Zara Dolukhanova- Serenade (Tchaikovsky)

Zara Dolukhanova (1918-2007) The Armenian mezzo Zara Dolukhanova made her stage debut in Erevan in 1939, and while she left the operatic stage while still in her 20’s, she subsequently built a very enviable concert and radio career that lasted well into the 1970s. Dolukhanova was highly renowned for the breadth of her repertory, from Handel to Haydn to many 20th century composers whose works she championed- including Shostakovich, Gavrilin, Tariverdiev, Weinberg, Shaporin, and Sviridov. After switching from mezzo to soprano in 1963, Dolukhanova also sang the title role in the Russian premiere of Puccini’s Suor Angelica. However, she is perhaps best remembered as a bel canto specialist, responsible for bringing to the Russian stage such Rossini operas as L’Italiana in Algeri, Cenerentola, and Semiramide. In the time since my previous upload of Arsace’s cavatina from Semiramide, I’ve received a number of requests for another Dolukhanova recording, so I thought that the inti