Armenian soprano Anna Nshanyan was born Anna Isahaki Papazyan in Egypt on 12 December 1931 and studied with French singer Madeleine Suron. She moved to Armenia in 1959 and worked as a soloist with Yerevan Opera and Ballet State Academic Theatre. She continued her studies at Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory.
From 1980 onwards she lived and worked in Los Angeles, USA, where she died on 23 July 2024, aged ninety-two.