Ring of Fire

“I lived in Moscow for 18 years. I was taken to Moscow when I was 12, so I lived there but always missed Armenia. And finally, I got an opportunity and moved to Armenia to live here. But I had no idea what to do here. Once, I saw a dream: some strange landscape, mountains, strange looking ruins and red light. And in my dream, I realize that it’s an opera. I thought to myself, “How strange. Maybe I should stage an opera one day?”

Three days after, I receive a phone call. “You know, there’s a woman named Sarina. She’s looking for a director who could stage an opera.” I never staged operas before, but I agree, because I saw the dream. So, I meet with Sarina. In the beginning, we were planning to stage the opera in Shushi [Nagorno-Karabakh Republic], next to some ruined buildings.

We discussed it for 3-4 months, but two weeks prior to the premiere, we decided to stage it on the walls of the Shushi fortress. And when we saw that place I realized what lighting are we going to use, as I realized that this was the exact place I saw in my dream.”

*It was Avet Terteryan’s “Ring of Fire” opera staged in the ancient citadel of Shushi. Premiered on September 1st, 2014.