DENVER — Three time Emmy award winning composer Denise Gentilini, along with internationally celebrated singer songwriter Lisa Nemzo, has created I Am Alive, a dramatic musical devoted to the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, KDVR-TV FOX Denver website reports.
The musical spans a nearly 75-year love story of Gentilini’s grandparents Kourken and Malvine Handjian, who survived the genocide.
Gentilini noted while she has known her history for decades, she chose this year to share what her family went through.
“In April it will be the 100th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, and I wanted to tell the story in a different way,” she said. “There have been plays and movies and marches, but I’ve never heard a musical. I believe music is a universal language, so even those who don’t know about this time in history might be interested because the music makes it accessible.”