Victor Isidores dze Dolidze ( Georgian: ვიქტორ ისიდორეს ძე დოლიძე, 30 July 1890 – 24 May 1933) was a Georgian classical composer. Practically unknown in the West, in his home country Dolidze is best remembered for his opera

Keto and Kote ''Keto and Kote'' ( ka, ქეთო და კოტე, ''Keto da kote'') is a comic opera in three acts, by the Georgians, Georgian composer Victor Dolidze (composer), Victor Dolidze who also wrote the libretto based on Avksenty Tsagareli's 1 ...

, which premiered in 1919 during the First Republic. The composition, which remains popular to this day, follows th
story of forbidden love
between an impoverished prince and a wealthy commoner's daughter.

Biography

Victor Dolidze was born on 30 July 1890 in the city of

Ozurgeti Ozurgeti ( ka, ოზურგეთი ) is the capital of the western Georgia (country), Georgian province of Guria. It was formerly known as Macharadze or Makharadze (named in honor of Filipp Makharadze). It is a regional center of tea and haze ...

Kutais Governorate The Kutaisi or Kutais Governorate was a province (''guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917), Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. It roughly corresponded to most of western Georgia (country), Georgia throughout most of its ...

, in what is now Georgia, then part of the Russian Empire. He came from a poor peasant family.Большая советская энциклопедия. Гл. ред. Б. А. Введенский, 2-е изд. Т. 15. Докеры — Железняков. 1952. 652 стр., илл.; 60 л. илл. и карт. In 1902 Dolidze's family moved to

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

, where entered a commercial school. In 1910, he won his first prize at a local

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

contest. After his high-school graduation in Georgia, he attended the

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Commercial Institute, and concurrently began to work in a music school for violin and composition. In 1917 he graduated from college and returned to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and dedicated himself to music full time. Victor Dolidze is the author of several operas, including the first Georgian

opera buffa Opera buffa (, "comic opera"; : ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramma bernesc ...

'', with his own libretto based on the comedy ''Khanuma'' by

Avksenty Tsagareli Avksenty Tsagareli ( Georgian: ავქსენტი ცაგარელი; Russian: Авксентий Цагарели; February 9, 1857 – August 12, 1902) was a Georgian playwright particularly known for his comedies. He was described i ...

. Following the forced absorption of Georgia into the Soviet Union, some of Dolidze's later compositions faced scrutiny from Soviet censors. For example, Dolidze's lesser known opera, "Leila", was removed from repertory because one of its main characters was a Georgian monarch, which the Soviet authorities feared would encourage " monarchist sentiments".თალაკვაძე ნ. "მოქალაქე მღვდლის დღიურიდან“, ქართული ლიტერატურის სახელმწიფო მუზეუმი, 2013, p 798, Victor Dolidze died on 24 May 1933 in Tiflis and is buried at the Didube Pantheon.Victor Dolidze's biography (Russian)
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolidze, Viktor 1890 births 1933 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century male composers Burials at Didube Pantheon Classical composers from Georgia (country) Music educators from Georgia (country) Male opera composers Opera composers from Georgia (country) People from Kutais Governorate People from Ozurgeti

Biography

See also

References