This Karapetian was a tenor and had a reputation in his own right. He was doing Eugene Onegin at the Opera Studio, singing the well-known couplets of Triquet. The performance was under way, everything was going well, but when he was cued, Karapetian didn’t open his mouth. The conductor started over, but Triquet kept silent. / They rang down the curtain and the conductor attacked Karapetian backstage. ‘What’s the matter, did you forget the words?’ ‘No, the tune.’ / (Much later I was at a performance at the Yerevan Opera House and a good-looking man came up to me: Don’t you recognize me? Karapetian.’) << less