Koharik Şirinyan


Koharik Şirinian , also known as Koharik Shirinian or Koharik Schirinian, was an Ottoman-Armenian actress and soprano.

Career

Koharik Şirinian was born in Kumkapı quarter of old Istanbul, then Ottoman Empire, in 1860.
She stepped onto the stage in 1869. In 1874, she played a girl's role in the theatre of Güllü Agop. Her voice type was close to tenor. Between 1878 and 1880, she played singing male roles in operettas on the stage. In 1879, she appeared with Bayzur Fasulyeciyan and Tahuki Hiranuş Satenik on stage in Bursa, in the beginning in a garden theatre called "Melekzade".. As theatre was sanctioned in Istanbul by Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II, Governor of Bursa Ahmed Vefik Pasha promoted it. In 1882, she joined the Ottoman-Armenian Serovpe Bengliyan Operetta Group as soprano. She was one of the most important members of the Ottoman-Armenian Serovpe Bengliyan Operetta Group thanks to her superior ability.
She performed in the operatta roles of the Fiorella in Jacques Offenbach's Les brigands, Charles Lecocq's Giroflé-Girofla and Fatma in Tigran Chukhajian's Leblebici hor-hor agha as well as the male role of Prince Miniapur in Mongol te Great. She took roles in almost all tragedies in the repertory of Bengliyan Operette Group. After the Serovpe Bengliyan Group was disbanded, Şirinyan joined the Mardiros Minakyan Group in 1887. She played in dramatic roles in Jacques Laurent's Frou-Frou and Georges Ohnet's Le Maître de forges. In the early 1900s, she was for a while with the Ottoman Comedy Group of Reşat Rıdvan Bey.