ROUDAKI HALL PART TWO
By Liliana Osses Adams
(Photos from Tehran Opera House, “Werther” by Jules Massenet, 1977, courtesy Liliana Osses Adams, private collection)
Pari Samar
Charlotte in Massenet’s “Werther”, Tehran Opera House, April, 1977
Pari Samar was born on December 28, 1937, in Tehran, Iran. At early childhood she learned classical ballet and Persian folk dances under the legendary Madame Yelena Avedisian at her School of Dance. Soon after, she began to study voice with Evelyn Baghcheban, an opera singer and distinguished teacher at the University of Tehran. She pursued her voice study with Ilse Rapf and Kristien Mőller at Vienna Vocal Academy, and under Erik Werba, a professor at Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts and a piano accompanist. In 1964, she made her operatic début as Isolier in Rossini’s “Le Comte Ory” at Vienna Volksoper. In the following years she moved to Frankfurt with her husband, Dr. A.A. Aryanpour Kachani, a representative of Iranian Ministry of Culture in Frankfurt. She became a resident member at the Stäadtische Oper in Frankfurt and at the Oper am Gärtnerplatz in Munich. She also appeared as a regular guest soloist at the State Operas of Hamburg, Cologne, Darmstadt, Essen, Karlsruhe, Dortmund, and Kassel. At that time, her repertory included the roles for mezzo-soprano as: Carmen by Bizet; Marguerite in “La Damnation de Faust” by Berlioz; Nancy in “Martha”by Flotow; Hänsel in “Hänsel und Gretel” by Humperdinck; Dorabella in “Così fan tutte”, and Cherubino in “Le nozze di Figaro” by Mozart; Marina in “Boris Godunov” by Mussorgsky; Giulietta and Nicklausse in “Les contes d”Hoffmann” by Offenbach; Suzuki in „Madama Butterly“ by Puccini; in Rossini’s as Rosina in “Il Barbiere di Siviglia”, Angelina in “La Cenerentola”, and Isabella in “L’Italiana in Algeri”, and in Verdi’s as Preziosilla in “La forza del destino” and Eboli in “Don Carlos”.
After Pari Samar’s long-standing commitment at the Opera House of Frankfurt, most recently she remains her presence on the roster of the Papageno Musiktheater am Palmengarten in Frankfurt (under direction by Hans-Dieter Meienschein), where she is greatly involved for the evening program by guiding talented young singers to develop their voice and their stage experience. She is also an honorary member of the Society Papageno Music Theatre Association.
In 1968, Pari Samar accepted the invitation to perform at Roudaki Hall in Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” as Rosina, opposite the baritone role of Figaro, the barber, sung by Enayat Rezai; then the General Manager of newly established Tehran Opera Company at Roudaki Hall, coinciding with the coronation of the Shah of Iran, on October 26, 1967. Soon afterward, she joined the company as a frequent guest artist. In 1971, she sang her first Carmen at Roudaki Hall in production by Lotfi Mansouri, followed by performances in 1973, opposite Pedro Lavirgen as Don José and Giulio Fioravani as Escamillo, led by Maestro Manrico de Tura.
At the opening night of 1973-74 artistic seasons, Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov” was presented in stage production by Enayat Rezai, conducted by Maestro Manrico de Tura. The title role was sung by Nicola Ghiuselev. Polish bass, Edmund Kossowski was dignified as monk Pimen, the chronicler. Pari Samar appeared as Marina Mnishek, a daughter of the Polish Voyevoda Jerzy Mniszek from Sandomierz and the Russian Tsaritsa, insigneted to marry the imposter under the name of Gregory Otriepiew, the false Dmitri I, who claimed to be the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, the Tsarevich Demetrius. In the scenes at Sandomierz Castle and at Marina’s boudoir, Pari Samar was enthusiastically applauded for her beauty and her voice’s expressiveness.
The Roudaki Hall artistic season 1974-75 opened with three performances on September 22, 24, and 28, 1974, of Verdi’s “Don Carlos” in production by Walter Pohl; Manrico de Tura was at the pit. The cast included: Giorgio Tozzi as King Philippe II of Spain; William Holley as Don Carlos; The Grand Inquisitor by Edmund Kossowski; Rodrigo by Dan Serbac; Soudabeh Tadjbakhsh as Elisabeth de Valois, and Pari Samar as jealously obsessed and self-deluded Princess Eboli. Her dramatic, wide range mezzo-soprano, complimented with vocal flexibility permitted her to sing “O don fatale” with great virtuosity and intensity; the enthusiastic applause by the audience, once again demonstrated a true appreciation and love for their prima donna.
At the near end of the season (which actually ended on June 26, 1975 with Ravel’s “The Spanish Hour” and Bartok’s “Bluebeard’s Castle”, under the baton of Farhad Mechkat, in production of Lotfi Mansouri), the revival from 1971 of Lotfi Mansouri’s “Carmen” was presented on April 30, May 3, and 5, 1975, with Pari Samar in the leading role, opposite Maurice Maievsky as Don José and Victor Braun as Escamillo. Maestro Manrico de Tura was at the pit; it was his last performance after more than five years as Principal Conductor at Tehran Opera House.
In the next season 1975-76 Pari Samar made appearance as Angelina in the title role of Rossini’s “La Cenerentola”, dates: January 31, February 3, 6, and 8, 1976. The cast included: Ugo Benelli as Don Ramiro; Giuseppe Taddei as Dandini; Giancarlo Luccardi as Don Magnifico, in stage production by Alfred Wopmann, conducted by Paolo Peloso.
On May 3, and 5, 1977, Pari Samar once again portrayed Eboli in Verdi’s “Don Carlos” (revival from 1974) with the following cast: Nicola Ghiuselev as Philippe II; Octaviano Naghiu as Carlos; Giovanni Gusmeroli as Grand Inquisitor; Hossein Sarshar as Rodrigo, Marquis de Posa; Antigone Sgourda as Elisabetta; in production of Ande Anderson, conducted by Farshad Sanjari.
At the beginning of the season 1977-78 Pari Samar was on the stage in her star role of Bizet’s “Carmen”, dates: August 30, and September 1, 6, and 8, 1977, opposite Gilbert Py as Don José, and Franco Bordoni as Escamillo. Bijan Assefjah was the stage director and Jean Pierre Jacquillat was the conductor.
On February 2, 4, and 5, 1978, Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” (reprise from 1976) was performed in stage production by Roberto Taddei and with Farshad Sanjari at the pit. The cast included: Don Ramiro by Paolo Barbacini; Dandini by Gianluigi Colmagro; Don Magnifico by Giuseppe Taddei, and Pari Samar as Angelina.
At the closure of the season, Roudaki Hall performed Bizet’s “Carmen” in production of Bijan Assefjah. It was the last oeuvre presented during ten years history of Tehran Opera House.
The cast on June 16, and 18, 1978, included: Pari Samar as Carmen; Jon Buzea as Don José; Hossein Sarshar as Escamillo with Farhad Mechkat at the podium. (The former Principal Conductor of the Tehran Symphony Orchestra is currently associated with the Pacific Symphony in Costa Mesa, Orange County, in California.)
Hossein Sarshar
Albert in Massenet’s “Werther”, Tehran Opera House, April 1977
Hossein Sarshar, an operatic baritone and film actor, was born in 1931, in Tehran, Iran. He began his voice study at the High School of Music, followed by graduate study at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Tehran. As a young man, he went to Rome to continue his study at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia under, today’s virtually unknown soprano, Alba Anzellotti, his mentor. While in Rome pursuing his opera degree, he began an early association with a dubbing company started by film director, Parvin Ansary; she translated into Persian a handful of American and European films apart from all of Italian films by Vittorio de Sica and Carlo Ponti. A noted composer, Morteza Hannaneh wrote movie soundtracks for Persian films. Hossein Sarshar did a lot of voices, and sometimes in the same film at the same time he dubbed Vittorio de Sica and Alberto Sordi, and Vittorio Gassman, and many others.
At his return home, he took part in the creation of the first performance at Roudaki Hall during the inauguration of the theater on October 26, 1967, in the presence of Shah and Empress Farah. During the Evening Gala two operas in one act were presented: “The Rustic Festival” (or “The Peasant Feast”) composed by Ahmad Pejman, in stage direction by Enayat Rezai, and Samin Baghcheban’s “Zal and Roudabeh”, adapted from Ferdowsi’s “Shahnameh” (“The Book of Kings”) by contemporary Iranian poet, Ahmad Shamloo, in production of Monir Vakili (who already at the beginning of 1960’s introduced opera to the public with a modest group of a few singers). The cast was exclusively Iranian headed by lyric soprano Monir Vakili as Afghan Princess of Kabul, Roudabeh, and Hossein Sarshar in the role of Prince Zal, her husband, to whom appeared the mystical bird Simorgh which instructed him to perform caesarean section to his near death wife as she gave birth to their son Rostam, who later on become the greatest Persian hero.
For the next four years, Hossein Sarshar remained on roster at Tehran Opera Company performing such leading roles as in Verdi as Rigoletto and in “Il Trovatore” as Count di Luna; in Mozarts’s Don Giovanni and as Guglielmo in “Così fan tutte” opposite Monir Vakili as Fiordiligi, Evelyn Baghcheban as Dorabella and Alek Melkonian as Ferrando; in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” as Sharpless and as Marcello in “La Bohème”, and as Alfio in Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana”.
In 1968 the company premiered two operas in stage direction by Enayat Rezai which received great critical acclaim: “Atossa”, adapted from Herodotus “The Histories” by Persian librettist Manouchehr Sheibani, composed by Thomas Christian David, an Austrian composer and conductor, who taught composition at Tehran University during 1967-74. Hossein Sarshar sang the role of Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Empire; the soprano Mansooreh Ghasri-David made her appearance as Atossa, a daughter of Cyrus the Great, an ambitious and influential Queen of Persia, the wife of kings Cambyses and Darius I, and mother of Xerxes the Great. Thomas Christian David conducted the Tehran Symphony Orchestra.
The second Enayat Rezai production was “The Hero of Sahand”, opera in two acts composed by Ahmad Pejman in 1968. The stylish scenery and costumes were designed by working team Theo Lau/Helen Ensha; they both become associated with the company from its very beginning.
Manouchehr Sheibani and Sadi Hassani wrote the libretto based on the story of Persian warrior, Bābak Khorramdin who faught against the Arab invasion of Iranian Azerbaijan to oppose the Muslim rule of the Abbasid Caliphate and against conversion of the Sassanid Empire to Islam (aimed to abolish the state’s religion Zoroastrianism). The cast featured: Hossein Sarshar as Bābak – the freedom fighter who after 23 years of revolt was executed in his castle – a Bābak Fort in the Sahand mountain of Azerbaijan; the alto Fakhereh Saba as his jalouse wife Azar (original Bābak’s wife name was Banu Khorramdin), and soprano Soudabeh Tadjbakhsh as an Arab slave Rokhsane who escaped from the invaders and accused of being spy by Babak’s wife, she killed herself, leaving Bābak defeated but at the end he realized that he has loved Rokhsane all along. The prominent Iranian conductor Heshmat Sanjari, a former pupil of Hans Swarowsky was at the podium with Tehran Symphony Orchestra.
At the beginning of 1970’s, Hossein Sarshar went to Paris for additional voice instructions with Hélène Bouvier, the French operatic mezzo-soprano and teacher. At the same time he sought-after some further assignments at the opera houses in Rome, Milan, Naples, and Venice, holding the finalist award from the International Singing Competition in Venice. He was a regular patron at Salzburger Festspiele. The scheduling audition before Herbert von Karajan did not promote his future European career nor result in greatest exposure.
At his return to Iran, being warmly welcomed by his many admirers, he again established himself at Roudaki Hall as a leading opera soloist.
During season 1976-77, Hossein Sarshar made his appearance as Giorgio Germont in Verdi’s “La Traviata”, on November 18 and 22, 1976, opposite Hilla Gharakhanian as Violetta Valéry and William McKinney as Alfredo, directed by Bijan Assefjah with Alun Francis at the pit. It was the reprise of the performances from October 1, 4, and 6, 1975, with Sylvia Geszty as Violetta, Gianfranco Pastine as Alfredo, and Giuseppe Scalco as Giorgio, in production by Wolf-Dieter Ludwig, led by Maurizio Arena.
On April 6, 9, and 10, 1977, Hossein Sarshar – of appealing appearance and warm baritone voice portrayed near-perfect Albert in above-mentioned “Werther” by Jules Massenet.
On May 3 and 5, 1977, he sang Rodrigo, Marquis de Posa in Verdi’s “Don Carlos” with cast including Nicola Ghiuselev as Philippe; Antigone Sgourda as Elisabeth; Octaviano Naghiu as Carlos; Giovanni Gusmeroli as Grand Inquisitor, and Pari Samar as Eboli, in above-named stage production by Ande Anderson, led by Farshad Sanjari. It was the second presentation of “Don Carlos” at Roudaki Hall, a welcome reprise from 1974-75 artistic season, headed by Giorgio Tozzi as Philippe and Pari Samar as Eboli, in Walter Pohl’s stage production, under the baton of Maestro Manrico de Tura.
During the ten months long season 1977-78, the company reprises their popular production of Carmen on September 1977 (with Franco Bordoni as Escamillo) and on June 16 and 18, 1978 with Hossein Sarshar as matador Escamillo opposite Pari Samar as Carmen.
On October 13,15,16, and 19, 1977 Puccini’s double-bill operas of “Il Tabarro” and “Gianni Schicchi” returned with Hossein Sarshar as Michele; Hagint Vartanian as Giorgetta; Michele Molese as Luigi, and Pari Samar as Frugola, directed by Italo Tajo, conducted by Nino Verchi, in scenery of Bruno Santini; Giuseppe Taddei was a Gianni Schicchi with Iranian singers ensemble; it was a revival of Enayat Rezai production from 1974 with Giuseppe Scalco as Michele; Monir Vakili as Giorgetta; Giuseppe Gismondo as Luigi; Renato Capecchi was a Gianni Schicchi.
(The production of Ciléa’s “Adriana Lecouvreur” in 1974, featured Renato Capecchi as Michonnet opposite Monir Vakili as Adriana, in stage direction of Vittorio Patanè with Héctor Urbón at the pit).
On December 12, 13, and 16, 1977, the company presented revival of two year old production of Verdi’s “Falstaff“ with Giuseppe Taddei in title role and Hossein Sarshar as Ford (Robert Kerns sang Ford on February 1975 with Giuseppe Taddei as Falstaff).
On February 23, 26, and 28, 1978 Puccini’s “Tosca” returned with new cast of Hossein Sarshar as Baron Scarpia; Marie Robinson as Floria Tosca and Michele Molese as Mario Cavaradossi, directed by Nicholas Curry, conducted by Bijan Setayesh; it was Enayat Rezai’s revival of 1972/1973 with Marcella Reale/Soudabeh Tadjbakhsh as Tosca; Carlo Bini/Giovanni Gibin as Cavaradossi and Noel Jan Tyl/Lino Puglisi as Scarpia with Heinz Sosnitza/De Tura at the pit.
On June 18, 1978 Hossein Sarshar’s distinguished operatic career at Roudaki Hall ended with a bravura performance of Escamillo’s “Toréador, en garde!”
Although after Islamic Revolution of 1979 he sang the revolutionary songs, yet something was missing… He befriended Ali-Akbar Saidi Sirjani, an Iranian poet and journalist who openly criticized the régime. He stepped outside his comfort zone which created a certain sense of insecurity. He collaborated with anti-government members and secretly joined the Iranian Resistance. However, being still artistically active, he turned to acting; from 1985 to 1991 he starred in various films produced by notable Iranians directors and screenwriters under the original titles: “Jafar Khan az farang bargashte” (Jafan Khan Returns From Abroad), a comedy directed by Ali Hatami, 1985; “Ejareh-Nesheenha” (The Tenants)) in the role of opera singer Saayd, singing Tonio’s prologue from Pagliacci: “Si può?... Si può?... Signore! Signori!... Un nido di memorie”, directed by Dariush Mehrjui, 1986; “Ei Iran” (Oh Iran) in the role of Mr. Soroudi, school music teacher who teaches his students how to sing a new song of revolution, directed by Nāsser Taghvāi, 1990; “Hamoun” (The Desert) in the role of Salimi, a psychological drama movie directed by Dariush Mehrjui, 1990; “Renault Tehran 29” in the role of Afshar, directed by Siamak Shayeghi, 1990, and “Rah o birah”, directed by Siamak Shayeghi, 1991.
Later on, his sudden disappearance suggested that he suffered from dementia. Finally, Hossein Sarshar was listed among the victims of political serial killings in what became known as the Chain Murders (1988-1998) of dozens of dissidents, intellectuals and opposition members; it was revealed in the official statement issued by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security in mid-1999. Tragically, after being arrested and tortured in the prison, Hossein Sarshar was declared dead in a car accident at southwestern town of Abadan, on April 11, 1992, (or on February 14, 1997, after PBS: Public Broadcasting Service) under suspicious circumstances.
Monique Baudouin
Sophie in Massenet’s “Werther”, Tehran Opera House, April 1977
Monique Baudouin, a French opera singer appeared in Tehran as Sophie, a tearful fifteen year old Charlotte’s sister who was also in love with Werther. With her crystalline soprano she brought to the Sophie character sweetness, charm and ardour, especially in the cheering up aria: “Du gai soleil, plein de flamme”.
Currently, she is the manager of Monique Baudouin Opéra-Agence Artistique in Paris, France. Her discography includes: Cherubini’s “Anacréon” in the role of Athanais under Eliahu Inbal (1971) and Massenet’s “Don Quichotte” under Georges Prêtre in the role of Pedro (1982).
No additional data is available.