Opera Singer. A leading baritone of the post World War II era, he shall be primarily remembered for interpreting the works of Giuseppe Verdi. Born to Armenian parents, he was raised in Beirut, Lebanon, before moving to Bologna, Italy, at age 21. Boyagian studied at the Accademia Chigiana Sienna, later trained at the Conservatorio of Bologna with a Signora D'Angelo-Ronchi, received instruction in operatic interpretation from Ettore Campogalliani, and was also taught by legendary baritone Tito Gobbi. After capturing top prize in a 1973 Verdi Competition at Busetto he made his operatic bow at that city's Teatro Verdi then was heard later that same year at the Teatro Regio of Turin as the tragic title court jester of Verdi's "Rigoletto". Over the years he was seen in a number of Maestro Verdi's roles including Count di Luna in "Il Trovatore", Carlo in the seldom-performed "I Masnadieri", Amonasaro from "Aida", the elder Germont of "La Traviata", Don Carlo in "La Forza del Destino", and Rodrigo from "Don Carlos", while also presenting such non-Verdi characters as Enrico Ashton in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor", the toreador Escamillo of George Bizet's "Carmen", and Puccini's evil police chief Baron Scarpia from "Tosca". Heard for the first of many times at the Arena di Verona in 1975, he made his American bow in 1976 with the San Francisco Opera as Don Carlo in "La Forza del Destino" and was also heard there as Rigoletto; Boyagian gave his only performances at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1979, bowing as Amonasaro and later singing Rodrigo. Heard throughout his career in all the principal venues of Italy as well as in Munich, Vienna, Hamburg, Paris, Frankfurt, Monte Carlo, Baltimore, Santiago, Chile, and elsewhere, he continued performing until his death from a sudden illness. Boyagian was once named one of the 20th. century's three premiere exponents of Rigoletto. A number of videos of his performances have been preserved.