Gérard Serkoyan
Gérard Serkoyan (14 July 1922 – 8 February 2004) was an operatic bass. Life. Serkoyan was born in Istanbul. His father was a choir director at the Armenian church and a composer. He began his vocal training very early on. Leaving his studies as a dentist, he perfected his vocal technique with tenor Paul Razavet, a former tenor of La Monnaie in Brussels and the Opéra-Comique, in 1947. After an audition, he began his career at the Opéra de Nice in 1949 where he remained in the troupe for two years, notably alongside the French baritone Gabriel Bacquier . Before taking in the role of Colline in "La Bohème", he was given various small roles including the Chiffonnier in Charpentier's' "Louise". He joined the Opéra de Lyon in 1950 and performed his major roles there for the first time, Sarastro in Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte", also including Rangoni in Moussorgski's "Boris Godunov" and the King in Wagner's "Lohengrin". After a six-month stint at the Opéra de Strasbourg, he joined the Paris Opera troupe in 1952. At the Opéra Garnier and the Salle Favart he distinguished himself in the greatest bass roles: Sparafucile ("Rigoletto"), Daland ("Der  Fliegende Holländer"), Ramfis ("Aida"), Pimen ("Boris Godunov"), Mephistopheles ("Faust"), Raimondo ("Lucia di Lammermoor"), and Hunding ("Die Walküre"). Serkoyan is buried in Cadière d'Azur cemetery.