11.4 Newsmakers - New Opera - Adigozal: Remembering Natavan from Karabakh

Winter 2003 (11.4)
Page 28

Newsmakers
Adigozal: Remembering Natavan from Karabakh

It's nearly 12 years now that the town of Shusha, located within the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, has been occupied by Armenian forces. As a result, all Azerbaijanis had to flee for their lives. They've never been able to return.

Composer Vasif Adigozal, who comes from a line of musicians from that town, doesn't want to forget this tragedy, and he's using opera as a venue to impress upon music lovers that they shouldn't forget either.

Adigozal's opera "Natavan" opened on December 7, 2003, and was dedicated to the 170th Jubilee of Natavan (1832-1897), who is recognized as a poetess and leading intellectual and humanitarian of her time. For Azerbaijanis, the association between Natavan and Karabakh is immediate.

Below: Scenes from Vasif Adigozal's new opera, Natavan, which opened on December 7, 2003. Vasif Adigozal's son, Yalchin, conducted the Azerbaijan State Symphony. Khuraman Gasimova and Hasan Enami had the leading operatic roles.

Scenes from Vasif Adigozal's new opera, Natavan, which opened on December 7, 2003. Vasif Adigozal's son, Yalchin, conducted the Azerbaijan State Symphony. Khuraman Gasimova and Hasan Enami had the leading operatic roles.

The opera opens with a description of the beauty of Shusha with a backdrop of the Caucasus Mountains. Suddenly the drama shifts to the town being enveloped in flames. "You know," says Adigozal, "Shusha was burned three times by the Armenians-in 1905, 1918 and 1992. It's impossible to forget Karabakh, but I see people's attitudes changing, and I'm deeply concerned about it. We cannot be calm. We have already lost too much of our territory. No one will help us get Karabakh back. We must act ourselves. It seems none of the major nations of the world are willing to address this matter on a deep level."

This is not the first time that Vasif has written a musical work related to Karabakh. In the early 1990s, he also wrote a cantata entitled "Karabakh Shikastasi", based on lyrics by poet Teymur Elchin.

Vasif Adigozal (b.1935) is a "People's Artist of Azerbaijan", Professor at the Baku Music Academy and the Head of the Composers Union. He is recognized as a prolific composer, having a huge portfolio in all genres of music, including large operatic, choral and symphonic works as well as piano pieces, songs and romances.

To listen to music samples of some Adigozal's other works-his Piano Concerto and Preludes from the "Classical Music of Azerbaijan" CD set, click MUSIC at AZER.com. These CDs, plus his newly released CD-24 Preludes (see page 53) are available at the AI Store located at AZER.com.