Mikael Babajanyan
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Mikael Babajanyan was born in Yerevan, Armenia. He completed his singing and conducting studies at the State Conservatory Yerevan with outstanding results, and was the award winner of several national singing competitions. At the Komitas Conservatory in Yerevan, he was taught by the famous voice professor Arax Davtian, and later he continued his singing studies in Germany with Tom Krause and Kàroly Szilàgyi.
Recent performances in 2008/2009 include his debut at the Opera Festival in Savonlinna, Finland where he performed Amonasro; Gellner in Catalani's opera La Wally in Klagenfurt, Austria; and a repeat performance of Amonasro in Dijon, France. He also performed Francesco in I Masnadieri in Munich, Don Giovanni at the State Theater Schwerin and also Marcello at Nationaltheater Mannheim. In the current 2009/2010 season, he is in the midst of performances of Renato and Scarpia at Aalto-Theater Essen, as well as of Zurga in Georges Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de Perles. Further engagements this season include the role of Drebednyov in Dmitri Shostakovich's Moscow, Cheryomushki in Lyon, France; a repeat of Francesco/I Masnadieri in Munich; Germont in La Traviata at Cologne Opera, and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly at the Opera Festival in Savonlinna, Finland. In 2010/2011 he will sing the title role in Eugene Onegin at Opera Leipzig and Gellner in La Wally at Frankfurt Opera; and in 2011/2012 he will perform Iago in Otello at the New National Theatre in Tokyo.
In 2007/2008, he performed again as Iago as well as Prince Jeletzky in Pique Dame at the Opera of Bonn. He continued his performances as Scarpia in Mönchengladbach, Marcello again at Aalto Theater in Essen, Germont at the State Theater Saarbrücken, and as Conte di Luna at Pfalztheater in Kaiserslautern. Additionally, he sang Francesco in Verdi's I Masnadieri in Munich at Gärtnerplatz Theater.
In the 2006/07 season he performed as Amonasro from Aida at Theater Bielefeld and as Scarpia in Tosca at the State Theater Schwerin, as well as at the City Theater of Krefeld and Mönchengladbach. He also gave a magnificent debut as Iago in Otello at the Opera of Bonn.
By the 2004/2005 season, Mikael Babajanyan had successfully transitioned into being a highly acclaimed dramatic baritone. At the Opera Festival in Schwerin in 2004, he sang Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera; in 2005, Rigoletto; in 2006, Germont from La Traviata; and in 2007, Conte di Luna in Il Trovatore.
From 2002 to 2005 he was a permanent member of the ensemble at Theater Dortmund. There he sang Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore, Don Giovanni, Faninal in Der Rosenkavalier, Fernando in Fidelio, Il Conte in Le Nozze di Figaro, Guglielmo in Cos` fan tutte, the title role in Eugene Onegin, Schaunard in La Bohème and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly. From 2003 to 2007 he also performed regularly at the State Theater Schwerin as Marcello in La Bohàme, as Ford in Falstaff and again the role of Don Giovanni.
For the 2001/2002 season he performed Hidraot in a new production of Gluck's Armide at Theater im Pfalzbau Ludwigshafen and sang different roles at the City Theater of Giessen. At the State Opera Hanover he performed several times as Allazim in Mozart's Zaide. Further guest performances lead him to the Aalto Theater in Essen, the Grand Théâtre de la Ville in Luxemburg, the State Theater Karlsruhe, and Theater Bremen. In the 2000/2001 season he sang Sharpless from Madama Butterfly at the City Theater of Koblenz as well as Dandini in La Cenerentola at Theater Bielefeld.
From 1997 to 1999, Mr. Babajanyan was a member of the ensemble at the National Theater Yerevan, where he sang important baritone roles like Rodrigo in Don Carlos, Germont in La Traviata, the title role in Eugene Onegin, and Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. He was often a soloist at the Armenian Philarmonic Orchestra where he performed the Fauré Requiem, the Brahms Requiem, the Mozart Requiem and Rossini's Stabat Mater. Additionally, he also conducted the orchestra of the National Theater Yerevan.
He has also collected concert experience, including performing at the Bartok/Mozart Opera Festival in Miskolc (Hungary); and he sang the Messa per Rossini with Helmuth Rilling in several concerts, including in Stuttgart, at the Rheingau Musik Festival, as well as at the Oregon Bach Festival.
Mr. Babajanyan currently resides in Germany.