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"Maiden tower" ballet to be staged in Baku

5 April 2017 13:50 (UTC+04:00)
"Maiden tower" ballet to be staged in Baku

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan’s State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater will present ballet "Maiden tower", devoted to the 110 birthday anniversary of People's Artist of Azerbaijan, eminent composer and conductor Afrasiyab Badalbeyli on April 15.

People's Artist Gulagasi Mirzoyev (Polad), honored artist Tamilla Mammadzade (Gulyanag), Makar, Fershtadt ( Jahangir Khan) and other artists will perform the main roles in the play, Trend Life reported.

The performance will be conducted by People's artist of Azerbaijan, Professor Javanshir Jafarov.

Afrasiyab Badalbeyli entered the history of Azerbaijani music as prominent composer, as well as an academic musicologist, linguist, publicist, and a translator.

His ballet "Maiden Towe" is the first Azerbaijani ballet and the first ballet in the Muslim East. The ballet written in 1940 has remained popular in Baku and has also been performed internationally.

The story is based on an old Eastern legend about Baku’s most famous landmark. The ballet consists of three acts with a prologue and epilogue.

The premiere took place on 18 April 1940 at the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. Since that time, Badalbeyli's work firmly entrenched in theater's repertoire. It notably featured the first Azerbaijani ballerina, Gamar Almaszadeh, Badalbeyli's wife at the time.

Many years later, appreciating the value of this ballet, famous Azerbaijani composer Soltan Hajibeyov wrote:

"Following the path paved by Uzeyir Hajibeyli, young at that time, the musician has collected and carefully treated many amazing folk melodies that found under the pen of the professional musician new attractive features. New ballet suggested a bold creative solution of important and fundamental problems - organic synthesis of folk dance with classical. And it was true, progressive start towards the formation of national choreography. In "the Maiden tower" an ancient oriental legend shone with new colors..."

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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