Uzeyir Hajıbeyli

Uzeyir Hajibeyli was a person who realized a wide range of his broad artistic interests: he wrote librettos; he composed the very first operas and musicals in Azerbaijan; and he created popular songs, cantatas, ghazals, and oratorical pieces. In addition, he was a luminary in the community, a dramatist, a scientist, a folklorist and a teacher. He played an outstanding role in the development of Azerbaijani national culture.

The theatrical legacy of Uzeyir Hajibeyli is invaluable. His first opera, ‘Leyli & Majnun’, was staged at the Baku Drama Theatre on January 25 (12), 1908. Several other operas followed: ‘Sheikh Sanan’ (1909), ‘Rustam and Zohrab’ (1910), ‘Shah Abbas & Khurshud Banu’ (1911), ‘Asli & Kareem’ (1912), and ‘Harun & Leyla’ (not staged). He created his musicals during the same timespan: ‘Husband and Wife’ (1909), ‘If Not That One, Then This One’ (1910), and in 1913 Hajibeyli created and staged his best musical, ‘Arshin Mal Alan’ (‘Recipe for a Happy Marriage’). Just as with all of the musicals by this great composer, this time again he wrote the play libretto on his own.

In 1937 Uzeyir Hajibeyli completed his opera ‘Kor-oghlu’.

During the last years of his life the composer worked on his opera ‘Firuza’, but it was not completed. We know about just one aria from this opera – The Aria of Firuza.

Additional info: http://hajibeyov.com/bio/bio_life/bio_cd/bio_cd_eng/bio_cd.htmlhttp://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/33_folder/33_articles/33_hajibeyov.html