THE HARDSHIPS OF THE TURKIC STAGE

The cultural life of Baku in 1913 was rich in remarkable events. On the main theatre stage of the city - Tagiyev's theatre (now the Theatre of Musical Comedy), comedies of Mirza Fatali Axundov, Uzeyir Hacibayov's operas, performances of works by Russian and European authors were successfully staged. There were new productions as well. For example, the opera company of the Nicat Muslim enlightenment society produced a new operetta called "Molla Cabi" for the first time. It was authored by M. Kazimovski. The operetta mocked the mullahs who made money on the ignorance of the masses. By the way, Kazimovski, who also directed the performance, played one of the roles.

The interest in the theatre was enormous everywhere. In Balaxani, Muslim drama actors presented the drama "Homeland" by the Turkish writer Kemal. During the Novruz festival, Muslim students of a secondary school arranged a literary party, in which Krylov's fables were read out in the Azerbaijani language and Turgenev's comedy "Lack of money", translated by student Hasanov, was staged. In the same year, a new Muslim dramatic society called Ilal was founded. The first performance arranged by the company was the drama "The Young Officer", which was translated from Turkish by Bagdadbayov. It is notable that the performance featured the Muslim actress Gulsabahxanim. From the memories of actors of those years, it is known that they were insulted and humiliated for participating in performances. For example, Huseynqulu Sarabski was even forced to buy a pistol and take it to performances with him.

The fate of the first ones

One of the courageous people who brought enlightenment to the people despite threats and bullying was Mirza Muxtar Mammadov. Unfortunately, very little is known about this man who was among the first Azerbaijanis to come on the theatre stage and dedicate many years of his life to this art. We only have a few newspaper articles and a few lines from the memoirs of his partners.

He was born in Susa in 1859. However, all the domestic sources on the history of theatre say that Mirza Muxtar was born in 1841. The inaccuracy is apparently due to a small article in the newspaper Юvraqi-nяfisя  (Elegant Pages, 27 April 1919), in which the author claims that Mirza Muxtar Ali Asgar oglu Mammadov was born in 1841. However, we have a copy of the certificate issued to Muxtar Mammadov by the Susa city two-year college in 1881, which states that the holder of the certificate is 22-years-old. On the basis of this document, Mammadov's date of birth is 1859.

This is how Mirza Muxtar recalled the beginning of his theatre career in 1919: "Forty-five years ago, I staged the play of the late Mirza Fatali Axundov 'Haci Qara' in Susa. Because of the lack of theatre premises, we had to play in a barracks. There was no printing house at the time, and I wrote 35 notices with a pencil and handed them out to the people. In the evening, some of the audience threatened me: 'If we notice anything against religion, blame it on yourself.' I was lucky, they found nothing against religion and left happy."

In May 1913, the theatre community of Baku marked the 40-year anniversary of the theatre career of Mirza Muxtar Mammadov. Kaspiy newspaper wrote in this regard: "Mirza Muxtar is one of the first amateur actors on the Muslim stage. He first starred in Haci Qara, the immortal comedy of the Muslim Moliere - Mirza Fatali Axundov in Susa. His contribution to the Muslim stage is great because playing on stage was regarded as something heretical at the time, and people who decided on this were cursed by the ignorant masses and the clergy. An even greater shame at the time was to play female roles. Such actors were subjected to all kinds of insults up to being called by the name of the role they played for the rest of their lives. Everyone knows how insulting it was for a Muslim man to be called by a woman's name. These are the obstacles this old amateur actor of the Muslim stage had to face."

As is known, performances were not regular at the time. As a teacher, Mirza Muxtar worked as a teacher in Yelizavetpol and Tbilisi from 1883 and 1890 and at the same time, played in performances in these cities. In 1899, he moved to Baku. Initially, he played in drama plays and then began to perform in operas. In addition, he taught in the schools of Baku for more than 15 years.

Without make-up

An anniversary evening was held in Tagiyev's theatre on 10 May. The evening began with the vaudeville "Dursun Alii Balli-Badi", which featured Cahangir Zeynalov. In the second part, the actor was honoured. The ceremony was opened by the chairman of the anniversary commission and the theatre section of the Nicat society, Imran Qasimov, who noted the significant role of Mirza Muxtara Mammadov in the development of national theatre. Representatives of the societies Nicat, Safa and Ilal presented the actor with addresses. Telegrams were read out from various institutions. The actor, apart from gifts, was given two envelopes from H. Z. Tagiyev and his actor friends. Then the floor was given to M. Mammadov, who expressed gratitude to those who took part in the ceremony and congratulated him on his birthday. In conclusion, the second act of "Layla and Majnun", the second act of the opera "Rustam and Zohrab" and the performance "Lack of Money", which featured the "hero of the occasion", were shown.

Note that on the theatre stage, he was a partner of such well-known actors of the time as H. Sarabski, H. Arablinski, A. Valiyev, C. Zeynalov, etc. For example, in the opera "Layla and Majnun", Sarabski played Majnun and Mirza Muxtar - his father. In the opera "Asli and Karam", Mirza Muxtar played the Isfahan Shah and his partners in it were Sarabski, Agdamski and Teregulov.

In the book "Memoirs of one actor", Sarabski writes that Mirza Muxtar never put on make-up. "Once we decided to produce the play 'Senseless Wealth' by Ismayil Rustambayov. We needed an actor for the role of the wife who accompanies the bride to the groom's house. The choice fell on Mirza Muxtar. He covered himself with a veil, tying it in a knot on his neck, put a shawl on his head, and put on a skirt over the trousers. When he came on stage and started to sing and dance, the audience burst out laughing. He was so carried away with his role that he forgot that he was playing a woman's role." Remembering the anniversary evening of Mirza Muxtar, Sarabski writes that such celebrations inspired actors to work with even greater enthusiasm.

Despite the ignorance of the general population, intellectuals and business people gave all kinds of support to actors. When the actor Arablinski became seriously ill in 1913, the oilman Aga Murtuza Muxtarov undertook to cover most of the expenses on his treatment. We can also remember the well-known Muslim singer Fatima Muxtarova, who toured Baku in that summer. As a result of financial difficulties, she was forced to leave musical education. Kaspiy newspaper wrote that "a group of Muslim intellectuals, who took an active part in the fate of the famous Muslim singer Fatima Muxtarova, secured her further musical education; these individuals provided the singer who returned home recently with one-time financial assistance; the famous philanthropist Murtuza Muxtarov undertook to take care of the further fate of the singer."

A "gift" for efforts

In the last years of his life, Mirza Muxtar Mammadov quit his acting career. The troupe of the Hacibayov brothers paid him a salary of 500 roubles a month. Mirza Muxtar received a pension from the Soviet government. However, the economic commission of the People's Commissariat of Education deprived the former actor of his pension. This fact gave Molla Nasraddin magazine a reason to publish a satirical article, the author of which wrote in 1926 (№ 27) that it would hardly be possible to think of a more valuable gift for one of the founders of the stage, who dedicated his entire life to the theatre.

Mirza Muxtar Mammadov died on 17 January 1929. The next day, Communist newspaper published a report: "The old actor M. Muxtar, who bore the brunt of the Turkic stage and spent a large and invaluable part of his life working onstage, has left the arena of life forever."