David Bek is an opera composed by Armen Tigranian

Armen Tigranian

Armen Tigranian was an Armenian music composer and conductor. His best-known works were two national operas, Anoush and Davit Bek ; the latter of which premiered only months before his death and was his final composition...

 based on the Raffi novel David Bek (1880–82). After the composers death, the opera was completed by Levon Khoja-Eynatov, G. Budaghyan, and the libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 was developed by A. Ter-Hovhannisyan.

The opera describes events surrounding the historical figure of David Bek

David Bek

David Bek was an Armenian military commander and one of the most prominent military figures of the Armenian liberation movement of the 18th century against the forces of Safavid Iran and the Ottoman Empire...

 in the early 18th century and the struggle of Armenian people against Persia.

David Bek was first performed in Yerevan

Yerevan

Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...

in 1950.