Müzeyyen Senar (; 16 July 1918 – 8 February 2015) was a Turkish

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

performer, known as the "''Diva of the

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

''".

Early years

Müzeyyen Dombayoğlu was born in 1918 in the village of Gököz, in

Keles : Keles is a town and district of Bursa Province in the Marmara region of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinenta ...

district of

Bursa Province Bursa Province ( tr, ) is a province in Turkey along the Sea of Marmara coast in northwestern Anatolia. It borders Balıkesir to the west, Kütahya to the south, Bilecik and Sakarya to the east, Kocaeli to the northeast and Yalova to the nor ...

, in the then

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. She had two elder brothers İsmet and Hilmi. Her mother Zehra used to sing Senar to sleep. At the age of five, she developed a stutter after returning from a wedding ceremony, which she thought was the result of fear, as she recalled. Her speech disorder lasted until adulthood, though, as is usually the case with performers, it did not affect her singing voice. At six years old, knowing most of the popular folk songs by heart, she sang at family gatherings and wedding ceremonies, to which her mother took her. In her early childhood, she ran away from her father's home in Bursa to Istanbul, where her mother lived. Her father had left his wife after a marriage of 25 years. According to several claims by Turkish media, she was adopted by the Dombayoğlu family. She was born in the village of ''Hilmiye'' in

İnegöl İnegöl (known as , ''Angelokomis'' in the Byzantine period) is a city (center of the İnegöl district) in the Bursa Province of Turkey. It has a population of 340,000 (2011 figures). İnegöl is one of the centers of the Turkish furniture indust ...

to ethnic

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

parents. Her birth name was Zeliha Eren and her parents were Fatma and Reşit, who migrated from

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of th ...

Career

Senar began her musical career in 1931, entering the ''Anadolu Musiki Cemiyeti'' ("Anatolia Musical Association") in

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; w ...

, where she was educated by

kemenche Kemenche ( tr, kemençe) or Lyra is a name used for various types of stringed bowed musical instruments originating in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly in Armenia, Greece, Iran, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. and regions adjacent to the Black S ...

virtuoso Kemal Niyazi Seyhun and

oud , image=File:oud2.jpg , image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921 , background= , classification= * String instruments *Necked bowl lutes , hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum , ...

player Hayriye. After starting to perform at Radio Istanbul of

TRT The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish : ) is the national public broadcaster of Turkey, founded in 1964. TRT was for many years the only television and radio provider in Turkey. Before the introduction of commercial radio i ...

, she became well known. In 1933 she debuted on stage in a summer talent show at one of the most important music halls in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. She continued her performances at other renowned music halls. Also in 1933, aged 15, she sang her first song on

78 rpm record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

released by (

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

). More recordings followed later on

Odeon Records Odeon Records is a record label founded in 1903 by Max Straus and Heinrich Zuntz of the International Talking Machine Company in Berlin, Germany. The label's name and logo come from the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe in Paris. History Straus an ...

and other labels. Her singing was also much admired by the founder of the Turkish Republic,

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...

(1881-1938). On several occasions she gave special concerts in his audience. Following an offer of

Mesut Cemil Mesut Cemil (; b. 1902 – d. October 31, 1963) was a Turkish composer, and a notable ''tanbur'' lute and cello player. His father was Tanburi Cemil Bey. He participated in the 1932 Cairo Congress of Arab Music. Cemil took cello and violin les ...

in 1938, she went to

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

to perform at the newly established state-owned local radio station. In 1941 she returned to Istanbul to give concerts at various well-known night clubs. In 1947, Senar gave her first concert abroad in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Le Lido Le Lido is a cabaret and burlesque show located on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, France. It opened in 1946 at 78 Avenue des Champs-Élysées and moved to its current location in 1977. It is known for its exotic shows including dancers, singers ...

. With her voice and style, she opened a new era of Turkish classical music. She retired from active singing in 1983, appearing in her final show in a popular music hall in Bebek, Istanbul. In the 1940s Senar played the leading role in the movie '' Kerem ile Aslı''. In the 1960s she was featured in the movies ''Ana Yüreği'' and ''Sevgili Hocam''. Her 1976 film, ''Analar Ölmez'' is autobiographical. She dubbed

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian singer

Umm Kulthum Umm Kulthum ( ar, أم كلثوم, , also spelled ''Oum Kalthoum'' in English; born Fatima Ibrahim es-Sayyid el-Beltagi, ar, فاطمة إبراهيم السيد البلتاجي, Fāṭima ʾIbrāhīm es-Sayyid el-Beltāǧī, link=no; 31 Dece ...

's songs in imported Arabic movies with songs specially composed for Turkish release.

Later years and death

On 26 September 2006 it was reported that she suffered a

cerebral infarction A cerebral infarction is the pathologic process that results in an area of necrotic tissue in the brain (cerebral infarct). It is caused by disrupted blood supply ( ischemia) and restricted oxygen supply ( hypoxia), most commonly due to thromboemb ...

at her home in

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...

, which paralyzed her left side. In February 2008 it was reported that she had lost her voice. As of 2013, she was living with her daughter, Feraye Işıl, in

Bodrum Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancient t ...

. Senar died on 8 February 2015, aged 96. She had been hospitalized with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

Ege University Ege University or Aegean University ( tr, Ege Üniversitesi) is a public research university in Bornova, İzmir. It was founded in 1955 with the faculties of Medicine and Agriculture. It is the first university to start courses in İzmir and the ...

Hospital in İzmir. On 10 February, she was laid to rest in

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery ( tr, Zincirlikuyu Mezarlığı) is a modern burial ground residing on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of polit ...

, following the religious service held at

Bebek Mosque Bebek Mosque ( tr, Bebek Camii), officially Hümayûn-u Âbad Mosque ( ota, Hümayûn-u Âbad Cami for: Prosperous Imperial Mosque) is a 1913-built mosque located in Bebek neighborhood of Beşiktaş district in Istanbul, Turkey. Bebek Mosque wa ...

in Istanbul.

Accolades

In 1998, she was awarded the

State Artist State Artist ( tr, Devlet Sanatçısı, also sometimes translated as "National Artist") is an honorary title granted to prominent artists by the government of Turkey for their contributions to the Turkish culture. It was established in 1971 by the ...

Award, but she declined to accept it. With the initiative of her student, renowned Turkish classical music singer,

Bülent Ersoy Bülent Ersoy (; born 9 June 1952) is a Turkish singer and actress. She is known as one of the most popular singers of Turkish music, nicknamed Diva by her fans. Ersoy has many famous hits such as "Ümit Hırsızı" ''(Hope Thief)'', "Geceler" '' ...

, an exhibition of photographs of her entitled "Cumhuriyetin Divası: Müzeyyen Senar" ("Müzeyyen Senar, the Diva of the Republic") was held in Ankara on 29 October 2009, the Republic Day of Turkey. On 16 July 2018, Google celebrated her 100th birthday with a

Google Doodle A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...

Discography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Senar, Muzeyyen 1918 births 2015 deaths People from Keles Turkish people of Georgian descent 20th-century Turkish women singers Turkish classical singers Turkish film actresses Musicians of Ottoman classical music Musicians of Turkish makam music Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery Deaths from pneumonia in Turkey