Spring Yerevan with Rosy Armen and Aram Khachaturian

A popular singer in the 1960s and 70s, Armenian-born singer Rosy Armen (born on May 1, 1939) was born and raised in France. Her parents had moved to Paris after the Armenian Genocide. Rosy’s father Khurshud Hovhannisyan was from Nakhichevan, while her mother Nvard Alozian was born in the suburbs of Ankara.

At various times, Rosy Armen performed with such celebrities as Gilbert Bécaud, Charles Aznavour, Michelle Legrand, Johnny Holiday, Julio Iglesias, and many others. And after the tragic earthquake of 1988 in Spitak, she along with Charles Aznavour recorded the song “For you, Armenia.”

Rosy Armen released her first disc in 1961 when she was only 22 years old. In 1962, the singer began touring European countries, as well as Iran, Lebanon, Turkey, and the US. In 1965, she gave concerts in the Soviet Union – namely, in Yerevan and Moscow.

Her Soviet tour was a stunning success. In Moscow, the singer gave more than a dozen concerts, and the Soviet recording studio “Melody” released a disc with her songs.

Rosy Armen is considered to be one of the brightest stars of France. She is also famous among her Armenian compatriots for her brilliant performance of Armenian songs. Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian visited one of her Moscow concerts in 1965.

Among the works of other composers, Rosy performed the compositions of Khachaturian, and her brilliant concert performance delighted the great composer. Then, Aram Khachaturian presented Rosy Armen with his song “Spring Yerevan” based on poems by Ashot Grashi. In Armenia, the song gained instant success. The Armenians of the diaspora still consider it one of the best songs dedicated to the capital of Armenia.

Ruben Shukhyan

Rosy Armen – Garun-Yerevan (Slide video) [ARM-MUSIC (THE BEST)]