Today is the 97th birthday of world-famous French-Armenian chansonnier Charles Aznavour. In a career as a composer, singer and songwriter, spanning over 70 years, he recorded more than 1,200 songs interpreted in 9 languages. Moreover, he wrote or co-wrote more than 1,000 songs for himself and others.
In 2008, he was granted Armenian citizenship, and was appointed ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland the following year, as well as Armenia’s permanent delegate to the United Nations at Geneva.
In 1946 Aznavour met with Edith Piaf, they toured a lot with concerts. Initially he sang with Pierre Roche. He became famous in 1959 after performing at the Olympia Theatre in Paris. He sang in almost all best concert halls in the world. He had concerts in Yerevan. Among Aznavour’s most famous songs are ‘This is the End’, ‘Mama’, ‘Isabel’, ‘Two Guitars’, ‘After Love’, ‘Youth’, etc.
CDs of his songs have been released in millions of copies; his poems have been translated and published in separate books. He is the best performer of his songs. Aznavour sang with Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, Lisa Minelli, Mireille Mathieu, Patricia Kaas. He sang Sayat-Nova’s song ‘In My World with his daughter Seda. He also wrote operetta music. Aznavour has starred in more than 60 films, including ‘The Crossing of the Rhine’, ‘Satan and the The Ten Commandments’, ‘Father Gorio’, and the Crystal Star Award for ‘Head Against the Wall’. His role in Atom Egoyan’s film ‘Ararat’, which is dedicated to the Armenian Genocide, is noteworthy.
The square in Yerevan, the Vagharshapat Drama Theater were named after Aznavour, and in 2000, a monument was erected in the square named after him in Gyumri. Aznavour wax statue in 2004 was placed in Madame Tussauds. The Aznavour Museum was opened in Yerevan in 2009.
