key to success on different stages of the world? Is it due to the conservatory education here, or is that due to their God-given talent?
– This is due to the nature of our singers, our alphabet, the abundance of our consonants, and in a sense, our mountainous terrain. Of course, there are good professors in the conservatory, but I strongly believe that one’s voice continues to develop even after graduating from the Conservatory; and these successes are notched up in the course of independent development. Perhaps, our fighting nature is also of great importance in this regard, because one needs a lot of patience, and a strong will not to give up, otherwise, in the conditions of injustice, one can be disappointed very soon.
– Opera performances are put on in Armenia, but I have heard very few discussions or any criticism regarding these performances. Do we have a problem with meeting and taking criticism?
– We have a rather serious problem of arrogance in the general management system and in our state in general. That arrogance is one of our biggest problems, and it does not allow us to accept constructive criticism even from within as far as the Opera Theatre is concerned. Individual decisions prevail there. They say that they need criticism, but they don’t give an appropriate response to even basic proposals to improve something. All heads are right and what they do is always right. We can witness this situation everywhere.
– You may have noticed that our people show no sympathy for our country. This is evidenced by the simplest thing: dumping and littering. In this regard, can culture play a role in raising people’s awareness, which, in turn, will contribute to changing attitudes?
– We are coming to one of the most important functions of the state: to educate. Any normal state considers it one of its important tasks to instill those rules of conduct into people: not to pollute, etc. From kindergarten age, states set a task to bring up responsible citizens. As a state, we do not fully carry out that function. Culture has a lot to say and do in that regard. The state also has tools to provide cultural education. A culturally educated society is quite good in terms of behavioral norms and vice versa, if you leave a society to be educated on TV, or, worse still, on the Internet, you will have neither a group of citizens nor a state.
– How would you introduce Armenia to a foreigner in three sentences?
– Our country is one of the best crossroads of history, where one can come and see traces from the oldest times of human civilization to the modern ones; it is one of the best places for learning from past mistakes and not repeating them; and probably this is one of the most optimistic nations that still manages to have positive expectations for the future after all that has happened. In other words, we are a fighting nation. And I believe in this struggle, as long as there are people who support it. At the same time, I am convinced that a good minority is able to lead the majority. Today we should talk not about the quantity of those who struggle, but about their quality, and I think that quality will gradually become more and more obvious.
Interview by Lena Gevorgyan
