Epress.am News from Armenia
“Perhaps my secret is that I am a child of immigrants,” said French chansonnier of Armenian origin Charles Aznavour in an interview with the Russian-language publication Arguments and Facts.
He noted that when an immigrant is forced to live in a foreign country, whatever he may do, he will always be unhappy.
“First of all, because he is cut off from his homeland, from his roots. But, you know, my father was always optimistic. And incidentally, he never lost touch with his parents, who were living in the USSR, in Leninakan [present-day Gyumri, Armenia’s second-largest city],” said Aznavour.
“It was harder for my mother — she lost all her family during the Armenian Genocide. It was for that reason that my parents fled to France. When my father went to war, I began to work, to take care of the family: I was doing everything I could: selling newspapers, little things. Such experiences help throughout your life. I learned optimism from my father,” said the chansonnier.
Responding to the interviewer’s question, Aznavour said that he never sings outside of the stage.
“I don’t sing outside of the stage, not in the bathroom, not during friendly get-togethers. I have a voice of steel. Usually, after 60 years of age, men and women lose their [singing] voice. But since I’ve never had a voice, then I can’t be afraid of losing my voice,” said Aznavour.