HRH the Prince of Wales and Armen Sarkissian have been working to support two important charitable projects—Dumfries House in South West Scotland and Yerevan My Love, a heritage-led regeneration project in Armenia.
This year a special event took place at Buckingham Palace on 27th October 2015. HRH Prince Charles hosted a charitable Gala Evening for the benefit of British-Armenian charitable projects. The Gala Evening was attended by many dignitaries, including President of Armenia Mr. Serj Sargsyan, His Holiness Karekin II Catholicos and Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians.
The Gala Evening started at 6.30 pm with a reception followed at 8 pm by a special concert by the world famous Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra from St. Petersburg (1), conducted by Maestro Valery Gergiev (2). The Orchestra performed Debussy’s Prelude a l’apres midi d’un faune, which Maestro Gergiev dedicated to the memory of Contessa Yoko Nagae Ceschina (5 April 1932 – 10 January 2015), a noted patroness of classical music. She was born in Japan and long-time lived in Italy.
Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations was breathtakingly performed by the orchestra and young soloist (cellist) Narek Hakhnazaryan (3), 1st Prize Gold Medal winner of XIV International Tchaikovsky Completion, 2011. Before performing his next piece Krunk (Crane, a migrating bird), Hakhnazaryan gave a brief background of the sad song, which reflects the nostalgic feelings of an Armenian away from his homeland! Narek’s performance could only be described as mesmerising!
Accompanied by the orchestra the Grand Prix winner of XV International Tchaikovsky Competition, July 2015, Mongolian baritone Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar (4) brilliantly sang Tchaikovsky’s Yeletsky’s aria from Queen of Spades.
After Verdi’s Overture to La Forza del destino and Wagner’s Prelude to Lohengrin, Act I, masterfully performed by Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra under the magical baton of Maestro Valery Gergiev, the artistic part of the evening concluded.
In his speech Dr. Armen Sarkissian thanked HRH Prince Charles for his untiring efforts and dedication to both The Saving of Dumfries House (5) and Yerevan My Love (6) projects. He also thanked everyone attending the Gala Evening for their generous donations.
In his turn HRH Prince Charles expressed his gratitude to Dr. Armen Sarkissian and all the benefactors, particularly Haik and Elza Didizian and Vatche and Tamar Manoukian.
atholicos of All Armenians blessed the tables, participants to the Gala Evening enjoyed a delicious 3 course meal.
28 October 2015
