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THERE USED TO BE STATE POLICY ON DEVELOPMENT

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Restaurant singers could never even dream of singing on an opera stage during the Soviet years or throw a concert. Now they sing at restaurants, weddings and then they come to the opera asking how much they have to pay to throw a concert at the auditorium. We’re forced to give it to them because we have problems with financing, while they have all the money to spend,” told “A1+” in an interview today Director of the National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet Kamo Hovhannisyan.


According to him, the assassinations, hooliganism, ties between robbers that are broadcasted through soap operas today do not represent Armenian culture.


“Perhaps it is because they are making money off of that, but it harms the generation. The only way we can have an impact on television is through moral values,” says Hovhannisyan.


He pinned down another issue of concern as well.


“Our independence brought difficulties, which must be overcome and we are trying to overcome them. We had to think about the next generation on September 21, 1991. We had to think about how teachers would teach children in kindergarten so that the kindergarten principal would not have to bring his friend with a 7-year musical education to teach as a pianist or leave many great professionals unemployed. Children’s discipline starts from kindergarten,” he says.


In fact, Kamo Hovhannisyan brought up an interesting figure. According to him, children studying in music schools during the Soviet era were not engaged in criminal activities. “Take a look at what’s going on in music schools today. I am not surprised when I see many students confusing Sasuntsi Davit with hero of the Karabakh war, an actor or singer. We often hear children near the Opera square talking about cell-phones, car models because they don’t read any books and receive the wrong kind of education starting from the kindergarten.”


Kamo Hovhannisyan openly discussed impediments for development of talented intellectuals. “People who have the God-given talent of singing, dancing or acting don’t develop thinking skills. But those talented people lack professionalism if they are not fully developed. That is why many stars today don’t reach the top. During the Soviet years there was a state policy on development,” said Kamo Hovhannisyan in closing.