Melkon Alekyan
**Melkon Alekyan** is an Armenian actor and artist, best known for his performance in Sergei Parajanov's cinematic masterpiece *The Color of Pomegranates* (Sayat Nova, 1969).
In the film, Alekyan plays the young Armenian poet and troubadour Sayat-Nova, an iconic role that contributed significantly to the visual and symbolic aesthetic of the film. Not being a professional actor in the traditional sense, his stage presence, often solemn and deeply expressive through his face and posture, was central to Parajanov's artistic vision. Alekyan symbolized purity and spirituality, a typical choice for the director, who preferred figures with a strong visual presence rather than classically trained actors.
His film career was limited to a few other roles, making him almost exclusively associated with this one, seminal performance. He later devoted himself to painting.