Shafiga Akhundova (; 21 January 1924 – 26 July 2013) was a prominent

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

i composer, the first professional female author of an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

in the

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

and People’s Artist of

. Akhundova was born into a family of an eminent cultural figure Gulam Akhundov in Shaki in 1924. Gulam Bagir oglu Akhundov, who was a public servant and intellectual of his time, worked as the first secretary of Shaki between 1917 and 1920, while her mother was a housewife. In 1943–1944, Shafiga got her primary education at Baku Musical School named after

Asaf Zeynally Asaf Zeynalabdin oglu Zeynally (), also spelled Zeynalli (5 April 1909, Derbent – 27 October 1932, Baku), was an Azerbaijani composer. Early life Asaf Zeynally was the third child of the gardener Zeynalabdin and his wife Asband. He grew up in ...

, where she was taught by

Uzeyir Hajibeyov Uzeyir bey Abdulhuseyn bey oghlu Hajibeyov (18 September 188523 November 1948) was an Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijani composer, musicologist and teacher. He is recognized as the father of Azerbaijani classical music. He composed the music of the Az� ...

. Then, in 1956, she continued her education at

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

named after Uzeyir Hajibeyov, where she graduated from the class of B. Zeydman. In 1998, Shafiga Akhundova was conferred a title of People’s Artist of Azerbaijan and in 2004 she was awarded the

Shohrat Order Shohrat Order (), translated as ''Order of Glory'', is an award presented by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. History and status The order was created by the Decree No. 757 of the President of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev and ratified ...

Creativity

In 1972, Shafiga Akhundova composed her first

“Galin gayasi” (Bride’s rock) So that she became the first woman in East history who composed an opera. She also composed such works as “Ev bizim, sirr bizim”

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

(1965), 600 songs such as "Leyla","Bəxtiyar ellər","Victory Anthem", "Victory is ours","Motherland" and romantic pieces "What's Beautiful", "Jahanda by Nizami Ganjavi", music for spectacles for children ("Təlxəyin nağılı", "Dovşanın ad günü") etc. She composed music for more than 30 spectacles, staged in state theatres, dramatic theatres ("Aydın","Əlvida Hindistan!","Nə üçün yaşayırsan?").

Awards

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour () was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in sports, production, scientific research and socia ...

- June 9, 1959 * Honoured Art Worker of the Azerbaijan SSR- November 26, 1973 *

People's Artist of Azerbaijan People's Artist of Azerbaijan () is the honorary title and award granted for contribution to the development of Azerbaijani culture in the fields of visual art and painting. The People's Artist of the Azerbaijani SSR, People's Artists of the Aze ...

- May 24, 1998 *Personal Scholarship of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan*- June 11, 2002 *

- January 11, 2002

Filmography

* "Azərbaycan elləri" (1976) * "Mənim atam Əliövsət Sadıqov" (2007) * "Bəstəkar Şəfiqə Axundova" (2012)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhundova, Shafiga Azerbaijani women composers Soviet classical composers Soviet women classical composers Azerbaijani opera composers Soviet opera composers Baku Academy of Music alumni People's Artists of Azerbaijan 1924 births Women classical composers People from Shaki, Azerbaijan 2013 deaths Recipients of the Shohrat Order Soviet Azerbaijani people Women opera composers Honored Art Workers of the Azerbaijan SSR