Ayhan Baran was born on April 3, 1929 in Ankara and passed away on July 24, 2014, at the age of 85. His father, military judge Sabri Baran, supported his introduction to music; Baran enrolled in Ankara State Conservatory as a boarding student in 1945 and received voice training from Frieda Bรถhm there. After graduating from the Opera Department of the conservatory in 1951, he joined the Ankara State Opera and worked with Apollo Granforte for two years; In 1952, he performed in Menotti's opera "The Consul".
Baran stepped onto the European stage in 1959 with the concerts he gave with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich and the Niedersachen Symphony Orchestra in Hannover. He won awards at the โEnescuโ and โVerviersโ singing competitions in 1961 and 1963, respectively; In the same year, "Harriette Cohen" was awarded the gold medal.
He performed as a guest artist in the Dรผsseldorf and Duisburg operas in 1967 and 1969, and in 1968 he performed Verdi's opera "Les Vรชpres siciliennes" with the orchestra conducted by Mario Rossi in London.
Baran's international successes include the recording of Verdi's opera by the Sonic company in Switzerland and four records containing Adnan Saygun's folk songs accompanied by the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra; These records won the award of the French Record Academy in 1985. He served as principal director at the Ankara State Opera between 1972 and 1974 and received the title of State Artist in 1987. During the same period, he also worked at the Istanbul State Opera.
Baran, who was crowned with the Sevda-Cenap And Music Foundation Honorary Award in 2004 and the Istanbul Music Festival Honorary Award in 2009, was also commemorated with the three-CD albums "From Past to Present Ayhan Baran" prepared by TRT in 2007 and his biographical book titled "The Legendary Master of Bel Canto". After his death, he was buried in Ankara's Cebeci Asri Cemetery.
