Asmik Grigorian with British pianist Hyung-ki Joo on 30 May 2025. Vilnius, Compensa Concert Hall and 31 May 2018.

   

 Asmik Grigorian is one of the world's most outstanding sopranos. She is also the most unique prima donna the opera stage has seen in decades. Bright, unafraid to experiment, to break standards. She has already proved this with her concert programme "A Diva is Born" at the Vienna State Opera, which will now also be presented in Lithuania. 

  

 The programme is truly unusual. Yes, you can hear Georges Bizet's Carmen aria "Habanera" and Giacomo Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro", but when Lady Gaga's "Shallow" or Sting's "Moon Over Bourbon Street" come on, the audience is simply speechless. Asmik, who always emphasises her Lithuanian and Armenian origins, also included the Armenian folk song "Krunk" and the Lithuanian folk song "Pasvarcyk antela".

   

 Asmik invites the audience on a musical journey through styles, eras and countries, and the only thing left to do is to follow along, without even trying to guess what the next song will be.

    "Asmik Grigorian is a soprano. Or, perhaps, a mezzo-soprano. Or maybe not a soprano at all. At least, she certainly has nothing to do with the Sopranos family. But she was born to be a diva, and today you'll understand why", reads the annotation of the concert programme "A Diva is Born". 

  

 A Diva is Born features 23 works from very different genres, but they are all united by the exceptional musical talent of Asmik and brought together in a thrilling whole. Her powerful energy on stage is perfectly matched by Hyung-ki Joo's amazing ability to speak through the instrument. The Korean-born British pianist has accompanied many divas of the stage. Serana Gamberoni, Dame Felicity Lott, Christiane Oelze, Valentina Nafornita, Nadine Sierra, and many other famous names. But a diva as exceptional as Asmik has never come his way before. "I'm really impressed and even quite excited," says H. Joo about his joint programme with Grigorian.

 

 Asmik is unique even in the world of divas. She is coveted by La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Royal Opera House in London, the famous Verona Arena and the Bavarian State Opera, which is highly regarded by connoisseurs. Her Turandot, Madama Butterfly, Salome and Carmen are considered among the most striking and dramatic operatic incarnations of all time. Critics, which is not often the case, unanimously agree with audiences on this point, and in unison they shower sophisticated praise.

 

 However... After going to the most famous theatres, the singer, as if she were not a world-class star, takes the subway to the airport, packs her suitcases herself, and carries them unaided. The only thing that might set her apart from the others in the subway car is her stylish outfit and a look that seems to suggest that there is a magical power in the passenger that makes thousands experience Salome's tragedy as their own.