Govhar Ahmad qizi Gaziyeva ( az, Gövhər Qazıyeva; 1887,

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

– 1960, Azerbaijan Province,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

) was an

Azeri Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic people living mainly in Azerbaijan (Iran), northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republi ...

stage actress who performed under the alias Goyarchin (Azeri for "dove"). Having debuted in 1910, she is considered the first Azeri woman to appear on stage.

Early life and acting career

Govhar Gaziyeva was born in

(present-day capital of Georgia) to a family of intellectuals. She graduated from the Institute of Noble Maidens where she had received education in Russian. According to theatre historian Adila Ismayilova, she was homeschooled by a foster Russian family where her father had placed her. Gaziyeva married at an early age and moved with her husband to Central Russia. Her eldest son Ismayil was born in

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the ...

in 1906. A year later, she left her husband and moved back to

with her child.Sabir Ganjali. ''Women, Beauty and Sanctity''. Azerbaijan Publication, Baku, 2001; p. 125. At the turn of the twentieth century, Tiflis was an important centre of cultural development for various peoples of the Caucasus, including for Azeris. Amateur Azeri actors established numerous theatrical troupes, the largest ones being ''Dram Cəmiyyəti'' and ''Səadət'' which Govhar Gaziyeva joined in 1906 playing in minor roles. Her first major performance was that in

Najaf bey Vazirov Najaf bey Fatali oglu Vazirov ( az, Nəcəf-bəy Vəzirov) (17 February 1854 – 9 July 1926) was an Azerbaijani playwright and journalist. Life Vazirov was born in Shusha (then Elisabethpol Governorate, Russian Empire, present-day Azerbaijan) whe ...

's play ''Fəxrəddin Faciəsi'' which was staged on 9 October 1910 at the Georgian Nobility Theatre. In the next few years, she acted in over ten different roles in both Azeri and foreign plays in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

Erivan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) 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 in ...

, and Nakhchivan including the role of Gulnaz in Uzeyir Hajibeyov's operetta ''

If Not That One, Then This One ''If Not That One, Then This One'' (; ), also known as ''Mashadi Ibad'' (; ) is a 1910 Azerbaijani operetta in four acts written by composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov. The comedy reflects social and everyday life relations in prerevolutionary Azerbaijan ...

''. She continued acting despite the fact that the appearance of a Muslim woman unveiled on stage remained a topic of controversy. Gaziyeva performed alongside

Huseyngulu Sarabski Huseyngulu Sarabski ( az, Hüseynqulu Sarabski), born Hüseynqulu Malik oğlu Rzayev (20 March 1879 – 16 February 1945), was an Azerbaijani opera singer (tenor), composer, playwright, stage actor, theatre director, and musician (tar). Early life ...

, Huseyn Arablinski and most notably Mirzaagha Aliyev, whom she married in 1912. Following their wedding, Aliyev insisted that Govhar Gaziyeva put an end to her career as an actress and in the same year, the couple moved to Baku permanently.

Later years

For his involvement in anti-Czarist activities, Aliyev was arrested and exiled to Astrakhan in 1913. Being estranged from each other, the couple decided to divorce. No longer an actress, Gaziyeva left Baku for

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

where she entered a medical program at St. Sophia Hospital and returned to Baku in 1915 as a licensed midwife. In the 1920s Gaziyeva left

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

and emigrated to Iran with her third husband, where she lived for the rest of her life. Photographs depicting her acting career are currently displayed at the Azerbaijan State Theatre Museum.Azerbaijan State Theatre Museum: Thematic Plan

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaziyeva, Govhar 1887 births 1960 deaths Azerbaijani stage actresses Actresses from Tbilisi Georgian Azerbaijanis Azerbaijani midwives Soviet emigrants to Iran 20th-century Azerbaijani actresses