Woolf Works / The Royal Ballet 2023
“…Anush Hovhannisyan’s soaring, mesmerising soprano.”
The Times
“Anush Hovhannisyan has a bright soprano with admirable strength and technique.”
Ascolta
“Anush Hovhannisyan’s lyrical soprano holds the audience breathless with a splendidly dynamic voice, emotional phrasing and lots of charisma.”
Detskuduse
“Beautiful to look at, Anush Hovhannisyan’s voice is like caramel to the ear. The audience all felt for her.”
Kulturtid
MimÌ: La bohème / Welsh National Opera 2022
“…played with remarkable vocal precision and softness of delivery by Anush Hovhannisyan.”
Arts Scene in Wales
“Anush Hovhannisyan used her soprano judiciously. Producing only a relatively small silvery sound in quiet solo passages, she was nevertheless able to open up and ride right over the orchestra in the bigger moments.”
Opera
“Anush Hovhannisyan is a beautifully sung Mimì…”
South Wales Argus
Tatyana: Eugene Onegin / Opera Holland Park 2022
“Everything Anush Hovhannisyan does is an event, and it’s easy to see why. She combines a charismatic presence with an almost indecently refulgent tone.”
Bachtrack
“Anush Hovhannisyan is superb as the lovelorn woman who goes through various stages of bottomless infatuation from declaring “I know you were sent to me by God” to “perhaps all this is meaningless, the imaginings of an inexperienced soul” before landing on “my fate is yours to command”. This may all sound a touch melodramatic but Hovhannisyan delivers a virtuoso performance which tugs hard on the heartstrings.”
Broadway World
“British-Armenian soprano Anush Hovhannisyan sings Tatyana with all the unrestrained passion of a lovesick teenager, maturing in the last act into a dignified princess.”
Culture Whisper
“Anush Hovhannisyan captures Tatyana’s shy impetuousness and vulnerability. At the end, though, her Tatyana becomes a serious proposition, the voice suggesting both regret and determination. At that point, we get a true sense of Hovhannisyan’s dramatic range.”
Evening Standard
“The letter scene is exquisitely done.”
The Guardian
“Anush Hovhannisyan was not so much a shy, tentative Tatyana in the opening scenes as a young girl overcome by her inner strength and intensity of spirit – the letter scene was intelligently and cogently articulated – but that strength served her well in the final scenes when first Tatyana’s shock upon seeing Onegin again, and then her self-possession and moral integrity in denying his beseeching, were powerfully conveyed, Tatyana’s weeping an inner anguish.”
Opera Today
“Anush Hovhannisyan gave a beautifully shaped account of the Leter Scene…the evening’s most consistent characterisation.”
Opera
“Her letter scene, with a wordless Onegin physically drawn into her reveries, is full of feverish love and spun with gorgeously introspective tone.”
The Times
Leonora: Oberto / Chelsea Opera Group 2022
“Anush Hovhannisyan was superb tonight, totally secure and with a very big voice when required.”
Edinburgh Music Review
“Anush Hovhannisyan owned the platform from her entrance as the first of three Verdi Leonoras: not naturally vengeful, but prepared to face her duty; sad, poised and deeply sympathetic. Grace and bearing carry her through to the final scene, where all the reserve with which Hovhannisyan kept her perfect bel canto nuances in check could finally be set aside.”
The Arts Desk
“Anush Hovhannisyan was an extremely accomplished Leonora, with her soprano being notably rich, powerful and full when required, but also capable of delivering a very clean and sweet line that could rise above anything else going on around.”
Music OMH
Parasha: Mavra / Scottish Opera 2022
“…the irrepressible Anush Hovhannisyan…”
The Arts Desk
“It’s a short work, but one with a great deal of charm, emphasised here by Anush Hovhannisyan and Alexey Dolgov as the pair of lovers…”
The Guardian
“Anush Hovhannisyan is a vivacious Parasha…”
The Opera Critic
“The central pair – a frothy Anush Hovhannisyan as Parasha and agile Alexey Gusev as the petulant Vassili – were a zingy, centrifugal force…”
Vox CarNyx
Emma: Khovanschina / Opéra national de Paris 2022
“Anush Hovhannisyan’s beleaguered Emma…well cast and superbly sung.”
Financial Times
“Anush Hovhannisyan is an Emma full of vocal freshness…”
Forum Opéra
“Anush Hovhannisyan portrays the fear of the German Lutheran Emma with powerful, vibrant tones.”
Olyrix
Frasquita: Carmen / Royal Opera, London
“…Anush Hovhannisyan and Rachel Kelly stood out as a stellar Frasquita and Mercédès.”
Bachtrack
Maria Stuarda / Stadttheater Klagenfurt
“…sings the title part with a wonderful round soprano, many facets of interpretation and the finest pianos, great intimacy, dramatic intensity and perfect coloratura.”
Kleine Zeitung
“Anush Hovhannisyan captivated until Maria’s last breath with extraordinary presence, sensual charisma and a glowing soprano.”
Kronen Zeitung
Anitra: Peer Gynt / Philharmonia Orchestra
“Anush Hovhannisyan made a superbly impudent Anitra.”
The Guardian
Sitâ: Le Roi de Lahore / Chelsea Opera Group
“The Sitâ, hypnotically striking Armenian soprano Anush Hovhannisyan has already made a mark on the Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Young Artists Programme. She hurled out some thrilling top notes. What’s more, the voice has rare individuality; it will be exciting to hear it develop.”
The Arts Desk
“Anush Hovhannisyan was a splendid Sitâ. She has a lovely warm, open tone, with a smoky lower register. Her big solo comes in Act V, having fled the bridal chamber for the temple, and she sang this with confidence and dramatic urgency.”
Bachtrack
“As Sitâ, Anush Hovhannisyan’s voice could feel rich and vibrant, and yet also smoky and spiritual.”
Music OMH
“Anush Hovhannisyan has a lovely spinto-ish sounding voice, richly lyrical but with just a nice edge to it. She brought out the character’s sultry intensity, and in the two long scena’s Massenet gives her we really heard how she combined musical intelligence with a strong sense of character and a superb feel for the shape of the music. Massenet needs to seduce without getting too saccharine, and Hovhannisyan got it just right, as well as looking every inch the part too.”
Planet Hugill
“Hovhannisyan is a commanding presence and sings with a gleaming tone; yet she can be expressive and genuinely affecting”
Seen and Heard International
“As Sitâ, Anush Hovhannisyan’s already glamorous soprano proved excitingly temperamental as the evening progressed.”
Sunday Times
Donna Anna: Don Giovanni / New Generation Festival, Florence
“…the central couple were dream casting. Anush Hovhannisyan’s Donna Anna was sung with infinite grace…”
The Independent
Musetta: La bohème / Opera North
“Armenian soprano Anush Hovhannisyan, who represented her country two years ago at the Cardiff Singer of the World competition, revealed considerable acting talent, especially when she was manipulating the feelings of both Marcello and her rich, elderly suitor Alcindoro in the Café Momus. Her “Quando m’en vo” was particularly impressive, sung along with charmingly coquettish body language.”
Bachtrack
“Musetta, played by Anush Hovhannisyan, was the highlight of the night. Her vocal quality is without parallel and she was the only principal who did not occasionally struggle to be heard over the orchestra. Her pianissimo at the end of her Act 2 aria Quando m’en vo was extremely thrilling and I loved the way she was able to go from the utterly ridiculous character in Acts 2 and 3 to the much more sympathetic pious one in Act 4.”
Mancunian Matters
“Musetta is sung by Armenian Anush Hovhannisyan in her first role for Opera North and her debut is dazzling.”
ON: Yorkshire Magazine
“Anush Hovhannisyan is scintillating as the flamboyant Musetta, and her burlesque treatment of the aria Quando m’en vo is a show-stopping moment.”
The Reviews Hub
“The multinational cast is exceptional, with Anush Hovhannisyan, making her Opera North debut as a flirty Musetta…”
The Stage
“Anush Hovhannisyan is (in Act 11) a larger-than-life scene-stealing Musetta, with oodles of voice and personality. It’s a luxury to have an operatic “leading lady” in this sometimes undercast role.”
The Sunday Times
Rimsky-Korsakov: Romances / Stone CD
“A gorgeous feast of Rimsky-Korsakov’s neglected Romances, rich in melody and colour. The two terrific, impassioned young singers are ones to watch.”
BBC Music Magazine
“With the exception of The Nightingale and the Rose, Rimsky’s art songs are less well known than they deserve, so it is astute of Stone to present two rising young artists in a disc entirely devoted to these beautiful Romances. The Armenian Hovhannisyan wraps her bright, sensuous soprano around this famous number…”
The Sunday Times
Amaltea: Mosè in Egitto / Chelsea Opera Group
“Pharaoh’s wife, Anush Hovhannisyan made a fine contribution with her Act Two aria, in duet with a clarinet; initially a touch brittle, her coloratura for the faster stretta was splendidly pure of tone and exact in tuning, making a striking impression.“
Classical Source
“Anush Hovhannisyan’s soprano was beautifully full, resonant and well-shaped, making her performance of ‘La pace mia smaritta’ a particular highlight…”
Music OMH
“As the Queen of Egypt, Amaltea, Anush Hovhannisyan illuminated her lines with subtle emphases, and, when the given the opportunity, laser-beam top notes…”
Opera
“Anush Hovhannisyan impressed with her command of the coloratura and highly expressive timbre…“
Planet Hugill
Tamara: The Demon / Chelsea Opera Group
“As Tamara, Anush Hovhannisyan thrilled with the vibrancy and abandon of her performance, and dramatically she charted the mental decline and increasing emotional torment of the girl.”
Classical Source
“Anush Hovhannisyan sang with fierce intensity and considerable power.”
The Guardian
“Anush Hovhannisyan also stood out as Tamara, revealing great power in her soprano, yet also rendering some of the most challenging top lines with sensitivity and precision.”
Music OMH
“The Armenian soprano Anush Hovhanisyan’s Tamara grew as the evening progressed from spirited to impassioned, with a gleaming soprano sound that enabled her to inhabit the part more fully than the Tamaras in any other performances of The Demon I’ve experienced.”
Opera
“…beautifully pure-voice and very, very accurate of pitch.”
Seen and Heard International
“Hovhannisyan’s prima-donna temperament and exciting singing mean she steals the limelight as Tamara, with her brilliantly shaded voice and nuanced artistry. Her use of colour and dynamics is spellbinding, and she threw herself physically into the part, as if in a fully staged production.”
The Sunday Times
“Anush Hovhannisyan sang with sultry ardour as Tamara…”
The Times
Lucilla: La scala di seta / Jette Parker Young Artists
“…how agreeable to encounter the Armenian soprano Anush Hovhannisyan in a role which gives free rein to her quicksilver voice and personality…”
The Independent
“Anush Hovhannisyan is an impressive Lucilla, her voice capable of being as subtle as it is vibrant.”
Music OMH
“…the rich-toned Anush Hovannhisyan…”
The Observer
Violetta: La traviata / Scottish Opera
“Throughout the night, the passion and power of Scottish Opera debutante (Anush) Hovhannisyan included a voice that shape-sifted from velvety richness to steely power with confident gymnastics and high notes to die for along the way.“
The Northern Times
“It is not every day – nor every month, not even every year – that you can say “a new Violetta is born.” Yes, yes, up-and-coming sopranos are constantly taking on the challenge of Verdi’s tragic heroine all over the world, but of how many can you instantly say “she is a born interpreter of the role?” On the evidence of her first performance in Glasgow – actually the fourth night of David McVicar’s 2008 staging – it can unquestionably be said of Anush Hovhannisyan. The Armenian soprano, a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme, has the coloratura, the musical intelligence, the rock-solid technique, the evenness throughout an ample vocal range, the dramatic versatility, the imposing but graceful physique – and indeed the pathos. She even knows how to ‘speak’ the Italian text, so much so that that the simple word ‘Si’ resonates with meaning.”
Opera
“…this was a performance of astonishing maturity with no obvious difficulties either vocally or dramatically. She fitted into the ensemble with complete confidence. Violetta should remain a centrepiece of her repertoire for some time to come.”
Opera Scotland
“Anush Hovhannisyan sweeps all before her with her bright, lyric soprano and tall, handsome figure. She’s helped by David Parry’s stylish, Italianate conducting, but I’d hazard that this was a “star is born” moment for the young Armenian.”
The Sunday Times
Violetta: La traviata / Welsh National Opera
“Anush Hovhannisyan is magnificent as Violetta. Not a cough in sight but a body wracked with pain and a gradual, if inevitable, sense of collapse. The final act is deeply moving in her intense vulnerability, never able to do more than crawl and yet fighting all the time to live.”
Lark Reviews
Hélène: Les vêpres siciliennes / Welsh National Opera
“Anush Hovhannisyan is a fluent Hélène…”
The Arts Desk
“Anush Hovhannisyan is a powerful Hélène with a well-handled voice…”
Arts Scene in Wales
“The voice is full of colour, the technique brilliant and she looks striking. From the opening notes of her first aria with its robust incitement to rebellion, there is that dignity and authority called stage presence.”
British Theatre Guide
“Hélène is the story’s one star, and Anush Hovhannisyan seizes the opportunities Verdi gives her with both hands. The audience loved her.”
The Critics’ Circle
“The Armenian soprano Anush Hovhannisyan expressed well the tortured dilemma of Hélène…”
The Guardian
“Anush Hovhannisyan makes an imposing Hélène…”
The Observer
“The star of the show, however, was Armenian soprano Anush Hovhannisyan…always fascinating to watch and lovely to hear.”
Opera Now
“As the Duchess Hélène, Anush Hovhannisyan impresses with her formidable technical poise…the young soprano produced ravishing sounds in the moments of sweetness, of a quality that could be described as seraphic, and yet was full of bite and passion in the climactic scene.”
Opera Online
Anush Hovhannisyan imbued Hélène with a dark authority and steely determination…her power and presence were amongst the most convincing onstage: she was the determined powerhouse, vocally and dramatically, of the breathtaking final scenes.”
Opera Wire
“Hovhannisyan impressed on her first entry by her quality of stillness, and made Hélène’s character only gradually unfold. throughout the opera. Her bolero in Act Five, dramatically redundant but the opera’s hit number, was beautifully done…”
Planet Hugill
“She sang beautifully in the song demanded of her in Act I, which had the power and spirit to rouse the emotions of the Sicilian people. She was impressively affecting in her duets with Henri, and her bolero (‘Merci, jeunes amis’) in Act V was utterly charming.”
Seen and Heard International
“It’s not a great evening, either, for the principals, with the exception of Anush Hovhannisyan’s spirited Hélène, which demonstrates her considerable potential.”
The Stage
“By far the most distinguished of the principal singers was the Armenian soprano Anush Hovhannisyan as a striking, raven-haired Hélène…”
The Sunday Times
“The cast’s one outstanding member was the Armenian soprano Anush Hovhannisyan, as the militant heroine Helene. Blessed with an alluring ruby-red timbre, she sang with a refinement of phrasing and musical imagination absent from her male colleagues…”
The Telegraph
Betrothal and Betrayal / Jette Parker Young Artists
“…Anush Hovhannisyan’s finely-spun interpretation, both accurate and dramatically intense, of Amelia’s aria…”
Opera
Decades, A Century of Song – Volume 2 / Vivat CD
“Anush Hovhannisyan brings vitality and personality to Glinka…”
BBC Music Magazine
“New to me were the Glinka Songs, whose mix of Italianate bel canto lyricism and Russian melancholy is thrillingly caught by the flame-toned Armenian soprano Anush Hovhannisyan…”
Gramophone
Musetta: La bohème / Opera North
“Armenian soprano Anush Hovhannisyan, who represented her country two years ago at the Cardiff Singer of the World competition, revealed considerable acting talent, especially when she was manipulating the feelings of both Marcello and her rich, elderly suitor Alcindoro in the Café Momus. Her “Quando m’en vo” was particularly impressive, sung along with charmingly coquettish body language.”
Bachtrack
“Musetta is sung by Armenian Anush Hovhannisyan in her first role for Opera North and her debut is dazzling.”
ON: Yorkshire Magazine
“The multinational cast is exceptional, with Anush Hovhannisyan, making her Opera North debut as a flirty Musetta…”
The Stage
“Anush Hovhannisayn is (in Act 11) a larger-than-life scene-stealing Musetta, with oodles of voice and personality. It’s a luxury to have an operatic “leading lady” in this sometimes undercast role.”
The Sunday Times
