Marzieh ( fa, مرضیه, born Khadijeh Ashraf o-Sadat Mortezaie, 22 March 1924 – 13 October 2010), was an Iranian singer of Persian traditional music.Adam Bernstein,
Persian songstress a voice of Iranian political dissent
" ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'', 15 October 2010. Accessed 26 October 2010

Career

Marzieh started her career in the 1940s at Radio Tehran and cooperated with some of the greatest 20th century Persian songwriters and lyricists like Ali Tajvidi, Parviz Yahaghi, Homayoun Khorram,

Rahim Moeini Kermanshahi Rahim Moeini Kermanshahi ( fa, رحیم معینی کرمانشاهی, February 6, 1923 – November 17, 2015) was an Iranian poet and lyricist. He is one of the pioneering songwriters in the history of Persian traditional music. Biography Mast ...

and Bijan Taraghi. Marzieh also sang with the Farabi Orchestre, conducted by

Morteza Hannaneh Morteza Hannaneh ( fa, مرتضی حنانه; March 1, 1923 – October 17, 1989) was an Iranian composer and Musician He composed for some films, such as '' Fleeing the Trap'' in 1971. Musical career He studied Horn at the Tehran Conservatory ...

, a pioneer of Persian polyphonic music, during the 1960s and 1970s. Her first major public performance was in 1942, when, though still a teenager, she played the principal role of

Shirin Shirin ( fa, شیرین; died 628) was a Christian wife of the Sasanian King of Kings (''shahanshah'') Khosrow II (). In the revolution after the death of Khosrow's father Hormizd IV, the General Bahram Chobin took power over the Persian empire. ...

at the Jame'eh Barbod 'Barbod Society''opera house in the Persian operetta ''

Shirin and Farhad Khosrow and Shirin ( fa, خسرو و شیرین) is the title of a famous tragic romance by the Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi (1141–1209), who also wrote Layla and Majnun. It tells a highly elaborated fictional version of the story of the lov ...

''.Trevor Mostyn,
Marzieh obituary
, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 19 October 2010, Accessed 26 October 2010. Following the Islamic Revolution of 1979 public performances and broadcasts of record albums by solo female singers were banned outright for ten years. Ayatollah Khomeini had decreed: "Women's voices should not be heard by men other than members of their own families." She told the '' Daily Telegraph'' that to continue her vocal practice she used to walk by night from her home in the historic north-Tehran

Niavaran Niavaran ( fa, نياوران) is an affluent and upperclass district in the north of Tehran. Bordering leafy, uphill-winding Darband Street, it can be reached from Tajrish Square, and is close to Darabad at the far north-eastern corner of Gre ...

foothills to her cabin in the mountains, where she would sing next to a roaring waterfall: "Nobody could hear me. I sang to the stars and the rocks."Diva defied Iran's Mullahs
, ''Daily Telegraph'', 21 October 2010. Accessed 26 October 2010 Upon the death of Khomeini the succeeding leaders suggested that she could resume singing, provided that she undertook never to sing for men. She refused, declaring, "I have always sung only for all Iranians".

Exile

In 1994, Marzieh left Iran forever due to the political repression, making her new home in Paris. She performed several concerts in Los Angeles, California and Royal Albert Hall (London) in 1993, 1994 and 1995. The Paris-based composer Mohammad Shams and the Persian tar soloist Hamid Reza Taherzadeh were the main musicians who worked with Marzieh in exile. Marzieh's last concert was performed at Olympia in 2006. The European press have also compared her to

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, tw ...

and Melina Mercouri for her willingness to put political and human-rights beliefs ahead of her career, and even ahead of her own safety.

Death

Marzieh died of cancer in Paris on 13 October 2010, aged 86. Her death was announced on the website of the

National Council of Resistance of Iran The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI; fa, شورای ملی مقاومت ایران, Šurā-ye melli-e moqāvemat-e Īrān) is an Iranian political organization based in France and Albania. The organization is a political coalition ...

, of which she was a member, and

Maryam Rajavi Maryam Rajavi ( fa, مریم رجوی, , fa, مریم قجر عضدانلو) is a leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), an organization advocating for the overthrow of the Iranian government, and president-elect of its National Counc ...

, co-leader of the

People's Mujahedin of Iran The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), also known as Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) or Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) ( fa, سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران, sâzmân-e mojâhedīn-e khalq-e īrân), is an Iranian pol ...

, delivered her eulogy.Maryam Rajavi,
Message of Mrs. Rajavi
. 13 October 2010. Accessed 26 October 2010

References

External links

Marzieh's songs @ Radio Golchin
*
Fans website of MarziehMarzieh on Spotify
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marzieh 1924 births 2010 deaths Iranian emigrants to France Iranian classical singers 20th-century Iranian women singers Mezzo-sopranos Singers from Tehran Deaths from cancer in France Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in France National Council of Resistance of Iran members Caltex Records artists Taraneh Records artists Women singers on Golha