''Rustam and Zohrab'' (in

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 ...

''Rüstәm vә Söһrab'') is the third

mugham Mugham ( az, Muğam) or Mughamat ( az, Muğamat) is one of the many classical compositions from Azerbaijan, contrasting with tasnif and ashik. It is a highly complex art form that weds classical poetry and musical improvisation in specific l ...

opera by

Uzeyir Hajibeyov Uzeyir bey Abdulhuseyn oghlu Hajibeyov ( az, Üzeyir bəy Əbdülhüseyn oğlu Hacıbəyov; russian: Узеир Абдул-Гусейн оглы Гаджибеков, translit=Uzeir Abdul-Guseyn ogly Gadzhibekov; September 18, 1885November 23, 19 ...

. It was composed in 1910 based on the story of

Rostam and Sohrab The tragedy of Rostam and Sohrab forms part of the 10th-century Persian epic ''Shahnameh'' by the Persian poet Ferdowsi. It tells the tragic story of the heroes Rostam and his son, Sohrab.Ebrahimi, Mokhtar & Taheri, Abdollah. (2017). The Tragedy i ...

of the epic poem ''

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,00 ...

'' by

Ferdowsi Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi ( fa, ; 940 – 1019/1025 CE), also Firdawsi or Ferdowsi (), was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a sin ...

, and written in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. Hajibeyov shortened the mugham scene in this opera, devoting much attention to the author's music. The existence of several versions of its

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

created an authorship controversy. This was investigated by M. Aslanov, who determined Uzeyir Hajibeyov as the primary author'','' as well as other poems initially attributed to poet and

gazel ''Gazel'' is a form of Turkish music that has almost died out. While in other parts of West Asia, ''gazel'' is synonymous with '' ghazal'', in Turkey it denotes an improvised form of solo singing that is sometimes accompanied by the '' ney'', '' ud ...

writer Azer Buzovnali. The opera premiered on November 12, 1910, in the H. Z.Taghiyev theatre 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 ...

, with

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 ...

as stage director and Hajibeyov as conductor. Huseyngulu Sarabski (Zohrab),

Ahmed Agdamski Ahmed Agdamski ( az, Əhməd Ağdamski) also known by the stage name of Ahmed Bashir oglu Badalbeyli ( az, Əhməd Bəşir oğlu Bədəlbəyli) (January 5, 1884, in Shusha, Elisabethpol Governorate (Russian Empire) – April 1, 1954, in Agdash, ...

(Tahmina), M. H. Teregulov (Keykavus) and others played the leading parts. The opera did not achieve success and Hajibeyov took it off the stage. After some revisions the opera was to be staged in March 1915 at a benefit performance of Muslim Magomayev, although it was eventually cancelled due to lack of popularity.

References

{{Authority control Operas by Uzeyir Hajibeyov 1910 operas Operas based on literature Azerbaijani-language operas Operas set in Azerbaijan Works based on Shahnameh