Huseyn Arablinski (), born Huseynbala Mammad oghlu Khalafov (1881,

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

– 17 March 1919,

), was an Azerbaijani actor.

Life and career

Born to a poor family, Huseyn Arablinski lost his father at a young age. He was sent by his mother to a religious school. Soon not being able to pay for it, young Huseyn had to drop out. However, with the help of Habib bey Mahmudbeyov, a local teacher who made it possible for children from poor families to attend school, Arablinski was admitted to the 3rd Russian-Muslim School. Mahmudbeyov was also the one who roused young Arablinski's interest in acting. One of the theatres agreed to have Mahmudbeyov's students act out incidental and minor characters. Despite scrupulous preparation, Arablinskis first performance was unsuccessful. In 1897–1900 he continued to act in small roles.Huseyn Arablinski: A Tragedian on Stage and in Life
by Veta Nadirova. 12 May 2005. Retrieved 29 July 2007 Arablinski's real talent was revealed in 1905, when a

troupe Troupe may refer to: General *Comedy troupe, a group of comedians *Dance troupe, a group of dancers **Fire troupe, a group of fire dancers *Troupe system, a method of playing role-playing games *Theatrical troupe, a group of theatrical performers ...

of Azeri actors, of which he was a member, was going on a tour to the city of

Lankaran Lankaran (, ) or Lánkon () is a city in Azerbaijan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea, near the southern border with Iran. As of 2021, the city had a population of 89,300. It is next to, but independent of, Lankaran District. The city forms a disti ...

to perform the play '' Musibat-i Fakhraddin'' ("Fakhraddin's Tragedy") by

Najaf bey Vazirov Najaf bey Fatali oglu Vazirov () (17 February 1854 – 9 July 1926) was an Azerbaijani playwright and journalist. Najaf bey Vazirov played an exceptional role in the development of Azerbaijani dramaturgy, enriching its ideological and aesthetic con ...

. It was soon reported that the actor for the main role had fallen ill and could not attend the rehearsals. The role was given to the 24-year-old Arablinski, who made an outstanding performance, and in the following years was often chosen for that role. His other stage roles Shah (''Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar'' by A.Hagverdiyev), Khlestakov (''

The Government Inspector ''The Government Inspector'', also known as ''The Inspector General'' (, literally: "Inspector"), is a satirical play by Russian dramatist and novelist Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the play was revised for an 1842 edition. Base ...

'' by N.Gogol), Heydar bey (''Haji Gara'' by M.F.Akhundov), Othello (''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' by W.Shakespeare), etc. The stage name Arablinski was in fact the surname of one of the young females in the audience. The actor fell in love with her during the troupe's tour to

Derbent Derbent, also historically known as Darband, or Derbend, is the southernmost city in Russia. It is situated along the southeastern coast of the Dagestan, Republic of Dagestan, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucas ...

in 1906, when she met him shortly after the play to express her admiration of his talent. Beginning in 1907, Huseyn Arablinski worked as a stage director. In 1916 he starred in the silent movie ''V tsarstve nefti i millionov'' ("In the Realm of Oil and Millions", dir. Boris Svetlov) as Lutfali bey.

Death

In the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

publications Arablinski's murder was usually blamed on the government of the short-lived

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (), also known as the Azerbaijan People's Republic (; ), was the first secular democracy, democratic republic in the Turkic peoples, Turkic and Muslim worlds. *Tadeusz Swietochowski. ''Russia and Azerbaijan: ...

. However, in reality, the actor was killed by his cousin motivated by personal issues. Arablinski's deeply religious family was never in favour of his career choice. Their relationship became even more strained when Huseyn shaved his moustache to facilitate his stage performance as female characters.

Legacy

The Sumgayit State Musical Drama Theater was named after Arablinski.Decision 1969 about perpetuating the memory of Huseyn Arablinski
www.anl.az

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arablinski, Huseyn 20th-century Azerbaijani male actors Azerbaijani male film actors Azerbaijani male silent film actors Azerbaijani male stage actors Azerbaijani theatre directors Azerbaijani opera directors People from Baku Governorate 1881 births 1919 deaths Male actors from Baku Male actors from the Russian Empire Muslims from the Russian Empire