Musical Theater to stage work by outstanding composer

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Uzeyir Hajibayli's musical comedy will be staged at the State Academic Musical Theater on March 19.

People's Artist Azer Zeynalov (Mashadi Ibad) and Honored Artist Ramil Gasimov (Sarvar) will perform the main parts in the musical comedy.

They will share the same stage with People's Artist Akram Poladov, Honored Artists Inara Babayeva, Jahangir Gurbanov, Gulustan Aliyeva, Alakbar Aliyev, Tural Aghasiyev as well as soloist Fahmin Ahmadli under the baton of the Honored Cultural Worker Sevil Hajiyeva.

Notably, the comedy's new version was premiered at the end of December 2021. The work was staged by Honored Cultural Worker Hafiz Guliyev.

If Not That One, Then This One

"If Not That One, Then This One" is a 1910 operetta in four acts that reflects social and everyday life relations in pre-revolutionary Azerbaijan. It is the composer's second work written in this genre.

The musical comedy has been shown for many years by various directors not only in Azerbaijan, but also in many theaters around the world.

In his work, Hajibeyli used the Azerbaijani mugham and included extracts from Fuzuli's ghazals in the libretto.

The premiere of "If Not This One, Then That One" was held in Baku on April 25, 1911, at the Mayilov brothers' theater (now State Opera and Ballet Theater).

The main roles were performed by Mirzaagha Aliyev as Mashadi Ibad, Huseyngulu Sarabski as Sarvar, Ahmed Agdamski as Gulnaz, and M. Teregulov as Hasan bey.

The musical was conducted by Uzeyir Hajibeyli. The libretto of the comedy was first published in Baku in 1912 by the Orujov brothers' printing house.

The musical comedy has been successfully staged in Turkey, Iran, Bulgaria and other countries.

In 1956, Huseyn Seyidzade shot the movie "If Not This One, Then That One". The film criticized backward traditions and celebrated emerging modern lifestyles. It was translated into many languages and within the next three years was shown in more than 40 countries.

"If Not This One, Then That One" film is considered one of the most famous and successful cinematographic pieces in the history of Azerbaijan’s movie industry.

Tickets can be purchased at all ticket offices in Baku and the iTicket website.

Media partners of the event are Azernews.az, Trend.az, Day.az, Milli.az.