Online Journal of Music Sciences (Jun 2024)

THE BIRTH OF AZERBAIJAN NATIONAL OPERA ART AND THE IMPACT OF UZEYIR HACIBEYLI’S OPERA WORKS ON THIS PROCESS

  • Ayşe Yılmaz ,
  • Ebru Gökdağ

DOI
https://doi.org/10.31811/ojomus.1444688
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 1
pp. 123 – 146

Abstract

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The art of opera, which emerged in the West at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, was recognized in the East centuries later. In this study, the development process of the Azerbaijani national opera art is explained by investigating where and as a result of which interactions the opera art was first born in the Turkic World. The aim of the research is to reveal the role of Hacibeyli in the development of Azerbaijani national opera art by associating the opera works of Uzeyir Hacibeyli with other opera works composed in terms of nationalism. In the research, a literature review was conducted to obtain data-sources and document analysis technique was used as a method. In this context, the activities of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, the first opera house of the Turkic World, were examined by examining the cultural and artistic activities carried out as a result of interactions with foreign artists and communities in Baku in the early 1900s. Until 1960, the developments in the field of opera were analyzed and detailed information was given about the first mugham opera works composed, the first opera ensembles and vocal interpretation in Azerbaijani opera. The importance of Uzeyir Hacıbeyli’s initiatives in the process of composing and performing national opera works in Azerbaijan was emphasized. In this process, a rich opera repertoire in terms of genre diversity was brought to the Turkic World. Composers have struggled to bring their national operas to a modern, universal level by combining the traditional with the contemporary in their works. In this study, this struggle was revealed through the nationalization effort led by the opera works composed by Uzeyir Hacibeyli in Azerbaijani opera, which was initially dominated by Russian influence, and the path he followed in the development of opera art.

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