Latvia’s Alexander Geronyan Describes a Year with Aznavour

The great artist acted in many films, and this could not go unnoticed. At the Ķengaraga Library, a lecture was held about Aznavour’s film roles. Geronyan spoke about “Ararat,” the important film by Atom Egoyan for both the chansonnier and the Armenian people. In it, Aznavour played director Saroyan, who was making a film about the Armenian Genocide. After the lecture, François Truffaut’s “Shoot the Piano Player!” was screened, in which Aznavour — at the start of his film career — played the lead role of Edouard Saroyan.

Songs by the jubilarian and compositions dedicated to him by Latvian authors were regularly featured in the program Melodies of Armenia, held in a restaurant in Riga’s Old Town. They were performed by Lilit Yedigaryan, Alexander Beknazarov, and Hasmik Bagoyan. Geronyan proudly declared: “I won’t hide the fact that our Melodies of Armenia concerts are always sold out! We’re attended by locals and guests from Armenia, the USA, Lithuania, Russia, and France.”

At the Nikolai and Mikhail Zadornov Library, the program Bards Sing Aznavour marked the centennial of the great chansonnier. Composers and bards Alexander Beknazarov and Yuri Tikhomirov performed songs composed to Aznavour’s poetry. Geronyan, as the host, spoke about the artist’s life journey and how his jubilee is being marked in Latvia and Armenia. Geronyan also read poems by Aznavour from the collection August in Paris.

Geronyan was warmly welcomed also by the Krišjānis Barons Cultural Society. A meeting was held at the museum-home of Rainis and Aspazija, the renowned couple and classics of Latvian literature. He said that the audience asked many questions, not only about Aznavour, but also about the history and culture of Armenia.

The jubilee of the French-Armenian artist was discussed on Latvian Radio. The occasion was the release of Geronyan’s book Aznavour’s Eternal Love. Last summer, composer Alexander Beknazarov and Geronyan were at the studio talking about the publication of August in Paris in Riga. Alexander performed two of his songs based on the jubilarian’s poetry. This time, the two spoke with the radio host about Aznavour’s life and creative path.

The conversation about the book continued sometime later at the popular café of the Polaris bookstore. Geronyan said he spoke about his hero’s journey —from a poor childhood to global fame, about his family, his famous friends, and his deep ties with Armenia. They had musical breaks to listen to the great chansonnier himself and songs dedicated to him by Riga’s artists. They spoke about why his hits still sound fresh, as if written just yesterday. Geronyan said he shared little-known facts about Aznavour’s life and also spoke about his house-museum in Yerevan, headed by Nicolas Aznavour, the chansonnier’s younger son.