TWO PREMIERES OF THE PREMIER

Theatre is not always a place for spiritual concentration nowadays. It is no secret that what was once not allowed onstage is often possible now under pretext of survival. And the most unfortunate thing is that we have become used to such compromise. The performances we will now consider were, however, the complete antithesis of such developments. These were two premieres - "O Olmasin, Bu Olsun" at the Abdulla Saiq Azerbaijan State Puppet Theatre and "Husband and Wife" at the Theatre of Musical Comedy; both marking the great Uzeyir Hacibayov's centenary.

The former - a solo performance at the Puppet Theatre, with People's Artist Yasar Nuri in the title role of Masadi Ibad - was surprisingly impressive, sunny and gilt with Hacibayov's tunes... A turn to the classics is always fraught with the fear that they may suffer in the process. Here all was resolved by the application of professionalism.

The play begins in the Old Town in the morning - the very awakening of the day, colourful, with phaetons, camels, khurjin-pitchers and a donkey... There is the feeling that this had been created with love and flavour, as it is imbued with delight. The warmth of the fortress walls - the masonry seems to breathe with the time painfully comfortable in its passing. And all this - coupled with the vibrant diversity of clothes against the backdrop of Uzeyir's music - is juicy, life-affirming and triumphant!

This version is more "personalized", and undivided authority here comes from one actor - Yasar Nuri. There has never been such an attractive Masadi Ibad: handsome - that's it. You don't just feel sorry for him, as has been the case (old, shabby and so on...), you sympathize with him from the first minute of the performance - that is how good he is, and this sympathy increases with every cue which is played with a freshness surprising for its long use, as we say - "sip-sirin" (so sweet). Infinitely lively, it gives impetus to his "colleagues on the stage", tuning them up.

This work, long canonized by all the famous actors, has little room left for interpretive space. There seemed to be no room. And here, a charming man in intriguing orange pants walks back and forth from one chest to another, as if walking the angles of the stage, and cracks clever jokes. He is extremely natural in his seamlessness, or rather the seamlessness of his role. His belly is absolutely natural (we cannot believe in a thin Mashadi Ibad), and the bald spot is genuine - he shaved his head specially to be on par with his character. And even his voice, which quivered a little as he sang - it did not seem dissonant - was fine, because Masadi Ibad is not some La Scala tenor. It was a very nice idea in itself to place him live on stage with puppets. I wonder if this has been done before? We put this question to Latifa Quluzada, who was artistic director for the performance. "Such a practice does exist - a combination of live actors and puppets - this has happened several times, on our stage, too" she said. "That is to say actors are mingled with puppets - alternate performances by one and the other. What makes this performance unique is that the whole load lies on one actor. And this is an innovation in this production."

Director Elsad Rahimzada, the creator of more than 15 children's plays, has participated in many international theatre festivals. It was he who came up with this extraordinary idea. Watching its implementation, I thought about how much was invested in the original source, which provokes more and more new interpretations... Qocu Asgar and his company of thugs were so funny in their truculent "ethnics" and not terrible at all, with their guns and valour. Instead of the expected low mummery, you see a performance - professional, not at all academic and absolutely fascinating. A correctly staged solution to the play - that is what it is like to unleash your fantasy, the one that even Tovstonogov advocated. Unleash it rapidly and generously - nothing was stinted here, in any of the scenes, in terms of expressiveness, whether in the bath orgy to the accompaniment of the famous tune "Hamamin Icinda" or the drinking scene with its dramatic showdowns.

I must say that the performance was staged in record time - 15 days! Organizing and arranging something like this in two weeks is a remarkable feat in itself. Of course, it is not easy to "get on well" with puppets, to resonate with them and ensure that the interaction is convincing despite being in different "weight categories". In this respect, I should note Nuri's acting, which was unconditional. His communication with the puppets was so perfect that you forgot that his partners on stage, who were not his "compatriots", were inanimate - and here we cannot but give words of thanks to the puppet makers - those who created this "naturalness". The puppets for the play were ordered by the theatre from the well-known Russian artist and laureate of the "Golden Mask" prize, Tatyana Melnikova, from St. Petersburg. She it was who created the 28 puppets especially for our performance. Looking at them dancing "Suleymani" like mad, you pay tribute to the director for his approach to the project - thorough and involving true experts in this genre. This cannot but cheer us and give us hope.

As for the originality of the solution, "I did not want to repeat the movie, I was very afraid of that," said Latifa. "It was important to get away from the classic 'clich?'- a masterpiece, if it is repeated, ceases to be a masterpiece. All the puppets were brand new: 'Masadi Ibad' is my long-cherished dream, and now it has come true."

The play has every chance of going abroad - such a good 'East', wise and asserting the truth. The East is a temptation - charming and whimsical... It is like a ray of sunshine in the middle of the not yet intelligible globalism, warming you up. All this should slip away from the waves of integration and be bound in authenticity - you want more, sometimes unbearably - more and more.

"Husband and Wife" was the second premiere of the current season held at the Theatre of Musical Comedy. This performance, like the first, undertaken for the Ministry of Culture, "garnered" a harvest of jubilees - Hacibayov's 125th anniversary, the centenaries of the play and of the theatre itself. It is notable that the Theatre of Musical Comedy, founded in 1910, opened with this performance, in which the legends of the Azerbaijani stage - H. Sarabski, A. Agdamski and M. Teregulov played... It was directed by Huseyn Arablinski and conducted by the author himself. The newspaper Kaspi, which enthusiastically praised the premiere, wrote: "It is an excellent performance. We are looking forward to the second show..." Since then, it had not been staged again.

It must be remembered that this is the first musical comedy by the founder of Azerbaijan's professional music and the first example of the genre in Azerbaijan. The performance "Husband and Wife" opened Hacibayov's musical trilogy, which also included the comedies "O Olmasin, Bu Olsun " and "Arsin Mal Alan".

It was a remarkable play which returned to the stage of the Theatre of Musical Comedy after a century-long break. The Baku audience saw it in a production by the theatre's chief director, Yusif Akbar. The music editor was Sardar Faracov, conductor - Nazim Hacialibayov and artistic director - Eldar Qurbanov. The performance featured Afaq Basirqizi, Fatma Mahmudova, Arif Quliyev, Ilham Namiq Kamal and Yasar Nuri, who was specially invited to participate in the performance.

It was quite a responsible task to play the role of Karbalai Qubad after none other than Mirzaaga Aliyev himself, who created this role in that first performance. It is somewhat different from "Masadi Ibad". Yasar Nuri played sparingly, but external restraint can conceal a crushing force. In this he was persuasive.

And overall, a strong ensemble had been assembled, I will go further, it was a parade of stars and a spectrum of individuals working to one end. Take, for example, Afaq Basirqizi. We have somehow become used to many things today - unfocused diction, for example, a lack of pattern in roles etc. She is absolutely consistent in what she does, always natural, without any reservation or frills, in a word, she knows how to live on stage. And she does! We also liked Namiq Kamal very much - unrestrainedly expansive in his dedication, seeming to surpass himself, and, of course, the eternally comic Arif Quliyev - well, he does not stay still for a second, employing all his acting arsenal - he works with gestures, his torso and facial expressions... And this is despite the fact that he had a less prominent role. Artistry and musicality cannot be taught by any means of tutoring. An actor has (or does not have) anything cleverer than his head, and it is difficult to learn. A true actor's courage arises in close contact not only with partners, but also with the audience. Making the audience laugh seems to be the most basic level of human contact, but just try and do it.

Yasar... Even though he was not the main character, was so expressive that he certainly became the core of energy for the play, creating a special emotional background, able to enliven everyone and make everything - even emotional pomp - grotesque... He does not need a hilarious storyline; if you are simply funny then everything, however ordinary, becomes comic space.

The article was being completed when news came of his debilitating illness. He had been exhausted by his busy schedule. Endless filming for television and movies, art meetings, interviews, and all that in addition to the theatre... And the doctors say "due to exhaustion". And we, the audience, clap and laugh, not always realizing that we are faced almost with heroism. God willing, everything will be alright this time. It is not in vain that he "was born with a silver spoon in his mouth" as he himself says.