The

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 ...

State Academic Drama Theatre ( az, Azərbaycan Akademik Milli Dram Teatrı) is an academic theatre of

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

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 an ...

History of the theatre

The theatre has its origins in

national holidays National holiday may refer to: * National day, a day when a nation celebrates a very important event in its history, such as its establishment *Public holiday, a holiday established by law, usually a day off for at least a portion of the workforce, ...

and dances. Elements of theatricality were contained in many kinds of national creativity accompanying national festivities, traditional holidays and other occasions. On 10 March 1873, under the guidance of

Hasan bey Zardabi Hasan bey Zardabi ( az, Həsən bəy Zərdabi ), born Hasan bey Salim bey oghlu Malikov ( az, Həsən bəy Səlim bəy oğlu Məlikov, links=no ; 28 June 1842 — 15 November 1907), was an Azerbaijani journalist and intellectual, founder of the ...

and with the participation of students of the Real School of Baku, comedy "Vizier of

Lankaran khanate Talysh Khanate or Talish Khanate ( fa, خانات تالش, Khānāt-e Tālesh) was a khanate of Iranian origin that was established in Persia and existed from the middle of the 18th century till the beginning of the 19th century, located in the ...

" by M.F.Akhundov's was staged. The professional Azerbaijani theatre was originated after this very performance. In 1919, separated troupes joined up and the theatre acquired the state recognition. Then Azerbaijan Dramatic Theatre had different names in different years-"State Theatre", "United State Theatre", "Azerbaijani Turkic Drama Theatre" and others. Through 1923–1933, the theatre was named after Dadash Bunyatzade, but in 1933–1991, it was named after

Meshadi Azizbekov Mashadi Azizbey oghlu Azizbeyov, also spelled Azizbeyov ( az, Məşədi Əziz bəy oğlu Əzizbəyov; russian: Мешади Азиз-бек оглы Азизбеков; January 6, 1876 - September 20, 1918) was a Soviet revolutionary of Azerbaij ...

. In 1991, the theatre was renamed to the "Azerbaijan State Academic Drama Theatre".

Activity

During the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

period the theatre was awarded many awards of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...

for successful activity. Such actors as

Huseyn Arablinski Huseyn Arablinski ( az, Hüseyn Ərəblinski), born Huseynbala Mammad oghlu Khalafov (1881, Baku – 17 March 1919, Baku), was an Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijani actor. Life and career Born to a poor family, Huseyn Arablinski lost his father at a young ...

, Mukhtar Dadashev, Jahangir Zeynalov,

Mirzaagha Aliyev Mirza Agha Aliyev ( az, Mirzəağa Əliyev; 1883 in Hövsan (Baku) – October 25, 1954 in Baku) was an Azerbaijani actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1949).Большая Советская Энциклопедия. Гл. ред. А. М. Про ...

, Sidgi Ruhulla,

Alasgar Alakbarov Alasgar Hajiagha oglu Alakbarov ( az, Ələsgər Ələkbərov) (26 March 1910, Baku – 31 January 1963, Baku), was a Soviet and Azerbaijani actor. Career He was born to a family of a poor merchant. He developed passion for acting and music whi ...

, Adil Isgenderov, Barat Shekinskaya, Leyla Badirbeyli and other famous actors played at the theater during its activity period. Plays to works of

Jafar Jabbarli Jafar Gafar oglu Jabbarly, ( az, Cəfər Qafar oğlu Cabbarlı, 20 March 1899, Khizi – 31 December 1934, Baku) was an Azerbaijani playwright, poet, director and screenwriter. Life After his father's death in 1902, Jabbarli's mother moved to Ba ...

Mirza Fatali Akhundov Mirza Fatali Akhundov ( az, Mirzə Fətəli Axundov; fa, میرزا فتحعلی آخوندزاده), also known as Mirza Fatali Akhundzade, or Mirza Fath-Ali Akhundzadeh (12 July 1812 – 9 March 1878), was a celebrated Azerbaijani author, pla ...

, Ali bey Huseynzade,

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 ...

Huseyn Javid Huseyn Javid ( az, Hüseyn Cavid),was born Huseyn Abdulla oglu Rasizadeh (24 October 1882, Nakhchivan – 5 December 1941, Shevchenko, Tayshetsky District), was a prominent Azerbaijani poet and playwright of the early 20th century. He was one of ...

, Sabit Rahman,

Nariman Narimanov Nariman Karbalayi Najaf oghlu Narimanov ( az, Nəriman Kərbəlayi Nəcəf oğlu Nərimanov, russian: Нарима́н Кербелаи Наджа́ф оглы Нарима́нов; – 19 March 1925) was an Azerbaijani Bolshevik revolutionary, w ...

, Ilyas Efediyev, also to works of other world classics such as

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

, Dumas, Hugo, Balzac,

Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...

Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...

were staged in the theatre. The troupe of the theatre was repeatedly on tours, to:

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzan is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and t ...

Tbilisi 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 ...

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...

Ashgabat Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشق‌آباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

. Some performances were awarded state grants of the USSR and Azerbaijan.

Troupe

People's actors • Sayavush Aslan • Yashar Nuri •Nureddin Guliyev •Basti Bekirova •Firangiz Mutallimova •Rafael Dadashov •Ilham Alesgerov •Zarnigar Atakishiyeva • Telman Adigozalov •Meleyke Esedova and others Honoured actors •Asger Mamedoglu •Sabir Mamedov •Jafar Namig Kamal •Sadig Imanov •Saida Guliyeva •Parviz Bagirov and others Chief director •Merahim Farzalibeyov

References

External links

* Buildings and structures in Baku Theatres in Baku Culture in Baku 1919 establishments in Azerbaijan Tourist attractions in Baku Arts in Azerbaijan {{Azerbaijan-struct-stub