German artist urges Azeri tenor to stop hating Armenians

PanARMENIAN.Net - Famous German operatic bass René Pape has weighed in on a scandal involving Azerbaijani tenor Yusif Eyvazov who reportedly made organizers of an event to force out Armenian soprano Ruzan Mantashyan with whom he was scheduled to perform.

“Usually I don’t comment on such things but as a Dresden native and as an ambassador of music, art and antiracism, I have to tell my esteemed colleague Yusif to not bring any hate into my town or somewhere else,” Pape said in a statement he sent to celebrated Armenian soprano Hasmik Papian.

“To be able to make music means to be able to build bridges, not to destroy them.”

In a statement, which Papian published on her Facebook page, the German artist reminded that Dresden has had a very bright and a very dark past, as well as a glorious musical history.

“To be invited to sing here and to make an audience happy is an honor and a privilege! You should be proud and happy to be asked to be a part of it,” pape said.

“You want to be remembered as an artist, not as a hater.”

According to earlier reports, Mantashyan was invited to perform at The Semper Opera Ball, a classical entertainment event in Dresden, Germany, alongside an American tenor. However, as the latter dropped out in the process, the opera house replaced him with Eyvazov. After realizing Mantashyan’s ethnicity, the Azerbaijani tenor reportedly refused to perform.