Lutfiyar Muslum oglu Imanov ( az, Lütfiyar İmanov; 17 April 1928 in Sabirabad – 21 January 2008 in Baku), was a Soviet and Azerbaijani opera singer (dramatic

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors i ...

Career

Lutfiyar Imanov started his career in the arts as a teenage actor at the Sabirabad State Drama Theatre. He graduated from the

Asaf Zeynally Music College The Baku Musical College (now the Azerbaijan National Conservatory Music College) is a state college of professional secondary education in Baku and one of the leading secondary musical schools of Azerbaijan. General information Baku Musical Coll ...

with a degree in vocal arts in 1957. At the time, he had been working with various Azerbaijani choirs and orchestras. He made his operatic debut in 1957 when he performed in the leading role in

Uzeyir Hajibeyov Uzeyir bey Abdulhuseyn oghlu Hajibeyov ( az, Üzeyir bəy Əbdülhüseyn oğlu Hacıbəyov; russian: Узеир Абдул-Гусейн оглы Гаджибеков, translit=Uzeir Abdul-Guseyn ogly Gadzhibekov; September 18, 1885November 23, 19 ...

's opera '' Koroghlu'' in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. Upon graduating, he accepted a job at the Azerbaijan State Academic Theatre of Musical Comedy before switching in 1959 to the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater where he worked until his death. In 1962, he was admitted to the six-year program in drama studies at the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts. In 1965 and 1975 respectively, Imanov was an intern at the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and op ...

in Moscow and La Scala in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

. From 1968 onward, he performed leading roles in over 30 operas. Besides performing, he taught vocal arts, mostly at the

Azerbaijan State Conservatoire The Hajibeyov Baku Academy of Music (Azeri: ''Hacıbəyov adına Bakı Musiqi Akademiyası'') is a music school in Baku, Azerbaijan. It was established in 1920 in Baku and was previously known as the Hajibeyov Azerbaijan State Conservatoire. H ...

, but also in music schools in

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and

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(1991–95). In the 1990s, he toured

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and

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. His performance was recognized by him being awarded the prestigious title of the

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significa ...

in 1977.Lutfiyar Muslum oglu Imanov
Большой Энциклопедический словарь.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Imanov, Lutfiyar 1928 births 2008 deaths 20th-century Azerbaijani male opera singers 21st-century Azerbaijani male opera singers People from Sabirabad Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts alumni Honored Artists of the Azerbaijan SSR People's Artists of Azerbaijan People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Istiglal Order Recipients of the Shohrat Order Operatic tenors Azerbaijani male singers Azerbaijani music educators Azerbaijani opera singers Soviet male opera singers Soviet music educators Soviet tenors Burials at Alley of Honor