In memory of Elvira Ouzounian
It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Elvira Ouzounian, the preeminent Soviet Armenian opera singer and cinematic actress, in the early hours of May 28, 2025, in Watertown, Massachusetts. She was born on January 2, 1934, in Tbilisi, then part of the Soviet Republic of Georgia, into an Armenian family. The eldest daughter of genocide (1915-1923) child survivors, Sirarpi Zakarian and Grigor Ouzounian, originally from Karin/Erzurum, her life was driven by an unquenchable affirmation of life through artistic and lyrical expressions.
Upon completing her studies at Tbilisi’s State Conservatory, Ouzounian led an extraordinary operatic and theatrical career as a soprano soloist at Yerevan’s Alexander Spendiarian National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, where she performed from 1962 to 1991. The Opera House—Alexander Tamanian’s architectural centerpiece for modern Yerevan—welcomed her as a newcomer to the world of classical music, honed her extraordinary talent, and shaped her artistic sensibilities and networks. It was, above all, the monument in which Ouzounian shone most brightly on stage.
Ouzounian reinvented the roles of Anush in Armen Tigranian’s Anush and Violetta in Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata. She represented Soviet Armenia in international venues across Europe, Southeast Asia and North America, most notably performing in New York’s Carnegie Hall in 1970. In addition to her stage career, she appeared in six films, including Garni (1966), White Shores (1975), Another Five Days (1978) and Hotel ‘Grandma’ (1980). Ouzounian was also a prolific recording artist for Soviet national radio, producing numerous LPs and later CDs. Her contributions to the arts earned her public recognition from two Soviet states: as a People’s Artist of the Armenian SSR (1978) and a People’s Artist of the Georgian SSR (1985).
Following Armenia’s independence, Ouzounian divided her time between Yerevan and Boston, maintaining an active career as an artistic director and mentor to the next generation of Armenian musicians through her philanthropic initiative, Help Young Talents. An outstanding model of professional excellence, she remained an intensely intimate, approachable and generous humanist.
Though far from her homeland in her later years, Ouzounian continued to orbit around the Opera House. Her operatic and acting profession was the nucleus of her personality and commitment, but she lived with the ebb and flow of her people’s collective fate. The trauma inherited from her parents’ survival of the Armenian Genocide never dimmed her belief in the redemptive power of culture. She held steadfast to the conviction that her people’s spirit—expressed in its artistic heights—would endure and overcome all trials.
Elvira Ouzounian was a magnificent woman who lived a remarkable life. She will be profoundly missed not only by her family and friends but also by generations of musicians, artists, and the public in Armenia and its diasporas.
She is survived by her sister, Lora Ouzounian; her daughter, Zara Ouzounian Halpin; her granddaughter, Lara Ouzounian Halpin; and her son-in-law, Anthony Halpin.
Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, June 3 at Holy Cross Armenian Catholic Church (200 Lexington Street, Belmont, MA 02478). A brief musical tribute from Ouzounian’s career will begin at 11:30 a.m., followed by the funeral service at noon. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Interment will be private.
The family graciously accepts flowers in her honor. However, those who wish to make a donation in her memory may do so to Holy Cross Armenian Catholic Church via the following link: https://www.giragosianfuneralhome.com/obituary/elvira-ouzounian?lud=3AAC214EDA74727A0D6542D781F603B8.
Talinn Grigor
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- In memory of Elvira Ouzounian - May 31, 2025
