Anoush

About

Anoush is a five act opera written in 1912 by the Armenian composer/conductor Armen Tigranian (1879-1950). Based on national and much loved poet Hovhannes Tumanyan's homonymous poem, it depicts the tragic love story of a village girl Anoush, who falls in love with shepherd Saro. In a friendly wrestling contest, Saro defeats Anoush's brother Mossi, humiliating him and violating the local code of honour. Mossi shoots Saro dead, and the grief causes Anoush to become insane and throw herself from a cliff. Anoush opera carries special significance for Armenian musical history and is considered to be the most popular Armenian musical and theatrical work. It is the first opera that was completely inspired by Armenian culture and folk music.