After his year-long concert tour in the Republic of Malta, the well-known opera tenor, conductor and pianist Sipan Olah has finally come back to London and with his ever-lasting enthusiasm didn’t keep the audience waiting for too long… He has immediately resumed the rehearsals and concerts of the Klingen Choir and Cultural Association, and has started preparation work for upcoming recital concerts. March was particularly significant with two major events organised for admirers of art in general and the Armenian community in particular. The first one was the annual celebration of the Russian ��?Maslenica’ festival organised by the Russian Embassy in the UK in cooperation with a wide variety of community organizations. The mentioned event took place in St John’s Smith Square on 15 March. The Klingen Choir and Cultural Association was taking part in the event for the first time and performed a Russian folk song called ��?Maslenica’ together with the Russian Choir, as well as an Armenian folk song composed by Stephen Shaqaryan, highlighting the beauty of traditional Armenian folk music.

The second event was the recital concert and exhibition ��?Love Songs and Arias’ that took place at St Cuthbert’s Church on 23 March. Tenor, Conductor and Pianist Sipan Olah performed a number of  enchanting vocal and instrumental pieces alongside lyric soprano and violinist Hayarpi Yeghikyan and pianist Ingrid Chan. At the end of the event there was a picture exhibition by well-known  artist Leonie Pilart (Piladjian). 15 arias and songs in seven languages were performed, including pieces by European and Armenian composers A. Satie, W. Mozart, E. Grieg, F. Vecsey, V. Kotoyan, Al. Harutiunian, M. Glinka, R. Rogers, I. Gershwin, W. Sanderson, C. Bixio, S. Vert, E. Curtic. Several of the pieces had already been presented to the Maltese audience during his tour of 40 concerts in the Republic of Malta in 2018. The programme was comprehensive and complicated and demanded a high level of performance skills, which was supremely demonstrated by the well-known singer. Impressive piano duet by Ingrid Chan and Sipan Olah – Aram Khachaturian,  ��?dance of pink maidens’; Hayarpi Yeghikyan – the enchanting sound of the violin captures the audience – E. Bagdasaryan and F. Vecsey in the programme accompanied by Sipan Olah on the piano; vocal solos by tenor Sipan Olah and soprano Hayarpi Yeghikyan . At the end of the concert there were two vocal duets performed by Sipan Olah and Hayarpi Yeghikyan (composed by E. Curtic and F. Lehar), which were the culmination of the concert and everyone was absolutely fascinated by the magical effect of art and the real sensation of catharsis, which makes this world seem more flawless and pure. London-based art enthusiasts and particularly the Armenian community thoroughly admired the performance of the young singer. Sipan Olah’s enchanting voice, the clear vibrations of Hayarpi Yeghikyan’s lyric soprano, Ingrid Chan’s magic touch of the piano keys will long echo in the memories of the audience. Furthermore, the masterpieces were in perfect harmony with the sophisticated atmosphere of the church and the magical strokes of Leonie Pilart’s brush. It is noteworthy, that this was the artist’s second project carried out with the Klingen Choir and Cultural Association. This time she presented her series of flower paintings. We should  pay tribute to the well-known artist – as this year she is celebrating the 50^th anniversary of her artistic activity. The mentioned event was the opening event to be followed by exhibitions in Lebanon, Armenia and the USA.

It is an honour to mention that the Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Councillor Marie-Therese Rossi,  who honoured the event with her presence – highlighted the importance of organising such events. The Mayor was presented with a painting by Leonie Pilart ��?The Daughter of Karabakh’, which was accepted with a great pleasure by the worshipful guest.

It is additionally worth noting, that there were high-ranking representatives of political and cultural cycles as well as the clergy, who mixed with the multicultural audience enjoyed the performance. Furthermore, quite a few members of the Russian community were present, which additionally proves the viability and importance of the newly created alliance.

It requires an immense amount of organisational work and very high levels of professional skills to organise such events and it is absolutely fascinating that there are such exceptional young people, who make our community life much more interesting and our national culture more recognisable and noticeable through the use of the universal language of music.

Nairuhi Petrosyan London